2008 Renault Twingo RS

By George Skentzos | February 01st, 2008

Renault has always been the unsung hero of the hot-hatch world with its potent Megane variants, and now it has unveiled a pocket-sized rocket in the new Renault Twingo RS.

Proving that size isn’t everything, the Twingo RenaultSport is sure to be fun, fuel efficient, and agile.

Rather than force-feeding the 1.6-litre engine, Renault has gently coaxed an impressive 99kW in its naturally aspirated guise.

The unique ground effects kit certainly makes for an attractive and aggressive package, taken from Renault’s 2006 Paris concept.

The Twingo RS is set to make its official debut at this year Geneva motor show.

jbot

What a great looking little car! Renault Australia need this and the new Clio (why isn’t it here???) badly.
No Name

That’ll do for the P platers won’t it, cute little number.

Jay

cant have it on p plates in aus.. the RS is a brilliant car.. easily said my favourite over even the bugatti veyron. but its a 1.8L turbo.. not legal for p platers

Jay

wait no thats wrong sorry lol

Steve

Jbot, easy answer. There’s a shortage.

By the time it gets to Australia, Europe will have a newer model.

Steve
http://. Naughtyius Maximus

Agree with JBOT.

Looks a tad Holden Astra on front.
http://impreza dlr1

Great looking hot hatch!

However in 2008 I expected a few more Kw than 99.

The toyota Corolla SX in 1989 had 100 kW from its 4A-GE (1.6 litre) engine.

Still love to see it here.
http://www.caradvice.com.au Anthony

I’m sure its lighter than the Corolla. I’d rather have a better power to weight ratio than more grunt. Just look at the Lotus Exige against any other supercar on track. The Lotus wins most of the time. Not to mention fuel economy.
Myke

Isn’t a Twingo smaller than the Clio, which is roughly the same size as the Mazda2 or Yaris? So 99kw might be enough for a car of this size.

Gianni

It is don’t worry about that. It’s faster than a Mitsubishi Lancer VR-X. The new one as well with the 2.4 engine. Heck it’s faster than a lot of bigger engines out there.

golfschwein

naughtyius, how on earth do you see a Holden Astra here? Astra has a grille between the headlights, just for starters!
http://impreza dlr1

No doubt the twingo has a better power to weight ratio, probably faster and more efficent too, maybe i just expected a little more than 99kW 19 years on.

100kw used to be a “benchmark” output for a hot hatch. Surely a tweak or two could have it reach this number.

Still if the money was right here in OZ it would sell well.
Steve

The 99kW factor might be to satisfy other car markets. Some countries have engine capacity limits with insurance, rego, etc. Some countries have power limitations.

Steve
Yianni

Great looking little car.

Having driven a lot of smaller cars in Europe I can honestly say 99KW will be perfect for such a small car.

It probably weights around 900kg giving it a good power/weight ratio and fuel economy to boot.

We definitely need the Clio and the twingo to hit AUS. Hopefully it wont take forever.

It would be great to see the new laguna over here also.
Wheelnut

Only slightly better looking than its “sister car” the Nissan Micra.. but only just. Either way I’d probably go for a Fiesta XR-4 or Astra SRi
Peter

99kW in a tiny thing like this is great!

You can’t use the old Corolla SX as a comparison to this; I mean, most of the Corolla equvalent hot hatches today make the right side of 150kW.
http://. Naughtyius Maximus

GOLFSCHWEIN I did say ‘tad’ like Astra…..Headlights and upswept small air intakes to side on front is similar (the Corolla and Aurion have similar look…upswept).

Great looker and classy.
Reckless1

Damn, the rear end is ugly. Looks like a cross between an Echo and a Megane.

Compared to a Polo GTi, well, there’s no comparison, is there. Polo has a lazy 110kw form the 1.8l, add a reflash for a totally tractable 145kw, or go a bit mad with the look-alike larger turbo and get well over 200kw……
Gianni

To anyone who thinks the car is underpowered they should think again. It’s faster than a Swift Sport, Faster than the Lancer VR-X With the 2.4 litre manual! If the power isn’t enough then get it chipped! Though it’s better to keep it stock as there are not many places to unleash it. Anyone have a commodore? Max speed limit would be 100-110. Easily achieved by a car like this.