Renault has finally revealed a hotter version of its latest city car, named the Twingo GT. Compared to other Twingo models, the GT has more power, an updated gearbox and sharper handling.
The reveal of this sportier Twingo has been widely expected ever since Renault published a teaser image of the car earlier this month. The image showed the rear of what appeared to be a new, sportier variant of the Twingo but it was uncertain at the time whether this new Twingo would wear the GT or Renault Sport badge.
Enough pace to rival warm hatches
Using the Twingo’s 0.9-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, the new GT produces 108bhp which is 19bhp more than other variants with the same unit. It's not as powerful as the previous-generation Twingo in Renault Sport form, but a fully-fledged hot hatch version may still be in the pipeline.
The GT only comes with a five-speed manual gearbox, which compared to standard Twingos offers different ratios for improved response times.
The 0-62mph sprint time for the Twingo GT is believed to be about 8.5 seconds, placing the lightweight Twingo GT in contention with other warm hatchbacks like the Suzuki Swift Sport and the Ford Fiesta Red and Black Editions.
Handling and styling changes confirmed
As well as making the Twingo quicker, the GT also has a tweaked chassis and updated steering to make the Renault more agile through the corners.
Styling updates for the Twingo GT include new 17-inch alloy wheels and twin exhaust pipes. Also, even though this isn’t technically a Renault Sport model, the GT does include Renault Sport badges on the door sills. Interior updates include aluminium pedals and a metal gear knob.
Pricing for the new Renault Twingo GT is likely to start from around £14,000 to £15,000 and the GT will make its first public appearance later this month at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
