RENAULTTwingo RS 2011 - 2013

　　Renault Sport was responsible for creating the hot hatches for the French automaker Renault and worked on the carmaker鈥檚 smallest three-door vehicle, the Twingo, improving it in all areas and transforming it from a mundane grocery getter into a pocket rocket.

　　Part of the Renault Group, the Renault Sport was more than just a department; it was a separate facility that took production versions, stripped them down, and created sportier versions from them. Several famous European hot hatches came from there, such as the Clio Renault Sport or the Megane R.S. But after the automaker decided to boost the image of the tiny Twingo, engineers from Renault Sport followed the same recipe, and the result stunned customers. Thanks to its affordable price, the three-door hatchback became attractive to young customers eager to thrash the car around corners.

　　The transformation began with the vehicle鈥檚 exterior. Renault Sport redesigned the front bumper, added a pair of round fog lamps, and created a splitter on the lower side of the apron. In addition, it placed a chromed R.S. badge on it. From its profile, the A-segment vehicle boasted a set of 16鈥 alloy wheels, which were unavailable for the rest of the Twingo range. Both front and rear fenders were wider to cover the 195/45 tires. Furthermore, a set of aerodynamically profiled side sills made the car look lower to the ground. Finally, at the back, Renault Sport added a roof spoiler on top of the tailgate and a redesigned bumper that sported a diffuser and a chromed exhaust tip.

　　Inside, it was a complete makeover. Instead of the bland-looking seats and budget-looking plastics, the Twingo R.S. boasted a cabin with a racy feeling. At the front, the automaker placed a set of high-bolstered seats with leather upholstery and contrast stitching. Even the seatbelts were color-coded, not just black like in the rest of the range. Still, Renault couldn鈥檛 place them lower to the floor, so the seating position remained high. That favored the room for the rear-seated passengers, which could slit their feet under the front seats.

　　Unlike the rest of the Twingo range, the R.S. version featured a tachometer mounted in front of the driver, behind the steering wheel. Furthermore, it featured a shift light that lit green when approaching the 7,000 rpm. To emphasize the racy feeling, Renault added a set of aluminum pedals that sported a checker-flag pattern. Still, the instrument cluster remained mounted in the middle of the dashboard, slightly tilted toward the driver. It featured a round dial with a satin-chromed surrounding for the digital speedometer and a secondary LCD for other information coming from the car鈥檚 onboard computer.

　　But the most significant upgrade happened under the car鈥檚 skin, where Renault Sport installed a 1.6-liter gasoline engine specifically developed for the Twingo R.S. The four-banger powerplant featured a race-inspired exhaust manifold and could provide up to 133 PS (131 hp) to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox. Renault Sport鈥檚 engineers continued with the suspension, which was stiffened to match the car鈥檚 look and power.