In autumn 1992, Renault revolutionized the design of city runabouts with the Twingo. With an irresistible big moment and haute couture outfits, the Frenchman conquers the audience right from the premiere, which immediately orders by the thousands. Especially the women are blown away. And today?
Upheaval in the fashion metropolis of Paris: In autumn 1992, Renault tackled boredom in the city car class with the idiosyncratic Twingo. On the catwalk of the Paris Motor Show, the boldly shaped Twingo showed its famous big moment for the first time, which won the hearts of women in particular: almost 70 percent of the approximately 2.5 million first-generation Twingos were delivered to female buyers - a record in the minicar segment.
The legendary Renault chief designer Patrick Le Quément had given the 3.43 meter short small car a cheeky face with headlights that even seemed to wink mischievously. No sweet child scheme à la Nissan Micra, but in the words of the Renault press communiqué a "friendly and happy frog that dares to go its own way". In fact: With the Twingo, the engine, passenger and luggage compartments form a single unit, just like its big brother, the revolutionary Renault Espace.
The Twingo made history as the first versatile and spacious small car, tailor-made for the hustle and bustle of the big city. Wide doors offered easy access and a rear seat bench that could be moved by 17 centimeters increased legroom in the rear. The Twingo was even suitable as a moving van thanks to its luggage compartment, which can hold up to 955 litres. And as befits a car from the capital of haute couture, the Twingo set fashion trends with colorful pop art paintwork and lifestyle editions: Renault obviously knew what les femmes wanted.
Twingo wasn't another pleasing little Gallic car like the Peugeot 106, Citroen AX or Renault Clio, and it wasn't really supposed to compete with the German entry-level models VW Polo or Opel Corsa either. With the Twingo, Renault presented a new kind of quick-change artist that is affordable for almost everyone and that should shine on city boulevards as well as on campsites - its seating area could be converted into a double bed especially for this purpose, like in a van.
In order for the project to pay off, Renault used existing, highly automated production capacities in Flins near Paris and Valladolid/Spain and dispensed with variants - initially there was only a decades-old 40 kW/55 hp 1.2-liter four-cylinder, a minimalist plastic cockpit, a uniform one Interior equipment and no other model variants (not even right-hand drive versions). The development of the Twingo was significantly cheaper than the construction of the recently introduced Clio, and the Twingo was able to replace the R5 Campus as the cheapest type in the Renault model portfolio.
The Twingo premiere in the Paris exhibition halls at the Porte de Versailles was reminiscent of the spectacular debuts of earlier disruptive Renault models: as in 1961 with the unconventional Renault 4 and 1972 with the Renault 5 with plastic protective shields, the public reacted first in amazement, then enthusiastically and then overwhelmed Booth staff with 2500 blind orders.
"Twingo. He's making the world crazy," said Renault marketing, cheering on the hype: 172,000 sales contracts followed immediately after the market launch. That exceeded the wildest hopes of the Renault corporate strategists, who pushed the X-06 small car project, originally drawn by star designer Marcello Gandini, then redefined by Renault designer Jean-Pierre Ploué and for which Patrick Le Quément was responsible from 1987, into the evidence room of failed concepts wanted to. Up until the end there were discussions about the final design of the Twingo, especially the mischievous front design, including the wing mirrors protruding from the body like jug ears and the eyelids indicated by bulges in the bonnet.
Unjustified concerns, because Renault had hit the nerve of the experimental 1990s. "Twingomania" is what the French media called the enthusiasm for the cheap Renault, which only arrived at dealerships in Germany in the spring of 1993. Incidentally, the sonorous artificial name of the minicar, which the naming guru Manfred Gotta composed from the words twin, twist and tango, was also of German origin.
The dynamism of the Twingo, which initially had little engine power, became apparent when it occupied a top place in the ranking of stolen vehicles in France, displacing more powerful and prestigious models. However, the Twingo was soon able to do a quick dance on the floor, because Renault recognized the cult potential of its Ministar and nurtured it with sensational prototypes.
Equipped with a 1600 kW/2200 hp engine from a jet plane, the Renault Twingo Jet sped through the Green Hell of the Nürburgring at over 300 km/h in the 24-hour race in 1999. The furious Renault Twingo in ice races and rallies were feared by the rivals from the late 1990s. The world was also amazed when, in spring 1995, a sleek catamaran turned up in front of the festival city of Cannes, with a Renault Twingo mounted on top as a command bridge. The amphibious creature's name was "Twingo Marine". The Twingo captain could easily direct his 6.60 meter boat from the driver's seat as if he were in the middle of Parisian traffic.
"Just sweet!" Hardly any other automobile was given this praise as often as the first Twingo, an iconic minimalist in eternally young forms, as otherwise perhaps only the Fiat 500 and the English Mini. But these classics also need regular updates, with the Twingo the first generation change took place in 2007.
Previously, it was continuous upgrades that kept the Twingo fresh, for example by upgrading the initially meager safety equipment, plus there were more powerful engines and editions by prominent fashion couturiers from Kenzo to Benetton and Elite. The Parisian design school Esmod was also inspired by the Twingo to create new styles.
Twingo number 2 was able to continue this success story from 2007, but the two-door model, which was more modern, safer and larger in every respect and was now 3.60 meters long, was no longer suitable as a trend mobile. The freshly made small car lacked the fascination that made the original Twingo so très francais and très chic. After all, there was the second Twingo with a large folding roof, similar to the sunbath and fresh air enjoyment guaranteed in the predecessor.
The third Twingo generation launched in 2014, now as a four-door rear-engine model analogous to the related Smart Forfour, has achieved respectable sales figures to this day. The current Twingo is suitable as a minicar for fashion-conscious women, but not as a space miracle for the family - and avant-garde drives can only be found in the Twingo Electric, which has been available since 2020.
How will things continue for the cuddly little one in the future? Maybe not at all, because Renault is planning a revival of the cult boxes R4 and R5 from 2024, fully electric of course. On the other hand, exactly these guys were replaced by a groundbreaking Twingo 30 years ago.
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