Renaultsport Twingo 133 | Spotted
Like your hot hatches small, cheap and simple? Voila!
If you look at the hot hatches that are now worth a fair bit of money, they tend to share a few common traits. Today’s classic hot hatch heroes tend to be the light, simple, fast, fun pocket rockets of yesteryear - being cute to look at helps, too. Barring the rally reps, complexity doesn’t necessarily make for more desirability. As cars age, the less to look after the better.
With all that in mind, the Renaultsport Twingo 133 ought to be more in demand. It has the right badge, sold in small numbers that ensures rarity today and (vaguely speaking) has a link back to a current product in the Alpine A290. Yet here’s a low-mileage car that looks really good and seems to have been kept well, priced at £4,950. Always overshadowed by the more powerful, better-known Clios and Meganes, the Twingo now looks a great value way into a bit of Renaultsport magic for not very much. There’s no way a 58k Clio or Megane with some K-Tec bits is going to be £5k now.
The Twingo’s joy was its simplicity. Back when such things were commercially viable, Renault didn't seek to reinvent the junior hot hatch. Its smallest city car got all the important stuff - larger engine, firmer suspension, bigger brakes, cooler looks - and not a whole lot else in the quest for pocket rocket fun. The 133 was cheap and cheerful, a riot on back roads thanks to a taut, alert chassis, tiny dimensions and a rev-happy engine. For £13k, nothing was quite as much fun, the Abarth 500s were faster but not as nice to drive and the Swift not quite as agile. The French have always been the masters of lightweight fun - the Twingo definitely proved it.
There was a Cup chassis option for the truly committed, though it seems that this goes without (there are no badges, the air con remains, and so do the individually sliding rear seats). No bother - it’s more than entertaining enough without. Perhaps what’s most appealing about this 133, beyond having seemingly survived so well as a back-to-basics performance car built to be thrashed, is the money that has recently been spent on it. Just like its bigger siblings, the Twingo has a couple of known issues and maintenance jobs that can be expensive; they become hard to justify when a car isn’t worth very much. In 2022 yours truly was quoted £1,116 for a cambelt and waterpump on a £3,000 133, so it’s easy to see why cars get run on a shoestring and meet an untimely end.
There isn’t mention of a cambelt in the advert for this one, which is certainly something to investigate and negotiate with, though it does have a recently refurbished gearbox and clutch to its name - which cost £2,000. The last service was in August at a cost of £1,667, so a checkup this year should be a lot less. Moreover, that inspection was at renowned Renaultsport specialists K-Tec, where there’s said to be plenty of receipts for this car. Always a good sign when money has been spent despite the car’s junior billing. It’s been upgraded, too, with Brembo discs and pads, a new exhaust and a K-Tec underbonnet strut brace. All four tyres look to be Goodyear Eagle F1s. The service history isn’t extensive, but it seems that the most recent owner, who’s had the Twingo for the past five years, has ensured decent upkeep.
Even if it does need a cambelt soon, the Twingo has surely done all the depreciating it’s likely to do more than 15 years after its introduction. It’s hard to imagine a time when a 133 that looks this smart being worth less than £5k. Particularly if the best Clios and Meganes continue to climb. With the gearbox refurbishment done, that’s one less worry, and a Twingo shouldn't be too expensive to run otherwise. Because it’s a Twingo. Even wheels that always looked perhaps a little too big are only 17s. For good od-fashioned fun without the nostalgia premium, it’s hard to imagine much better than a 133.
SPECIFICATION | RENAULTSPORT TWINGO 133
Engine: 1,598, four-cylinder
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 133@6,750rpm
Torque (lb ft): 118@4,400rpm
MPG: 43.5
CO2: 150g/km
Year registered: 2009
Recorded miles: 58,308
Price new: £13,165
Yours for: £4,950
I think they look great (especially that colour) but you'd need to really want one over a Clio. I assume they all are a riot when you are in the mood, deeply irritating when you aren't.
As alluded to by the poster above, it you weren't in the mood, they were a PITA, however if you were in the mood they were awesome, absolutely crap on the motorway though!
I'm pretty sure those are Cup wheels and it looks as though it has Brembo's, meaning (I think) it has a Cup Pack.
If I needed a car (I have a company car) I would seriously consider one of these.
Admittedly not cheap but you can run a Twingo 133 very cheaply, I should know haha.
Great little cars though, personally I think they handle and look better than a Clio 172. They don't have the grunt admittedly but they are a laugh and they are certainly an old school hot hatch. Lightweight, modest power and really chuckable handling.
Interestingly though the prices have gone up. These bottomed out a few years ago to around £1,500 and I'm sure there's some high mileage ones that are still round that figure, but it seems the little RenaultSport underdog has gained a bit more of a following in the last 18 months or so.
They are fun-ish to drive hard, but ultimately the lack of pace gets frustrating. They are also incredibly French. Little niggles all the time, and if you're like me and sort problems when they occur, it means *something* wrong what feels like every month.
Because the engine bay is tiny and the engine relatively large, pray you never need an exhaust manifold like I did. That's an engine out job. Throttle bodies are a 12 month wait if you want a new one, as are exhaust manifolds. I wouldn't want to be running a high miler these days.
Jeremy Clarkson did a great sketch on these and I think it did their image wonders, but I'm going to be the one to say it: Having owned one, I don't particularly rate them.
And 4000rpm @ motorway speed was a PITA.
I think they look great (especially that colour) but you'd need to really want one over a Clio. I assume they all are a riot when you are in the mood, deeply irritating when you aren't.
But I think the Swift Sport is more reliable and overall a better built car. (No timing belt to worry about either!) My mates' Twingo never seemed to be out of the garage. One day on the way to work he lost 2nd gear, by this point totally fed up so he replaced it with a Fabia VRS.
My Swift on the other hand, 140k miles later it's still runs great. Still original clutch, head's never needed to come off, no ancilliaries have been replaced etc
I used it for track days, did 15 or 16 and around 3500 track miles, it did take the punishment very well. They were fine on track and had enough power if you concentrated on keep the momentum.
I did have to change the cambelt and dephaser, and fitted two new front struts and springs as well as multiple discs and pads. But it was pretty reliable and I'd have one again but not with high mileage
The ride was harsh, yes. The engine took forever to rev, yes. But it was a complete hoot to drive. Pretty much drove it like I stole it all the time. Went round roundabouts like it was on rails.
Packed full of tech for a car soo small too.
Mine was Red, with the optional RS stickers on. Bought it 2 years old. Biggest problem I found was the lack of reach & rake from the steering wheel. Never got completely comfortable between seat & steering.
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