Baby got back: rear-engined Renaults

Renault has form with powerplants in posteriors! Let's hope a warmed-up Twingo can follow some of these

So the Renault top brass have admitted that a hotter Twingo is very much on the cards. But exactly how hot is not confirmed. The limited space and packaging constraints rule out a bigger powerplant or major reconfiguration of the existing 0.9-litre turbo. Mind you, the French marque has a habit of making something extraordinary out of the everyday, so perhaps we shouldn't rule anything out just yet..

Where it all began!

Renault certainly has a powerful heritage for rear-engined cars and for modifying them to produce some seriously iconic driving machines.

The 4CV was launched in 1947 as a compact, affordable, rear-engined and rear-drive machine (sound familiar?) that went on to become the most popular car in France. Later versions had up to 21hp and with a weight of just 620kg, the 4CV could top 60mph. Handling was alleged to be a bit lively in the wet...

The 4CV finally ceased production in 1961 and a year later, another rear-engined, rear-drive success story was unveiled, the R8. Initially powered by a 956cc 43hp unit, the 1,108cc Gordini was released in 1964 packing more than twice the power... and probably rather more than its chassis could cope with! It had a four-speed close ratio gearbox, dual rear dampers and servo-assisted disc brakes. The later 1,255cc version had 99hp and could top 100mph. You could have it in any colour you liked as long as it was blue with white stripes.

And who can forget this?

One of the biggest styling influences for the new Twingo's rear end was the mighty R5 Turbo. Launched at the Brussels Motor Show in 1980, this magnificent homologation special remains one of the finest conversions of a humble hatch into mini supercar.

The humble 5 Alpine supermini was transformed by the shift to a mid-mounted 1,397cc turbo driving the rear wheels. Producing 158hp and 163lb ft with a sub-tonne kerbweight, the R5 Turbo could hit sixty in under seven seconds on the way to a 130mph top speed. Pretty ordinary by fast hatch standard in 2014 but lunacy in 1980. It still looks mental 35 years on and it's little wonder that over 3,500 road going versions were sold during its lifetime.

Some 16 years after the Turbo, the supply of hallucinogens showed no sign of running out with the debut of the ridiculous Renault Sport Spider. Built at the Alpine factory in Dieppe, the Spider was designed to remind the world of Renault's sporting credentials. It featured an aluminium chassis with lightweight plastic body panels no roof and an optional windscreen. It weighed 930kg.

This one perhaps less well remembered

In fact the only normal thing about the car was the rather disappointing 2.0-litre 16v engine from the Megane coupe. It delivered just 150hp in a chassis that could handle, and deserved, so much more.

If the Spider's powerplant didn't match the design, Renault tried to remedy that with the Clio V6 of 2001. And given the way it looks, that's saying something. Revisiting that magic formula of taking a humble supermini and stuffing loads of power behind the seats delivered a real uber-hatch and probably the coolest Clio ever.

With 230hp and a creamy V6 soundtrack, it could hit 146mph. The only problem was the V6 weighed some 300kg more than the 172 Cup, meaning it was barely faster than its more humble and considerably cheaper stablemate. And until some suspension tweaks for the Phase 2 version (2003-2005), far more likely to end up in a ditch when driven hard on wet roads! The 255hp second-gen V6 was faster (over 150mph and 0-60mph in under six seconds) and handled better. At over £27,000 it wasn't cheap, but it is already considered a modern classic.

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dukebox9reg

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