Twingo
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Wikipedia-Article "Twingo"
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| Renault Twingo | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Renault |
| Production: | 1993–present |
| Body Styles: | FF monospace subcompact |
| Engines: | 1.1 55 ch (Cleon) ; 1.2 8V 60 ch ; 1.2 16V 75 ch |
| Predecessors: | None |
| Successors: | still in production |
| Competitors: | Citroën C1, Daihatsu Cuore, Fiat Panda, Ford Ka, Peugeot 107, Smart Fortwo, Toyota Aygo,... |
The Renault Twingo is a small monospace car manufactured by the French manufacturer Renault that was launched in 1993 to replace the venerable Renault 4. The car is 3.43m long, 1.63m wide and 1.42m high. It quickly became popular in Europe due to its unusual looks and its ease of use. It is currently in its third generation of production.
It was designed under Patrick Le Quément, Renault's chief designer. Le Quément's belief was that it was a greater risk for Renault to take no risks at all, having seen its market share suffer with blandly styled cars such as the Renault 9 and 11. It has been rumored that the design of the Twingo was partially inspired by the ships from the Konami videogame Twinbee; however, Renault has made no statement regarding this. Another, better documented design link is that to the Polish prototype Beskid.
Despite the car's sales success, it still lags behind the Ford Ka in the sub-B segment, partly due to Renault's short-sighted decision not to produce a right-hand drive version, meaning that official imports to the United Kingdom (Renault's biggest export market) and Ireland never happened.
The Renault Modus was originally planned to supersede the Twingo, but now a new generation will be produced in 2006. Unlike the original, it will also be offered in right-hand drive.
Beskid Link
The Beskid was a Polish vehicle designed in early 1980's at the Ośrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy Samochodów Małolitrażowych - BOSMAL. The monospace body was at that time a novel idea. In 1981 the design team led by Wiesław Wiatrak started work on the Beskid 106. In 1982 their construction plans were complete and they started working on the first prototype that was presented in the spring of 1983. The body chracterized itself with a very good air resistance quotient Cx=0,29 - this led the Beskid to use only 3,9 liters of petrol per 100 km at a speed of 90 km/h.
So called political and economic reasons prevented serial production. 7 prototypes were created in the meantime. The communist government officials ordered all of them to be destroyed. The engineers disobeyed them, which is why the Beskid can be viewed at the Museum of Technology at the Warsaw Pałac Kultury i Nauki. The novel monospace body was patented. Unfortunately the funds to renew the patents ran out. Renault used this fact to develop their Twingo. They waited, however with the market intriduction until the patents ran out definitively.
