The Renault Twingo has undergone a serious transformation since its inception in the early 1990's. From solely being a budget-conscious runabout, The Twingo has since seen the recent addition of a souped-up RenaultSport model, a very similar retro-inspired Gordini-flavoured variant, and now the addition of a two-seater CC dubbed the Renault Wind.
Destined to go head to head with the likes of Peugeot's 207 CC, the Wind shares its platform and much of its front-end styling with the standard Twingo. Renault is keen, however, to further differentiate the Wind from its Twingo brethren by gracing the CC with a number of model-specific touches to the cabin, including trim and features borrowed from models higher up in the range.
Unlike its Lion-badged rival, the Wind does not utilise a conventional hinged-folding roof arrangement, the Wind makes use of a central pivoting system similar to that of the Ferrari 575 Superamerica. The logic behind this unconventional system is that it frees up more bootspace than the folding arrangement. In the case of the wind, bootspace stands at 270 dm³, roughly 40 dm³ more than that of the conventional Twingo, and the car itself is 230 mm longer at 3 830 mm.
Two petrol engines will be offered; a 16-valve version of the model's 1,2-litre unit developing 70 kW and the 98 kW 1,6-litre engine lifted from the RenaultSport model. Despite the Wind playing host to the most powerful engine available to the Twingo, there are no plans afoot to intrduce a RenaultSport or Gordini-based variant.
More details will emerge when the Wind makes its Geneva début alongside its bigger brother, the new Mégane CC.
Cute little beach buggy type vehicle. Nice.
