In an interesting twist of big manufacturer relationships, the next Twingo will be developed alongside the new Smart by Daimler and Renault, and it could be rear-wheel driven.
These days, small city cars all city cars feature front-mounted engines and are front-wheel driven – except the Smart. Among the reasons manufacturers tend to shy away from rear-wheel drive powertrains in city cars are the hindrance to interior space imposed by a rear-wheel propshaft, while sending torque to the rear entails an energy loss – and, consequently an increase in fuel consumption.
However, Daimler has been building the rear-engined, rear-wheel-driven, Smart city car for almost 20 years. It’s a similar concept to rear-wheel drive, but with the whole package sitting at the rear. The Daimler/Renault co-development scheme for their respective city cars means there’s a good chance that the next Twingo will be a rear engine/drive offering.
As expected, Renault is tight-lipped regarding the new car, which will only be officially unveiled at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.
Renault is no stranger to rear-engined cars. One of the hot hatch highlights of the early 2000s was Renault Clio V6, a car with serious pace and mini-super car styling.
We won’t bet against the possibility of a Twingo RS, either. It will probably be a turbocharged derivative of some sort while the Clio’s 898 cm3 (66 kW/135 N.m) will definitely be part of the standard engine line-up.
More details should emerge next month, but in the meantime check out the two videos below to see the next-gen Renault Twingo from all angles.
