Renault Announces 2 Entry-Level Rally Cars

Renault has announced two Twingo based rally cars, meant to race in low-level rallying while still being good daily drivers. These are the Twingo RenaultSport R1 and Twingo RenaultSport R2.

They both come equipped with a four-cylinder 1.6L engine, putting out 160hp and 160nm of torque, 27hp more than the stock Twingo. The engine has been hooked up to a five-speed sequential gearbox with a dog clutch and wheel-mounted shifter (Not to be mistaken for paddle-shifters, the shifter is simply mounted to the steering column).

The exterior gets very little changes, just an optional roof mounted air intake as well as some new wheels.

The interior gets quite a few changes though. There are racing seats and harnesses, an LED instrument panel, roll cage, and racing wheel. There are also quite a few bits missing compared to the standard model, for the sake of saving weight.

The kit will cost about $40,000, but you need a standard Twingo to apply the kit to, which will set you back another $16,000 or so. Not too cheap if you ask me.

That’s why there’s the R1. The R1 is supposed to be a cheaper version of the R2 kit. They’ve removed some things like adjustable suspension and a limited slip differential to make it cheaper. Renault hasn’t released pricing on the R1 yet though.

Source: WorldCarFans

Renault launches first Gordini model

Well, as Igor wrote earlier, Renault was planning to revive the Gordini brand and now they’ve released their first model.

Renaultsport To Take Over Renault’s GT Range

Renault’s in-house tuner, as well as the division responsible for their Formula 1 team, Renaultsport, has taken up yet another task for their already busy schedule. They will now be responsible for the GT range.

One of the first projects they could be working on include a successor to the Renault Laguna GT. It is currently in production, but it isn’t going through very great success, and some areas of Europe aren’t getting it anymore, so a successor would make sense. Should be interesting to see what GT cars Renaultsport will come up with, they’re capable of some very good stuff.

Source: Autoblog

Renault Reviving the Gordini Badge

Peugeot may be killing off the GTI badge, but another French company, Renault, is reviving one of their badges, Gordini, and will be badging various hot hatches with it.

Rather than being completely new hot hatches, these will be Renaultsport cars, but with many personalization options, a bit like the Ferrari One-to-One program.

The first car to be released under this name will be the Twingo Gordini RS, based on the Renaultsport Twingo 133. This is presumably the car under the cover in the picture above. It will be revealed on November 25th, and will go on sale during the Spring of 2010. A Clio Gordini RS, based on the Renaultsport Clio 200 Cup, will follow a few months after.

Just a shame that these Gordini cars don’t come with some added performance.

Source: Evo