VIDEO: Tiny Renault Twin’Run concept mid-engined hatchback could pack big power

By Stephen Edelstein May 27, 2013

Renault has surprised us with some fairly epic cars over the past few months, from the sporty Alpine A110-50 to the hilarious Twizy Renault Sport F1. So it’s not surprising that the French carmaker decided to build a micro rally car.

The Twin’Run is not only the second car in recent memory to have an apostrophe in its name (Top Gear fans know the other one), but it’s also inspired by the Renault 5 Turbo and Clio V6, two lunatic mid-engined hatchbacks that actually made it to production.

Like those cars, the Twin’Run is mid-engined (more on that later), and its roughly the size of Renault’s Twingo city car. Picture a French Fiat 500, and you’ve got the idea.

However, the Twin’Run was styled to evoke the 1970s Renault 5, aka Le Car. Despite the latter’s egregious reputation as a lemon in the United States, the Le Car Le Styling will reportedly show up on the third generation Twingo, giving it more of the stuff it needs to compete with the 500 and Opel/Vauxhall Adam.

We hope the production Twingo uses the same 3.5-liter V6 as this concept. It produces 320 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, which is way more than enough for such a tiny car.

There’s also the unparalleled novelty of a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive hatchback. Power is sent to the back wheels through a six-speed sequential transmission and limited-slip differential, getting the Twin’Run to 62 mph (100 kph) in 4.5 seconds, and on to a top speed of 155 mph.

If the racing numbers and rally lights weren’t enough of a clue, the interior makes the Twin’Run’s sporting intentions clear. The front seats are Sparco buckets, and the engine sits where the rear seats normally go. An LCD gauge cluster serves as a combination speedometer/tachometer/oil and fuel pressure gauge.

There are analog temperature gauges too, along with an emergency fuel cutoff, but that’s it.

Renault has built mid-engined hatchbacks before, but it doesn’t intend to put the Twin’Run into production. Not that it matters: Renaults aren’t sold in the United States at all.

Still, it’s nice to know Renault’s designers are still using their imaginations. Check out the video below:

Would you put a Twin’Run in your driveway, if you could? Tell us in the comments.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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