Renault has revealed a sporty version of its rear-wheel-drive city car, the Twingo, in Europe.

The new Renault Twingo GT's design is inspired by the Twin’Run Conceptof 2013 which, in turn, channelledthe spirit of other rear-wheel drive compact Renaults of the past, such as the R5 Turbo and Clio V6. The new Twingo GT is a little tamer but still has plenty of sporty styling cues.

Under the bonnet of the Twingo GT is the 898cc turbo engine that does duty in the Clio. Its power output has been pushed up a little to deliver 82 kW with 170 Nm of torque on tap. The boost in power comes courtesy of a revised air intake system and some clever engine mapping. The Twingo GT also gets slightly different gearing to try and enhance its sporty demeanour.

Providing some visual pep are 17-inch wheels, lateral air intakes, twin exhaust tailpipes and new orange body colour.

The Twingo GT will make its first appearance at the Goodwood festival of Speed later in June 2016. The Twingo shares a platform and much of its character with the Smart ForFour and ForTwo whichare on sale in SA currently and which we drove earlier this year. This Twingo GT is unlikely to ever go on sale in South Africa, but it does hint at the possibility thatSmart may be open to bringing a more powerful version of the ForTwo to South Africa or even to a special Brabus edition.

Find a used Renault Twingo in South Africa