An urban runabout with a mid-mounted 3.5-litre V6 engine? It could only be a Renault.
Following in the tyre tracks of the outrageous Maxi 5 Turbo and Clio V6 comes Renault’s latest city car with a twist. It’s called Twin’Run and although, officially, it’s only a concept, according to the company it ‘previews the styling of a future Renault city car’.
The latest in Renault’s run of concept cars, Twin’Run is more racer than road car, though. It was given its world debut at the Monaco Grand Prix towards the end of May when Renault Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares – no mean racing driver himself – took it around the legendary street circuit.
Fittingly, a Clio V6 driven by current F1 star Charles Pic and a Maxi 5 Turbo with the celebrated rally driver Jean Ragnotti at the wheel joined him on track. Together the racy trio celebrated Renault motorsport history… as did the Renault-powered F1 cars from Infiniti Red Bull, Team Lotus, Williams and Caterham in the main event, of course.
Twin’Run has been built just like a racing car with a tubular chassis and a lightweight composite body, while its 320hp V6 heart is based on the engine from a Mégane Trophy racer. It is mounted ahead of the rear axle where the rear seats of the city car would be and is coupled to a six-speed sequential gearbox. Top speed is 250 kph with 0-100 kph taking just 4.5 seconds.
What’s it like to drive? According to Ragnotti, who helped fine tune the chassis: “(It’s) a sound car with a strong pedigree. It’s easy to control and you can feel straight away that it’s a sports car. It’s a worthy heir to the Maxi 5 Turbo.”
See more information on Renault’s website.
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