Renault Twingo RS from Renaultsport

Renault today unveiled its new 133bhp Twingo RS in Paris - with a little help from F1 stars Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jnr, who were in town for the launch of their R28 F1 car.

The Twingo RS has a naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine that produces 20bhp more than the 1.2-litre turbo of the Twingo GT. There are cosmetic differences between the two cars as well, such as extended front and rear wings, a rear spoiler and a lower front bumper on the RS.

'People want to have emotion,' said Renault president and CEO Carlos Ghosn. 'They want to imagine driving an F1 car and they want to have fun. The Twingo RS will give them the emotion they want.' We agree with the sentiment, we can't imagine many drivers confusing their Twingo for the R28.

The Twingo RS will go on-sale in the autumn with a price tag between £12-£13k. In the meantime, it won’t be seen again in public until the Geneva Motor Show in March 2008.