Renault Twingo

The Renault Twingo is a city car built by French automaker Renault, first presented at the Paris Motor Show in September 1992 and sold in continental European markets beginning in 1993. The second generation Twingo was launched in summer 2007. The "Twingo" name is a portmanteau derived from the words "Twist", "Swing" and "Tango". The original Twingo was launched in April 1993 and was sold in Europe until June 2007, in left-hand drive markets only. The Twingo was designed under Patrick le Quément, Renault's chief designer. Le Quément's belief was that it was a greater risk for... Renault to take no risks at all, having seen its market share suffer from cars such as the Renault 9 and 11. The design of the Twingo resembles that of the 1982 Polish prototype Beskid, from which its monobox silhouette is claimed to be derived. Renault took the design when the Polish company making the Beskid, FSM, didn't extend the patent on the cars. However, Renault participated in the 1981-1984 'Mono-Box' ECO 2000 car project along with PSA Peugeot-Citroën and the French government.
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