The dawn of the electric age is a time to rewrite paradigms, and Renault is absolutely crushing it. From bringing back the Renault 5 subcompact to announcing a 500-horsepower dual-motor rear-wheel-drive hyper-hatch, the brand is churning out some of the most exciting cars in Europe right now, and it’s not done yet. The Renault Twingo, a favorite European hatchback of extremely online car people, is getting an electric reboot that’s edging closer and closer to production. In fact, it’s expected to hit showrooms in 2026, which means it’s about time Renault dropped an update. Well, here it is, and not only is this the first time we get to see what the new Twingo’s interior will mostly look like, it only fuels the desire for this reborn ’90s icon.
If you aren’t familiar with the Twingo, don’t worry. The original version of this European city car dropped for 1993 and instantly became a cult classic thanks to its smiley appearance and upbeat vibe. Just one look at this hatchback gives you the impression that’s is absolutely overjoyed to be a car, and since humans will anthropomorphize anything, the Twingo hit home as an emotional vehicle with a certain zest for life. While the second-generation and third-generation models enjoyed minor success, they didn’t hit quite as hard as the original. Thankfully, Renault seems to be returning to the model’s roots.
First unveiled in concept form during the 2023 auto show season, Renault has just given everyone a better glimpse of what the incoming Twingo will actually look like thanks to this prototype version here. The brand told British outlet Autocar that not only is this iteration a running, driving car instead of just some non-functional concept model, but that it’s “90%-ready” for production. Obviously, there are still some outlandish things here in concept-car tradition, but the bones look solid.
Let’s start on the outside, where changes from the initial show car lead to a far more production-like appearance. A lot of fanciful concept car thinking like the illuminated door handles, vent-free front fascia, and lack of quarter windows in the doors has disappeared, giving us a better look at what’s actually to come. Thankfully, most of the exterior tweaks are fairly subtle. The taillights adopt a closed D-shaped form, the wheel arch trims have been slimmed down considerably, the side mirrors appear to be larger, and that’s about as far as tweaks go.
The big story with this prototype is on the inside, where the incoming Twingo actually gets an interior that looks surprisingly feasible. Sure, the cork floor probably won’t make it to showrooms, but not only does the dashboard seem to sport all the controls you could want, it actually looks fairly produceable. Right off the rip, functionality seems alright, with a classic three-knob layout for adjusting climate control functions, a hazard light switch that looks like a boiled candy, and Renault’s current touchscreen infotainment system displayed on a normal rectangular touchscreen. Add in the presence of an actual rearview mirror, and this cockpit looks quite plausible for production.
Of course, that’s good, because there are some seriously funky elements going on here. The big swath of exterior color-matched dashboard trim is a great way of brightening up the space without resorting to expensive textiles. It’s cheap and cheerful, exactly as a car in this segment should be. What’s more, the body color trim theme continues on the door cards, which seems like a nod to the spartan door trims of the original Twingo. Speaking of ’90s nostalgia, how about colorful seat fabrics? While the patterns seen in the Twingo prototype adopt a more Frutiger Aero look, the odd splatter of color is greatly appreciated. Oh, and just like in the original Twingo, the rear seat slides to balance rear seat space with cargo space. Nice.
While the last Twingo shared its architecture with the third-generation Smart Fortwo, this one’s all Renault, riding on a chopped version of the AmpR Small platform seen underneath the reborn Renault 5. As a result, don’t expect mind-blowing performance, but do expect a starting price of less than €20,000. That’s pretty damn cheap for an electric car developed and expected to be built in Europe, and the sort of car we could use here in America.
There’s still a place for retro design provided it’s done right, and the march of time combined with 20-year trend cycles means that it’s about time we saw more ’90s-inspired designs hitting showroom floors. Although the reborn Renault Twingo will likely never make it to America, we’re still stoked to see it unfold.
(Photo credits: Renault)
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That’s 30-years.
Cobain’s been dead for 31 years.
But, I guess, that means I’ve to wait another 10 years to have a second chance to buy a new Honda Element.
Feel if the Renault/Nissan partnership hadn’t soured so much we could have gotten this as a new Versa Note/Micra. Who am I kidding, it still wouldn’t have sold in any meaningful quantities.
What about a 4th gen Smart car, or as an entry offering if Alpine shows up?
I would buy one of these in a heartbeat.
Looks gorgeous but that A-pillar is quite girthy.
As is the style of the time, feel like they could use some space age materials to have a strong thinner a-pillar but that costs the monies.
I only learned about these things from Shakira as a perjorative term for her ex’s new lady.
A small EV that I’d actually be interested in, and could probably afford? Of course it’s not going to be sold in the US.
I guess I’ll just have to stick with the original plan and eventually import a 90s Twingo. By eventually I mean probably never, because I already have 2 small friend-shaped cars, and don’t have room of any more, and neither of the ones I already have are going anywhere.
Keep in mind, with that price and size comes a small battery, and small range. I would be surprised if this thing can even do 200 miles on a charge which means it wouldn’t sell more than a dozen here.
That begs the question though, what “small friend-shaped cars” do you have??
I love it so much
I went to Paris in 2011, and I absolutely loved the Parisians attitude to parking. I saw two 1st gen Twingos parked with their bumpers INSIDE of each other.
That last line is always a heart breaker.
Tiny electric car, so I knew it going in, but it still stings every time. It would hurt less if that bit was at the beginning of the article instead of the end.
I mean that and the fact that Renault hasn’t sold a car in America in over 35 years.
I want it – Take my money!
Oh – Can’t have it in America.
Because it’s not 18 feet long, 8 feet high and 6 wheel drive…
Twelve yards long, two lanes wide
Sixty-five tons of American pride!
1 Highway.
0 City.
Except cars like this existed and nobody bought them. Did you buy a Smart Car? Or maybe a Scion iQ? the issue with t these cars is the American cross section of things a car has to do with them is much broader. and with prices of thing the way they are, having one vehicle for one thing and another for city driving is often cost prohibitive. I think it is something like a third of Europe fits in Texas alone.
Yeah, the Fit had a good run. The Fiesta did…okay, I guess. The obvious brands like VW didn’t even bother with the Polo here. I’ve always said that nobody really has a problem with those cars, but when you look around at our big roads and cheap gas, it doesn’t cost much more to buy twice as much vehicle. And we have almost zero disincentives against it…in fact, when everyone else’s cars are getting bigger, there comes a point where you’re almost dumb NOT to buy a larger car. And so it continues.
And re: cost, the prices for that crop of cars got ever closer to larger sizes. Nobody has a problem with the type of car like you said, but I’ll add to it and say they’re not typically seeking them out either. Price is the biggest motivator especially with finance-driven car sales. Civics and Corollas and such were more plentiful in inventories and had higher incentives to boot, so not much reason to get a Fit or Yaris unless you were specifically seeking it out. Not like they were meaningfully more efficient either.
If we had to pay at the pump for fuel rather than paying for half of it out of our taxes in the form of Big Oil subsidies – we’d all have smaller cars.
We’ve had eras where small cars did quite well, just not any recently. And the real problem with small cars is the average American’s cross section.
No – because I wanted more than two seats.
That didn’t prevent Peter Thiel from getting a SMART for his PA to run errands in tho…
(What a jerk)
Micro cars don’t make sense in the US. You can get something like a Trax for $22k. You can park that anywhere in the US, and can fit a lot of life into one without problems.
A microcar like the Smart or IQ has about 1/2 the useable space and would cost pretty much the same.
The Twingo is a possibility in the US with 4 seats and more room when the rear ones are folded down. As an EV, it might sell well if it has good range and costs about $22k like a Trax.
And we all know it isn’t going to be $22k.