Twingo Run 2003

This letter was received by us after the Twingo Run 3 from Stephen Dew.
Stephen on his first event in his Twingo Initiale was declared the overall winner at the Maesmawr Hotel Newtown. We feel that some information might be of interest to prospective purchasers of Renault Twingo.

Taith Twingo 3 – Having fun in Wales in a big little Renault

In July, ten years ago a French manufacturer launched a new car, the like of which had never been seen before. Now you could always rely on Citroen to produce something advanced and unusual and the French generally speaking always could add some distinctive style, but no this was Renault., and what they gave the world was the Twingo. It was basically a Renault 5 with a cute mono-space body – an Espace that had been put in with the boil wash. It was love at first sight!
The magazines of the time raved about the little car, with its bold colours, loud seat fabric and peppermint green switch gear. It had no conventional dash display, just a row of idiot lights directly in front of the driver and a digital speedo display in the centre below the windscreen. What the Patrick Le Quement designed car did have was interior space – loads of it, including a back seat that not only folded in normal hatchback fashion but that also slid for and aft through several inches at the pull of a handle, given small boot large rear leg room or large boot and less leg room. It was claimed that with the rear seat right back and the fronts set for a six footer the Twingo had a fraction more interior space than the top of the range Safrane.
With its cute smiley faced look and the practicality of its clever packaging is was an instant success in France and the rest of Europe. However the compactness of the package meant that it wasn't economically viable to engineer the Twingo in right-hand drive and so, unfortunately it was never offered for sale here.
Being based on the last Renault 5, the Twingo is mechanically unburstable. For the first three years Twingos were powered by the 53bhp, 1239 cc four cylinder engine from the Five. That was replaced in 1996 with the smoother revving 55bhp 1149cc engine from the Clio. All Twingos except the 16 valve option still use this engine.
Power steering became a standard fitment on the luxury Initiale version with wider alloy wheels, air-conditioning and leather trim.
The ride is typically Gallic, orientated towards comfort and refinement yet with enough grip in the corners to allow keen drivers to make enthusiastic progress. The Twingo has gone through a few of updates since its launch. Many experts consider the best car is the Twingo 2 built after 1998, when build quality, trim, and carpets were improved.
Well the old Ford advert claimed that the Capri was the car you had always promised yourself, but not me. I vowed I'd have a Twingo.
Although I can remember scanning the adverts in the back of Autocar, there were always one or two for sale usually by The Enthusiastic Welshman", who I had pictured as some mythical Twingo fanatic. I never had the money when I saw one in a colour I liked or had just recently bought something else so wasn't in the market.
It then occurred to me that I had never been in one let alone driven one and that I might not actually like it when I did, as was the case with the Porsche 911, but that's another story. I took the opportunity whist on holiday in Gran Canaria back in '96 to hire one to explore the island for the day.
The complex next to where I was staying had a couple of hire ones but when I turned up bright an early they had both been hired out. Not to be out done I knew there was a car rental shop in a small precinct nearby so of I trotted. This precinct was three levels with a 'Supermercado' in the basement and car parking in the top level. In the car rental shop I asked if they had a Twingo for hire, which they duly did. The obliging Carlos filled out the paperwork, processed the credit card and presented me with a key which was fobbed "Twingo" and its registration number. "It's in bay 24" said Carlos, pointing in the direction of the stairway outside the shop.
Indeed the Twingo was in bay 24. It was bright shocking pink! But boy was it fun, I fell head over heals in love with it, even struck lucky when I went back to it after stopping for lunch up in the mountains, which led to a very pleasant dinner and breakfast….another story that can be told another time!. I vowed I'd have a Twingo by Christmas.
It was July 2001, and several cars later before I bought a Twingo. A green 1995 car with a full length fabric sunroof. I enjoyed a fun filled economical year with it before I was in a position to up grade to something else.
Looking around, there was nothing else that made sense other than a newer, higher spec'd Twingo. A web search returned "The Enthusiastic Welshman"!, so off whizzed a mail stating details of my Twingo, how much money I had and that I wanted the newest, highest spec I could get and did he have anything. He offered me an Almond Twingo Initiale, that was actually owned by his wife and the deal was done. So after all those years I did buy a Twingo from The Enthusiastic Welshman, or Dafydd Williams as he really is, or more accurately from his wife, Beryl.
Tilly Twingo, as she is known, has been an absolute joy, as much fun as my first Twingo but in more comfort!
Beryl sold her to me on the condition I took part in the next Twingo Run. This year's, the third one, has, like all the other been devised and referrin by Dafydd and based in beautiful North Wales, an area he knows intimately.
Dafydd, has been a life long motor trader and car fanatic, who rallied in his younger days and also supplied the Mini Mokes used in the TV series 'The Prisoner' which was set in Portmierion, near to where Dafydd and Beryl live.
This years Twingo Run, on Sunday May 18th, under the auspices of the Renault Owners Club, started from the Rhug Café Farm Complex' on the A5, north of Corwen and ended at the Maesmawr Hotel Caersws near Newtown Powys.
The route, carefully reconnoitered by Dafydd to a tenth of a mile, was a challenge to navigate and for added fun a separate sheet of cunning questions with just the elapsed mileage alongside meant that both navigator and driver would be kept fully occupied.
18 Twingos, respresenting all models, and a fair range of the body colours, lined up in the start field in the company of a Scenic, a 5GT turbo and a Clio Sport (and my 'old' green Twingo being used by Dafydd and Beryl as a course car). The Twingos had arrived from all over the country, including a gold right hand drive conversion from Scotland, complete with an avid boy photographer – you catch the Twingo bug young! And Annette from Germany, as last year, with her black and multi-coloured Twingo. Also present was a blue 16V on French plates from Paris. However it turned out the owner was studying in Birmingham and so had actually traveled less distance that I had!
The morning run took us towards Bala Lake, and the infamous Bwlch y Groes Pass where BMC used to test the Mini and other models in the 50's. Some challenging hills and stuning scenery later we were in Haffren Forest, scene of many a dramatic stage in 60s and 70s RAC rallies of Great Britain, winding our way up to the spectacular Clywedog Dam Wall for a much needed lunch break, having stopped on the way up to listen to the sound of silence – just the wind rustling in the far shore trees.
The morning had been plagued with several short sharp rain showers, as was the afternoon, which didn't really spoil either the enjoyment of the driving or the scenery thoughtfully saved it best for the lunch stop, so instead of a picnic lunch we all eat in the cars, parked in neat line alongside the roadway above the dam wall.
After lunch there was more unbelievable scenery and exciting driving, from wide expanses (a normal B road) to single track lanes with passing places diving and dipping through the country side, several tight uphill harpins were a challenge to one gear changing and muscle power (even with my Initiale's power steering), and a splendid fast open section along the Elan Valley on the way to another massive man made reservoir near Rhayader and several spectacular dam walls. The final stretch was via the A483, with in many wide harpins to the final control at the 16th century Maesmawr Hall Hotel, where the Twingo all posed, forming a guard of honour to the front door.
However far from having a well earned rest, Dafydd had devised a fined quiz as a sting in the tail – a challenging mix of general, motoring and Renault knowledge. Some of the questions leaving various crews staring open mouthed in despair!
Mother had done her best with the navigating and we didn't think we'd made any errors. On the run to final control we were reasonably confident that we'd answer the en route questions correctly and although some of the quiz questions had us stumped we gave it our best.
Then followed the final reckoning, with the quiz, the answers to the on route questions and the elapsed mileage taken into account Dafydd duly announced the winner as being someone on their first Twingo Run and who had brought their Twingo from him – It could be me! As to my surprise it was.
It was a lovely ending to an excellently organized and enjoyable run. Mother, Tilly Twingo and I will be back to defend out title next year….