Twingo Renaultsport 133 Cup

Renault has announced its cheapest-ever Renaultsport model, the new Twingo Renaultsport 133 Cup.

Stripped-down hot-hatch
The Twingo Cup is a stripped out version of the existing Twingo Renaultsport 133.

The Cup version loses air-conditioning and automatic headlights and wipers, while it gets a one-piece rear bench seat instead of separately sliding rear seats.

The reduced equipment list means that the Cup is about 10 kg lighter than the standard Twingo 133. It also results in a significant price saving over the standard car, with its 11,795 pricetag making it the cheapest Renaultsport model so far.

The Cup comes with sports suspension and 17-inch anthracite alloy wheels as standard. Buyers of the standard Twingo 133 can also specify the same 'Cup' suspension settings for 650, meaning that the new Cup is 1350 cheaper than a Twingo 133 with the sports chassis.

'What we found with the Clio Renaultsport is that two-thirds of buyers go for the better equipped standard car, and out of those a third will specify the "Cup" chassis,' a Renault spokesman told us. 'We imagine that we'll be looking at very similar proportions between the standard Twingo 133 and the Cup.'

Renault also says that the Twingo Cup will offer the same performance as the standard Twingo 133, meaning the 133bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine propels it from 0-62mph in 8.7 seconds. It also has the same group 8 insurance rating.

The Twingo Renaultsport 133 Cup will go on sale at the start of October, with customer deliveries from November.