Renault revived their prestigious Gordini badge in 2010, and have since used it on several special editions of their hot Clio RS and Twingo RS hatcbacks. However, these featured nothing more than cosmetic upgrades and a price hike, without any performance gains.
Now, according to PistonHeads, which recently had a chat with Renault boss Carlos Tavares, we can bring you more positive news about a change of attitude that took place in the meantime.
Apparently, the Renault COO admitted that their revival of the Gordini brand was somewhat of a flop. He said that all future cars that are set to bare the blue badge will actually be race-derived hardcore models with real enthusiast-appeal. “Now what is forbidden is that we use the Gordini label on anything else other than extreme track versions or rally versions of RS [Renaultsport] cars,” he said.
It has not been directly specified which models could get this treatment, but the Twingo, Clio and Megane all seem like worthy recipients of extra performance-enhancing bits. To my understanding, this means that you will have RS, which will be the ‘base’ performance lineup, then there will be the ‘Cup’ designation, which means the vehicle is a cheaper, stripped out version of the regular RS, usually with some extra work done to enhance the chassis. After that, you will find the Gordini, which will be more like the RS is to Ford’s ST – if that makes any sense.
It seems that this is actually happening and should produce some interesting driver’s cars. Why? Because “that’s the rule,” according to Tavares.
By Andrei Nedelea
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