So a while back, Ferrari made a rather trick version of their 550 Maranello, called the SuperAmerica. They resurrected the name form a 1960s model, but essentially, all it was normal 550. What was cool was that it was a power retractable hardtop. But rather than folding and stowing, the whole rook panel simply flipped over backwards. When it was up, it could be used as a sunroof thanks to photo chromatic glass and a knob that could darken or lighten the whole panel. Yeah, Like I said, slick
And now Renault is doing sort of the same thing with a TwingGo based sportster called Wind
Although the Wind will be a show car when it has its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in early March, it seems that the little two-seater is destined for production. It was first seen in various spy shots for years and was then known as the Twingo CC. When it hits showrooms, the Wind will go up against the likes of the Peugeot 207CC and Opel Tigra in Europe when sales start later in 2010
The Wind, based on the econo-box hatchback TwinGo is truly a two-seater model, there’s not even a jump seat back there. The Wind shares its platform and mechanical hardware with the Twingo, although it is, curiously, 230mm longer than the hatchback, coming in at an overall length of 3.830mm
And like the aforementioned Ferrari Superamerica, the Wind has an electric roof that rotates 180 degrees and drops onto the trunk lid. From top up to top down takes only 12 seconds, as long as the power retracting hardtop on Mazda’s MX-5 (Miata) takes. When fully back the roof sits on top of the boot, so the Wind’s luggage space remains at 270 liters, a nice feature for a car this small
Engine-wise, the Wind will be offered with two of the Twingo’s petrol mills, a 1.2-liter turbo with 100HP and a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter unit with 133HP
Could be a fun rental car for your next vacation in France, non
18-06-2011, 02:04 PM
Renault Wind, It’s Like A SuperAmerica For The French
