steve rs
13-10-2008, 02:15 PM
on the13th september,a number of renaultsport enthusiasts left for a trip to the renaultsport factory tour in dieppe.
the group was primarily made up of megane 225/230s(standard and remapped),clio 197s.................and me and my wife in a 1 week old twingo rs 133.the difference in power and performance was going to make the trip interesting as some of the meggys were pushing out 260bhp+!!!!.
on the trip down to dover(we met at jnct 15a on the m1)one thing that was apparent was that the twingo is not a bad motorway tool.engine noise,despite the low gearing,was pretty subdued,the main annoyance being tyre noise on some road surfaces.as the pace picked up because we were running behind schedule,even in 5th gear,a gentle press on the throttle saw the twingo accelerating eagerly.(we all had walkie talkies,and some of suprised comments brought a smile to our faces)
after meeting up with a few others on the way down,we eventually got to the speedferries port where we had our own line to park in.the sight of 15 renaultsports all parked up together drew more than a few complimentary remarks,with loads of photos being taken.
when we got off the ferry in boulogne,it was straight onto the autoroute,heading south.sunny,dry weather meant we could maintain a "good" cruising speed,keeping an eye out for speed cameras,and local cops as none of us wanted an expensive on the spot fine.again the twingo was holding its own.
after about 11/2 hours,we then turned off the autoroute,and headed onto some of frances excellent side roads,and things started getting interesting!
frances roads,quite frankly,put our road network to shame!excellently maintained,they allow good progress,and you dont have to keep looking for the deep potholes that will mangle your pride and joys wheels and tyres.reasonably quite by uk standards,it was great fun overtaking at every opportunity.the looks on the french drivers faces as one,then another,then another r/sport shot past was amusing.the meggys with their huge mid range torque made it look easy,followed by the clios using the barking mad acceleration between 5000- 8000 rpm.was the twingo off the pace?a little,but by no means as much as you would think.it was never left behind.
after a couple of days in dieppe,looking around the factory and the local area(lovely)it was time to head back to boulogne,but not using the autoroutes.the route taken was far more picturesque,taking us through some lovely unspoilt villages,where something happened which suprised everyone.
on seeing so many renaultsports in convoy,people would stop what they were doing,and wave and cheer at us!!!indeed EVERYWHERE we stopped,the locals came over to look,ask questions,and if possible have their photos taken with the cars.imagine that happening in dear old blighty.we would probably have been moved on for causing a disturbance.ffs.
back at the ferryport the same thing happened as on the way out,more questions,more piccys.
it was a great trip,seeing old friends again,and making new ones.some of the comments by people after they had tried the twingo for themselves....
"proper old school is that"
"thats got more grip than ive got courage"
"absolutely epic little car ,manic,f*****g love it"""
"thought you would struggle to keep up in that,now i can see why you didnt"
"proper renaultsport,you bet"
and they were all smiling like a cheshire cat!!!
the twingo has to date covered 3000 miles,and is getting nice and loose.the engine and exhaust is getting deeper(as it does on clio 197s with mileage),and the engine is getting more eager to go red line hunting.
this little motor deserves all the praise that has been lavished on it,and a great deal more .
anybody who buys one of these will not be disappointed,im sure.
steve
the group was primarily made up of megane 225/230s(standard and remapped),clio 197s.................and me and my wife in a 1 week old twingo rs 133.the difference in power and performance was going to make the trip interesting as some of the meggys were pushing out 260bhp+!!!!.
on the trip down to dover(we met at jnct 15a on the m1)one thing that was apparent was that the twingo is not a bad motorway tool.engine noise,despite the low gearing,was pretty subdued,the main annoyance being tyre noise on some road surfaces.as the pace picked up because we were running behind schedule,even in 5th gear,a gentle press on the throttle saw the twingo accelerating eagerly.(we all had walkie talkies,and some of suprised comments brought a smile to our faces)
after meeting up with a few others on the way down,we eventually got to the speedferries port where we had our own line to park in.the sight of 15 renaultsports all parked up together drew more than a few complimentary remarks,with loads of photos being taken.
when we got off the ferry in boulogne,it was straight onto the autoroute,heading south.sunny,dry weather meant we could maintain a "good" cruising speed,keeping an eye out for speed cameras,and local cops as none of us wanted an expensive on the spot fine.again the twingo was holding its own.
after about 11/2 hours,we then turned off the autoroute,and headed onto some of frances excellent side roads,and things started getting interesting!
frances roads,quite frankly,put our road network to shame!excellently maintained,they allow good progress,and you dont have to keep looking for the deep potholes that will mangle your pride and joys wheels and tyres.reasonably quite by uk standards,it was great fun overtaking at every opportunity.the looks on the french drivers faces as one,then another,then another r/sport shot past was amusing.the meggys with their huge mid range torque made it look easy,followed by the clios using the barking mad acceleration between 5000- 8000 rpm.was the twingo off the pace?a little,but by no means as much as you would think.it was never left behind.
after a couple of days in dieppe,looking around the factory and the local area(lovely)it was time to head back to boulogne,but not using the autoroutes.the route taken was far more picturesque,taking us through some lovely unspoilt villages,where something happened which suprised everyone.
on seeing so many renaultsports in convoy,people would stop what they were doing,and wave and cheer at us!!!indeed EVERYWHERE we stopped,the locals came over to look,ask questions,and if possible have their photos taken with the cars.imagine that happening in dear old blighty.we would probably have been moved on for causing a disturbance.ffs.
back at the ferryport the same thing happened as on the way out,more questions,more piccys.
it was a great trip,seeing old friends again,and making new ones.some of the comments by people after they had tried the twingo for themselves....
"proper old school is that"
"thats got more grip than ive got courage"
"absolutely epic little car ,manic,f*****g love it"""
"thought you would struggle to keep up in that,now i can see why you didnt"
"proper renaultsport,you bet"
and they were all smiling like a cheshire cat!!!
the twingo has to date covered 3000 miles,and is getting nice and loose.the engine and exhaust is getting deeper(as it does on clio 197s with mileage),and the engine is getting more eager to go red line hunting.
this little motor deserves all the praise that has been lavished on it,and a great deal more .
anybody who buys one of these will not be disappointed,im sure.
steve