Numbers don’t lie. But they can sometimes obscure.
Additional words: Eóin Doyle. All Images © Jean-Marie Souquet via Patrick le Quément.
A nod might well be as good as a wink to a pony on raceday, but a smile, as may be witnessed daily at the Louvre, can be enigmatic. Despite the Renault President’s encouraging response to the Twingo prototype, Patrick le Quément knew better than anyone that the quest for official approval had only just begun.
The team behind the Twingo
Although President Lévy elected to continue with the Twingo project, it nevertheless gained a curious status. It was never given a go-ahead as such, but more to the point, its remission of prolonged life saw it installed in the condemned quarters.
Lévy however played his trump card with the appointment on January 5 1989 of the brilliant ‘out of the box’ Project Director, Yves Dubreil. We worked like fiends to get the project on rails. I had a really good team: Jean-François Venet[1] was in charge of Advanced Design and, Alain Jan was named project manager. Jean-Pierre Ploué[2] had designed the original exterior model, so he was naturally confirmed, but he seemed to be struggling to come up with an cohesive front end design.
Help was sought from a group of designers, including Thierry Metroz, who came up with a hard-edged geometric proposal, based on half circular headlamps that pierced the hood like metallic cylinders. But it was far too mechanical looking, I felt. Time was running out.
I would normally have never considered doing this as a matter of principle, but we were in a deep crisis, and so, one morning I brought a front-end sketch that I prepared of what was to become the Twingo smile into the studio. Alain Jan and Jean-François Venet had it modelled, and we spent hours making it look like a cute, friendly pet. The pet that would eventually smile at Raymond Lévy and make him melt.
At the same time the interior story was powering ahead. We developed two instrument panels, both identical in design language, but one had centrally located digital instruments (what the hell ! let’s go all the way into modernity). The design was carried out with great flair by a designer named Gérard Gauvry, under the supervision of Piero Stroppa who headed Interior Design.
At this time, the only monospace designs in production were large MPVs, and while the advantages of these vehicles were obvious, applying the principle to a very small car meant that the virtues of maximum cabin space within a reduced package would become even more apparent.
We exploited every potential cubic centimetre of space inside the car, and imagined how to adopt a new highly cost-effective feature developed from the VBG programme, a clever and practical sliding bench seat but this time, with individual seat backs that could be folded, enabling maximum flexibility. It also had a genial feature that, when the tailgate was open you could slide forward the seat, thus increasing the boot space. What we also did, was to imagine the interior with a lot of exposed sheet metal but to ensure those areas would create an impression of design intent and not a cost cutting operation.
Twingo’s colourful world
The story behind the unusual colour and trim was to be found in the name we had given the car internally within Design; “La Voiture du Bonheur” (the car of happiness), and to us, happiness meant colour. We accepted the initial idea to reduce complexity, offering one interior only and four exterior colours. I had gone out on a limb and refused the inclusion of white, the most popular market offer in France at the time. We continued on the interior with the colourful switch gear, and the joyful look of all the components.
I got Raymond Lévy accustomed to colour by wearing jackets that were identical to the proposed colour themes. He had qualms with the purple, but I recalled that Jewish people consider this colour to be associated with death and funerals. But we really liked that colour, hence we waited a while and then, during the President’s visit, I showed him the new colour collection which was unchanged, but the purple was now called Bleu Outremer: Sea Blue. He approved with a smile, but I know that he knew, and he knew that I knew that he knew!
Model approval
Model approval was planned to take place in July 1989, but beforehand a market research clinic had taken place and the results were to be presented in a preparatory meeting to an assembly of senior management representatives, at a level just below the members of the Executive Committee.
Present were: Product Planning, Engineering, Design, Marketing, Finance and the Project Director Yves Dubreil. The results were alarming to some, but I found them to be most encouraging. They were as follows: 25% just loved the car, were absolutely ecstatic about its looks, thought it was the best thing since the invention of baguettes. Another 25% said ‘well yes, it’s very nice but I certainly don’t want to be the first kid on the block to have one’ and another 50% said, ‘over my dead body!!’
It is an oft-stated expression that success has many parents, but that failure is an orphan. However, despite certain revisionist latter-day accounts, the design that would win the hearts of multitudes had only one champion.
The response from the assembly was unanimous. “The culprit is the front end, it’s not serious enough, so let’s wipe the smile off this car!” Not one of those present defended the front-end, nobody except myself. At best, the new head of Product Planning, Jacques Cheinisse (known as ‘The Great Sphinx’), maintained his silence, most likely preparing a later intervention but his project manager, Rémy Deconinck recommended major surgery. This was also very much the position of Yves Dubreil, the Project Director, who wanted above all to make the change so as not to condemn the project at the next management meeting.
I was alone, yet absolutely certain that we had something special. We had a car that 25% of the public we had interviewed had fallen irredeemably in love with, and that to me represented a very big market potential.
When one’s back is against the wall, one is faced with a choice: acquiesce or box clever. A battle-hardened veteran of Ford and VW, this was by no means Patrick le Quément’s first serious conflict over creative direction. Capitulation was not an option, not while there was one more hand to play.
I always appreciated ad-man, David Ogilvy’s much employed observation: “Most companies use market research as a drunkard uses a lamppost, more for support rather than illumination.” And thus, after that rather disturbing meeting, I left for a long, lonely, extended weekend in the South of France. On my return however, I sent a small hand written note (this was before internet, you understand) to the president, Raymond Lévy.
I wrote: “Monsieur le Président, I think the biggest risk for the company is not to take any risk. I ask you to make a choice for an instinctive design rather than extinctive marketing”. The future was in his hands… He sent back my note onto which he had written: “I totally agree with you, my dear Director, let’s go ahead”.
We had done it!
o0O0o
[1] Jean-François Venet was a former Opel and GM designer, and by the way, creator of that wonderful dream car, the Opel GT III.
[2] Jean-Pierre Ploué now heads the European half of Stellantis Design.
In the next episode, Patrick looks at the Twingo’s innovative advertising campaign and reflects on its announcement and reception.
Good morning, Patrick and thank you for today’s story. The Twingo is one of those cars that indeed has a face. Had I designed it (heaven forbid) It would have had the more geometrical face, similar what Thierry Metroz did. It would been made of unpainted aluminium; there would have been wool upholstery in a muted tone with leather accents. It would have a customer base of one, I reckon.
I always thought the monospace made most sense in a small car. Maybe this is because I personally don’t have the need for a bigger MPV. The monospace design, movable rear seat and cuteness are for me the highlights of the Twingo.
The Twingo still splits opinions. A friend and I spotted a flawless white Twingo the other day and he mentioned how it hadn’t aged. I could only agree. Then there’s this you woman I vaguely know. About a year ago her stepdad gave her a car. She could have a Peugeot 106 or a Twingo. She doesn’t like the Twingo at all. When I heard that, I liked her less than before.
Hello,
This friendly face is a natural option for a small car, certainly not appropriate for a large sedan and I have no regret to have fought this battle!
As for the white body colour, I insisted for many, many years, that we should not offer white, as I knew that a majority would go for it and therefore lessen the impact of the car!
That’s funny, Patrick. Back in the day there was a saying among car salesmen in The Netherlands: ‘met een witte, blijf je zitte(n)’. If you translate this it would say something like: ‘you’re stuck with a white one’. Back in the day people didn’t like white cars, apparently.
Our dear Director, La Voiture du Bonheur
Hi Patrick,
I’m British. My late father had a good Francophile run towards the end of his motoring journey. He owned two Citroën BXs and then an early two litre Xantia, which was a company car and by far the most expensive and luxurious vehicle we’d ever had. My late mother cried when he retired and the Xantia had to go.
He chose to replace it by spending his own money on a mark 1 Renault Mégane five door hatchback in a lovely burgundy red. I think it speaks a lot for the quality of the design of that car that it didn’t feel like a step down from the Xantia, even though it was a size class below. Indeed, my mother also cried when “Megan” (of course she had Anglicised the name) left us!
Although this delightful series is about the Twingo, I’d like to thank you for the sterling work that you and your team did on the Mégane. I was always impressed by the way the first two generations intelligently and harmoniously offered a range of body styles under a single nameplate.
I’d have loved to have owned a Twingo, but as you know sadly they were never offered in right-hand drive.
I believe that the three different series of Mégane were I held the design responsibility were all of interest but, the one I particularly love is the second generation.!
Thanks again, Patrick and Eóin, for this great story. Well done, Patrick, for sticking to your guns regarding the Twingo’s front-end design, without which it would have been much the poorer.
My only regrets are that the original Twingo never made it to RHD markets and was replaced prematurely by an inferior design. With the sort of marketing that has kept the Fiat 500 in production (new, bold colours, special editions etc.) it coukd have had a much longer life. That said, perhaps doing so would have undermined the purity and simple charm of the original?
I understand your regret that the Twingo was not made available in RHD, but, had we done that, it would’ve resulted in an overall lengthening of the body and cost a lot more money for Renault which, at the time was close to bankruptcy.
The Twingo 1 lived all of 15 years, which is normally the equivalent of 2 generations of cars.
My goodness, I hadn’t realised that it had remained in production that long. It never dated, looking as fresh as when new after fifteen years.
Hello Patrick. Can understand the precarious financial position Renault was in at the time made it difficult to justify a RHD Twingo, why however would adding a provision for the Twingo to be made in both LHD and RHD have resulted in an overall lengthening of the body? By how much would the Twingo have needed to be lengthened by had it been approved?
Recall looking at the Twingo’s then contemporary city car rivals cramped rear seats years ago, noting how badly they fared thinking against the Twingo’s space efficiency and movable rear seat.
Was the Twingo one of the potential candidates to use the projected 1.2 dCi type D9F diesel engine before it was abandoned in favour of the 65 hp 1.5 dCi K9K? Cannot help but imagine the projected figures of the 1.2 dCi D9F motor not being too far removed from that of the 1.2-litre TDi used in the VW Lupo & Audi A2.
Thank you for this inspirational and uplifting account series of the birth of the original Twingo, Patrick.
“He who dares, wins” or so the saying goes- while this does not always ring true in the real world, I wonder what would have happened if you had never sent that little note to your président….or if he had not had the guts to go along with you. We might still have gotten a Twingo, but it is doubtful if it would have been as strong and timeless a statement.
I was extremely lucky to have arrived in Renault where the company was close to bankruptcy and Président Lévy chose to listen to an outsider he had hired rather than continue to favour the old school…
Thanks Patrick for a story that’s certainly inspiring yet, in view of history, also somewhat depressing.
In 2007, the characterful and popular Renault Twingo was succeeded by a rather unmemorable car.
In 2008, the characterful and popular Ford Ka was succeeded by a rather unmemorable car.
In 2010, the characterful and popular Nissan Micra was succeeded by a rather unmemorable car.
If not the last laugh, I guess that the ‘serious’ always have the final mirthless chuckle as they make the rest of the world as dull as themselves.
The Toyota Century may become an SUV in its next iteration.
It’s already here, Richard, recently unveiled:
https://i.imgur.com/OrnyDz8.jpeg
It looks rather similar to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, but I guess there’s only so much you can do with a big, two-box SUV.
Point taken and I’m afraid you are right!
But returning to being positive, 15 years is a damn good run!
And I really like the story about the colour co-ordinated jackets.
Regarding the colourful jackets, it was not so easy…as I tended to be rather discreet having heavily invested in being a serious fellow, having gone as far as continuing my studies doing an MBA, being punctual and not easily categorised as an artist! But the investment did pay off!
I’m sorry, but I don’t think it is reasonable to compare the original Twingo with the first gen. Ka or the third gen. Micra, though I would agree that none of these models had competent replacements.
Daniel: I wasn´t aware it was for real. They´ve lost a customer – I will not buy one. Since Toyota don´t make the Century to make money, could they not have carried on the saloon and also made the SUV. I was president of Sony I would not want to rove around in something as aggressive as the SUV.
Although I agree Richard, can we ask the question if (although obviously influenced the Cullinan) the Century doesn’t carry off the luxury SUV thing better that the Rolls-Royce? I was going to write that it’s more discreet, but in that world I guess that isn’t really a plus
You don’t tell us why not, Mervyn. I certainly view them as characterful and fun small cars that followed the precedent of what an interestingly-designed 1990s car could be that was set by the Twingo.
“I don’t think it is reasonable to compare the original Twingo …”
I’m not sure I was comparing the cars directly, though they are all small cars that in varying degrees were styled to have a certain cuteness (for want of a better adjective). But my point is that, whatever degree of style they possessed, and having built up credit with the names, that was all allowed to evaporate with their successors.
Daniel, to my eyes that Century SUV lacks the understated grace of the previous saloon designs. Arguably the rearmost pillar could be seen as a reprise of the saloon’s, but that’s being very tenuous (and kind?). Understatement was the calling card of the Century, luxurious anonymity. Has Japanese society changed that much, or will this latest of that name be a flop?
Which brings me to a question: Can an SUV be graceful? I’m trying to think of one -or do the proportions mitigate against grace?
Apologies to M. le Quément; we’ve gone so far off topic, from the lovely classic Twingo to – this.
I think the Century SUV is hideous. I honestly expected better of Toyota (clutches pearls).
I’d nominate the Ferrari Purosangue as coming closest to being graceful. Ferrari really do have some good designs at the moment. Daft name, though.
This period seems like a high-water mark for the mid-resolution marker drawing. I have in mind the blue and red drawings that show the main surface character while also luring in the eye with the deep contrasts and richly saturated colour. You can really read the car from these in a way, I feel, that Photoshop images don´t. They always seem to be flatter in one sense and also noisier. The simple pen sketch of the front end is a clear demonstration of what can be done with a sheet of A4 and a black pen. I tend to favour Caran d’Ache ballpoints (as used by the Swiss post office). I think the drawing shown here is a fine-liner (pencil maybe) and it is very clear about what´s happening. I would imagine a clay modeller would have little trouble making it and if the designer were to see the result would not be shocked by any interpollation. Thinking back to my agonised days as a car design MA student, my life would have been a lot easier if I had known how much information can be so easily communicated short of doing a 4 hour marker rendering.
I’m not keen on photoshop even if, that’s what I get fed constantly…
What I admire about the marker drawings is that they depict a real, properly proportioned car, not a fantasy. Maybe the tyres are a bit too low-profile, but it shows you the Twingo you’d see on the road. Even a number plate is included – they’re often conveniently ignored in concept sketches, but they are unavoidable and can spoil a design if not handled well.
Fantastic! Another insightful and entertaining article. I enjoy reading the design journey towards giving the Twingo character, a face, introducing colour to enliven the interior, and the care taken to ensure that owning and driving the car will always be a pleasure. I used the Twingo as an example of design being used to enhance user experience in a positive manner, in my Industrial Design degree dissertation, back in 1994……..seems like a lifetime ago now! We’d met with Jony Ive (pre-Apple) the year before, who had given us an insightful tutorial on user experience, and how its not just functionality, or cost that makes a great product (or car) – its how it makes you feel when you use it – and as designers you can make a conscious decision to make that experience a pleasurable one, or a misery……modern designers take note!
The user experience is still not taken seriously but I feel it´s non-designers that are the largest part of the problem. User input is required at all parts of the design process so that nothing gets left out or put in that touches the user´s experience of the product. This takes a bit of time and involves getting in contact with users at several junctures. This takes time and often managers and some designers think they can second-guess the user.
Couldn’t agree more with Jony Ive, design is a total package user experience and functionality and empathy and character and…as Walter Gropius said « the mission of the designer is to instill a soul into the product, stillborn from the machine ».
Thank you very much, both, for this insight in one of the most charming cars to have appeared relatively recently (only the Peugeot 107/Citroën C1/Toyota Aygo triumvirate and at a stretch the VW Up spring to mind from more recent times as such complete packages as it were, there have been lots of cars with some amount of charm to them). That is intelligence: understanding that 25% sounds dire (only a quarter of the market!), but actually has lots of potential (imagine cornering fully one quarter of the market!) and then sticking to your guns. I love it. I’m also fairly certain that any other design would have diminished the Twingo.
Pedantic note (I’m autistic, so I get stuck on details, then go off on tangents…): doesn’t “outremer” mean “overseas”? I noticed because I enjoy (casually, I’m no historian) reading about history and “outremer” used to be one of the names of the Crusader states in the Near East (talk about a political hornets’ nest, so let’s just leave it at that) and one of the Medieval chronicles about that period was called “Histoire d’Outremer”, which I always thought sounded wonderfully exotic. I haven’t actually read the “Histoire”, only read about it. Again, leaving aside politics, because wonderful it most certainly was not and fortunately attitudes towards that time have changed dramatically. There, told you I go off on tangents…
Pedantic note noted, Tom. I’m also autistic, and something of a history nut, along with a word nut, music nut and car nut…. And aren’t we good at tangents? I’m in a local writers’ group, and given a theme topic I’ll inevitably take it where nobody was expecting. 🙂
Good evening Peter.
“…given a theme topic I’ll inevitably take it where nobody was expecting.”
That would make you eminently well qualified to write for DTW! (which, tellingly, my Google keyboard always insists on correcting to ‘BTW’…)
Ah, I admire people who can write stories, or even novels (I work at the archive of our national museum of literature – many, many letters). I can never get a coherent narrative together, too many tangents… Conversations do tend to go in (for others) unexpected directions, though 🙂.
Thank you Daniel. But I have a progressive neural disease which affects my limbs, and makes typing an exercise fraught with frustration and corrections. And mistakes, for which DTW (sadly, or should that be amusingly?) has no Edit function. I’m forever hitting wrong keys; somehow I’ve disabled quite a few functions along the way, requiring the aid of the family to do periodic resets. Don’t know where that autocorrect got to; somehow I seem to have banished it to the uttermost parts!
I’m writing a fortnightly series for Curbside Classic at the moment (on model cars, which is easy for me), and really can’t mentally take on anything extra. Considering the level of scholarship and the research you guys put in, I feel I’d be somewhat out of my depth. But thank you, very much.
And Tom, what a marvellous place to work, where love of words meets love of history! Just ideal. I’ve been writing fiction for about fifteen years now, after having read a truly abysmal novel, and being challenged to do better.
Outremer, you’re 100% correct on the meaning of overseas. I just had a moment’s confusion when I read you and that is I am in Mauritius, and I was this afternoon in the town of Sant Louis, looking at Outremer catamarans in the harbour, and for a moment I feared that I had written by mistake on this subject in DTW. For you see, I am the exterior designer of all Outremer sailboats, and there’s more than 30 of them here…
It’s wonderful reading these stories – the “Bleu Outremer” part made me laugh out loud. Making people feel comfortable and allowing them to save face in arguments is so important.
Looking at the Twingo, the monospace concept seems so right. I wonder why it hasn’t been copied more widely, especially for smaller vehicles.
A quick question for Patrick – you mentioned that the Twingo would’ve needed to be made longer for RHD; why was that?
Charles Hello,
I seem to recall it was to do with steering gear and gear box…but honestly it’s so long ago but I do remember that we faced an impossibility. Sorry not to be more precise.
Looks like it was produced a bit more than 15 years.
According to Wikipedia it was made in Colombia until 2012.
Thank you Mr. le Quèment for yet another fascinating chapter in this series. I love the anecdote about the colorful jackets; it shows great understanding of human nature. Finding jackets that matched the Twingo colours was probably not easy, despite it being the late 80s/early 90s which was a rather colorful period, fashion wise.
By the way, the green/teal key and switches blew my mind when I first saw them on that Twingo I drove during my summer 1993 internship at Renault Venezuela. Such an original touch! But… at the same time, I thought they might also get soiled from use rather too easily.
Speaking of colours and regarding your refusal of white for the Twingo, Peugeot on the current 208 did something similar, although using a different approach, by offering a lovely metallic mustard yellow called “Jaune Faro” as the only standard, non-extra cost colour. The result being an inordinate number of yellow 208s on the streets, which I think is great!
Stylingrad, a formula model and tangerine jacket – Genius, PLQ!
And the Twingo story ain’t bad, either
Brilliant!
A delightful article mr. Patrick for a very special car! Always a pleasure reading the inside stories.
I am very interested about the colour palette chosen for the Twingo. Most colours could still be seen today in a brochure, the fashion has turned its cycle or even more, they are so well chosen so that they are over and above the various trends.
A lot of “dull” colours are currently “in fashion, but that is about to change i think, with Stellantis FIAT stating that no more gray for their cars.
And mr. le Quèment, a final personal request: what do you think about a 1966 T1 VW BUS with Lichtgrau as its original colour? The time has come to decide if it stays original or if a “happier” two-tone more upmarket colour takes its place. Any thought would be mostly appreciated and greatly welcomed.
A bit late on my part but I cannot but answer your question.
Of course it’s always difficult to give a recommandation on colours but…either you remain faithful to the origin of the production exterior colour or, you take the plunge and make a bold step.
The vehicle is so special and full of nostalgic memories that I can hardly think straight! My choice would go for a tomato red + white. (I add for fun, tomato pronounced in the English manner, it goes without saying)
Motor1 published a short article about the Twingo today.
https://www.motor1.com/news/694213/renault-twingo-timeless-european-treasures/
Just yesterday I went to the cinema to watch a 2022 film called La Syndicaliste. Starring was Isabelle Huppert as Maureen Kearney, a trade unionist in a nuclear energy company. The film was very interesting as the free spirited and courageous Protagonist struggled through France’s political and financial corridors in order to support her union’s workers, getting her self assaulted and injured in the process.
But, guess what car she drove!: a Bleu Outremer Twingo! There were many scenes with the car taking part, showing its exterior and interior design features. I don’t know if that was the actual car M. Kearney drove, but I found that it expressed a deeper, more joyful inner character of her that was hinted out in the film, and fits perfectly with the english chosen
title: The sitting duck!
P. S. My sincere thanks to Mr. Patrick le Quément for answering and commenting my personal question about the T1’s colour. Now a family board meeting must take place.
P.S. 2 …and I know for sure what the kids are voting in favour of!
I gather that there’s a book about the Twingo coming next year. It’s by Twingo authority, Chris Williams. Also, YouTube channel, idriveaclassic, has just reviewed the mk1 Twingo. It came across as a refined, ‘focused’ car, rather than a basic, cut price one.
https://www.instagram.com/twingotalk/?hl=en
A French company is preparing to sell electric cars based on recycled/reconditioned Twingo 1:
https://www.lormauto.eu/web/image/2047-ea10b22b/lormauto-twingo-mondial-auto.jpg
https://www-lormauto-eu.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Very interesting company with a correct attitude towards sustained mobility. Some concerns about safety features surely come into question but I must delve deeper into the info of their website.
Should point out though that the Twingo’s chosen colour is a misshab, it does not enhances the donor car’s “energy” potential.
Hi Constantinos, They need to do their marketing. It is just like with Alpina, I would not want their ugly stickers on my car, but at least I know who they are.
This is a very nice idea although, from this link, both poorly explained and marketed. As has been pointed out, the Twingo’s design is still very attractive, so disfiguring it with bad graphics is counter-productive. I’d also be concerned that, without significant investment, it would be hard to make the refurbishment and conversion process economical. Though I’d be very happy if this isn’t the case.
I remember that, with its galvanised structure and plastic bodywork, there was talk of recycling/refurbishing the original Renault Espace, though that came to nothing.
Yes, they look like engineering and functionality comes first. As for the design aspect of the conversion it can be marketed a bit latter. A sincere strategy, maybe not the best in the field but also not the worst out there.
To the mentioned question why the Twingo was not availlable as a RHD:
The Twingo had a kind of special “nested” engine-bay arrangement, where the brakebooster (related to the pedals) was placed on the gearbox side, where also the wiper-engine and the battery was packaged.
A Twingo RHD would have needed a mirrored engine arrangement, which was not possible as the car needed a cheap carry over engine. Any other arrangement would not have led to the monovolume look.
Twingo is a vehicle-package masterpiece, see also the fueltank arrangement to allow the sliding rear seats.
Ah, yes – that all makes sense, looking at the engine bay. It struck me that it was far from being symmetrical. Thank you for the explanation.
Yes, also the reduced Air Intake for The Heating/Ventilation which is above the right Wheel Mount and Avoids a waterbassin from left to right works only with codriver mounted Heating venting unit in the car