Feeling blue: the Renault Twingo Coupe concept

What is the greatest blue-coloured concept car the world has ever seen? An unlikely question, I grant you, but the answer must surely be the Renault Twingo Coupe concept of 1995? I've been staring at the photo for many, many minutes and I've come to the conclusion that it's probably the best concept car never built.

I'll give you a few minutes just to stare at the photo.

A few minutes more...

Nearly done?

OK, moving on.

Quite why it has taken PetrolBlog so long to feature the Twingo Coupe is anyone's guess. But you can thank another of those slow-news-day surveys for its appearance here today. According to the AA, blue has overtaken silver to become Britain's most popular car colour. Apparently, 21% of 25,810 people said they would choose blue if they were given a free choice as regards the colour of their next car.

Well whoopie-doo. Hold the front page etc, etc. Do people really care about this nonsense? Besides, the crucial thing to remember here is that when it comes to actually ordering their car, most people will lose their bottle and opt for me-too silver instead. Sadly, only 1% of the respondents said they'd select beige. And nobody appeared to say brown. Shame on you.

But back to matters of greater interest to PetrolBlog. Assuming you've been able to divert your eyes from that photo, it's probably worth reminding you that the Renault Twingo Coupe was a concept produced by Christian Contzen. The website grandprix.com reveals a formidable CV, including a successful spell as the head of Renaultsport. During this time, Contzen helped Williams win the F1 World Championship and was heavily involved with the decision to provide engines to Benetton.

So there's every chance that had Renault decided to put the Twingo Coupe into production, it could have been one of the greatest junior hot hatches ever to grace a British B-road. The prototypes were powered either by a 135hp 1.6-litre engine or a 150hp 2.0-litre unit.

Imagine that - a 2.0-litre engine in a Renault Twingo. It's like a fun-size Renault Clio Williams. I'll let you think about that for a moment.

Is the Renault Twingo Coupe the greatest blue-coloured concept car the world has ever seen? Answers on a postcard. Right now, as it celebrates its 20th birthday, PetrolBlog says yes it is. Although the Volvo C30 Polestar concept deserves an honorary mention.



In both cases, we're left wondering what might have been had the respective carmakers done the right thing and put the cars into production. A crazy two-seater Twingo with a 2.0-litre engine and a wild 450hp Volvo. What's not to like about that pairing?

Maybe blue is the appropriate colour for concepts such as this? The carmakers tease us with the presence and then leave us feeling blue when they don't turn into reality. Blue is most certainly the colour.

That said, who fancies heading to France, picking up a cheap Twingo and creating a replica Twingo Coupe? Oo la lah!