How the Renault Twingo got its name
Manfred Gotta invented the model name Twingo.
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
He invented the model name Twingo: Manfred Gotta.
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo 1st generation (front) and the current Twingo E-Tech Electric.
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation) and the modern successor Twingo E-Tech Electric (left).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo E-Tech Electric (1st generation on the right).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Sometime in the early 1990s, Manfred Gotta's phone rang. On the other end of the line was a Renault employee. At the time, the French company was looking for a name for a new small car, and Manfred Gotta had already made a name for himself as a developer of product names. "I was surprised at the time, because the French hadn't contacted me before," he says. After an initial meeting with the then head designer Patrick Le Quément, Gotta was allowed to take a look at the new model in the inner sanctum of the company, the Technocentre near Paris.
"I then asked to assess the model alone and asked everyone present to leave the room so that I could examine the car in detail on my own." Gotta only realized later that the Renault employees were watching him through a glass wall during his inspection. "After I had finished my inspection, Le Quément asked me how I liked the car. When I replied, 'the car smiles', I had the job."
In 1993, the small Renault rolled onto the market as the Twingo and is now enjoying a second career as an electric car. For Renault, the small car with the internationally accepted name was a symbol of a new way of thinking: bold and emotional, and the name conveyed these values. To date, around 4.1 million units have been produced, and there are still 60,000 Twingos on the road in Germany. "The Twingo," says Gotta, "had something friendly and approachable about it right from the start.
It didn't look like a classic car, but like a counterpart."
At the time, there were many speculations as to how the name came about, and the otherwise reliable online encyclopaedia Wikipedia still unabashedly defines Twingo as "a combination of the names of three dances: twist, swing and tango". "That's wrong," Gotta corrects, "Twingo is a purely artificial name that I came up with on my own." And how did the naming process work? "We work like a composer who creates a work from many notes. For us, the notes are the letters of the alphabet."
"We start from scratch with every name, and it was the same with the Twingo. You simply have to develop a feel for the product, and that's where the first impression is crucial. The characters involved also have to fit together," explains Gotta. "But I can no longer say how the name Twingo ultimately came about."
It takes some time before a new name can be used. "Linguists advise us on whether the potential name can be pronounced anywhere, and then it has to be clarified that no trademark rights are being infringed." Only when all these requirements have been clarified is the result presented to the client. "And it doesn't matter whether the name is long or short, it just has to fit straight away."
In addition to Twingo, the Renault model names Vel Satis, Mégane and Avantime also come from Gotta's word workshop. "With the Avantime, we had the problem that Volkswagen had trademarked the term Avant, but then the Renault board made a phone call to the Wolfsburg board and we were able to launch the Avantime on the market. It was that simple back then," recalls 78-year-old Gotta, who is currently retiring to the Caribbean and has transferred his company Gotta Brands to his son Julian.
The fourth generation of the Twingo, which will be launched on the market in the coming weeks as the Twingo E-Tech and can already be ordered, adopts many of the design elements of the original model and, like its predecessors, smiles at its surroundings in a friendly manner. The small car uses a 60 kW (82 hp) electric motor. Renault specifies a range of up to 260 kilometers, and the price list initially starts at 21,590 euros. A variant for just under 20,000 euros will follow. (aum)
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Manfred Gotta invented the model name Twingo.
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
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He invented the model name Twingo: Manfred Gotta.
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo 1st generation (front) and the current Twingo E-Tech Electric.
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation) and the modern successor Twingo E-Tech Electric (left).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo E-Tech Electric (1st generation on the right).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
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Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download:
Renault Twingo (1st generation from 1992).
Photo source: Renault via Autoren-Union Mobilität
Download: