Renaultsport Twingo Gordini makes poseurs pay

For me, a pair of well-worn Puma Kings are the way to go.

The game is just as enjoyable (more so, perhaps, due to the lack of mocking from mates over my ridiculous white boots), they will cost about half the price of a pair of garish ballet boots and my game remains just as good, or bad, whatever I have on my feet.

Stock RS Twingo is already a winner

Renaultsport created a great car by lowering a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine into the Twingo's tiny engine bay before adding brakes and suspension that could harness its terrier-like appetite for corners.

So how has Renault improved that formula by reviving the name of legendary engine tuner Amedee Gordini - nicknamed Le Sorcier (The Sorcerer) - to create the Twingo Gordini 133?

Most unusual, given that Gordini's forte was engine tuning, is that the RS Twingo's 133bhp power plant remains untouched.

The changes that comprise the limited-edition run of 200 RS Twingo Gordinis are style and specification changes that do nothing to enhance the car's performance.

Gordini mods bring no more bang for your buck

For those contemplating the sizable £2,400 premium over the standard RS Twingo Cup, the fact they don't get more bang for their buck could prove decisive.

Add the Cup's lower, stiffer suspension packageas on my test car, and the gap widens by a further £400.

So what are Gordini owners shelling out for?

Exclusivity for a start, as just 200 will be made. A plate positioned ahead of the gear-lever showed that my test car was number two of that run.

A star in stripes?

Gordini's trademark combination of blue paintwork with white stripes is complemented by white wing mirrors, fog light surrounds and spoiler and a set of 17-in Gordini alloys, which have a polished face and black inner rim.

The Gordini make-over continues inside thanks to a set of Renaultsport leather seats embossed with the Gordini logo, a Gordini gearknob and a leather steering wheel with twin white stripes marking its centre point.

Gordini floor mats and a blue and white rev counter complete the aesthetic upgrades.

There is also a fairly healthy list of specification upgrades over the standard RS Twingo, including: climate control, automatic headlight and wiper activation, cruise control, a speed limiter (!), stability control, and a 20-watt radio-CD with steering wheel-mounted remote controls, Bluetooth connectivity and Renault's excellent Tunepoint wireless MP3 connection.

Nice spec but RS is about driving...

So it is a well specced little car, but Renaultsport's reputation has been forged by creating rewarding drivers cars has earned them a following among keen petrolheads - not automotive fashionistas - and the drive remains that of the comparative bargain which is the RS Twingo Cup.

Owners of the previous generation Renaultsport Clio will quickly identify with the Gordini's vigorous turn-in to corners and tenacious grip.

Equipped with the ultra-firm Cup chassis, the Twingo's limits of grip are astounding.

Simply throw the little car into a corner and it launches towards the apex.

Further heightening the directness of the cars helm is an ability to tighten a line with a mid-corner lift of the throttle, digging the outside front wheel into the tarmac to the extent that it cocks its inside rear wheel in the air.

The Gordini could handle much more power

That 133bhp and 118lb.ft. of torque is delivered in near-seamless fashion from the turbocharged engine and will propel the 1,049kg hatchback to 62mph in 8.7 seconds and a top speed of 125mph, but maintaining momentum is often the key to the kind of speeds that can be truly exploited by the chassis.

The Gordini doesn't boast the same level of interior quality or style as its key rivals - the Citroen DS3, the Fiat 500 Abarth and the MINI Cooper - but is surprisingly spacious and comfortable.

Despite its blue and white hue, the steering column-mounted rev pod still looks a little incongruous and looking left to keep an eye on the centrally-positioned speed display is a little impractical.

Practicality does rear its head in the form of sliding rear seats, which enable rear seat passengers to steal some of the 230-litre boot space in the name of considerable leg room.

Watch your fillings...its a rough ride

Sadly, with the Cup suspension pack fitted, their comfort will be short-lived.

This is a driver's hatchback and anyone along for the ride had better be prepared to lose a few fillings along the way.

And that's where the conflict within the RS Twingo Gordini 133 really lies.

The fact remains that this is a properly hardcore little hatchback honed, by Renaultsport, to be taken by the scruff of the neck and enjoyed for its hard-sprung roguish attacks on back-road tarmac. Its a hoot.

The Gordini's styling tweaks and premium specification dont add anything to that winning formula.

Just like those white football boots the Gordini 133 screams that its something special, but for those with driving thrills rather than posing in mind, going for the standard car remains the most sensible way to tap into the RS Twingo's innate fun-factor.