New Twingo has plenty of street cred

The prospect of a rear-engined, rear wheel drive beastie is likely to set hearts fluttering among any full-blooded motor enthusiast, thinking as they might of such crackers as the Porsche 911, or other curiosities such as the DeLorean DMC-12, or the Renault Alpine A110 or A310.

Truth is though that many so-called ‘RR’ — rear engined, rear drive — cars have been lower down the automotive food-chain than such exotica. None of such as the Hillman Imp, a variety of diminutive Fiats, or any number of Skodas, Simcas and NSUs, would have made the blood flow quicker in the same way as the 911 or the Alpine.

But that is not to say that such little cars have not had their day in the sun; the original Fiat 500 is, of course, an automotive legend while the Hillman Imp was even a rally star thanks to pioneers such as Ireland’s Rosemary Smith.