French manufacturer, Renault, is set to revive Gordini, the brand that helped it achieve a string of major motor sport successes in the 1960s. The blue and white stripe decals of the iconic go-faster label will be back on two special versions of the French firm’s top-selling supermini models next year.

After being previewed at the firm’s swish showroom premises on the Champs Elysees in Paris, the Twingo Gordini will go on sale in spring and a Clio version will be available next autumn to strengthen Renault’s line-up in the compact sports segment.

The Gordini brand is named after Amadee Gordini, a French sports-car builder nicknamed “The Sorcerer,” who fine-tuned Renault engines and whose company was acquired by Renault in the mid-1950s. It had its heyday in the late 1960s when it adorned the Renault 8 and Renault 12 sedans that were only sold in blue, with two distinctive stripes on the hood. Its version of the Renault 8 family saloon swept the board in the 1964 Tour of Corsica rally. Two years later, a higher-powered version heralded the Gordini Cup, the race series that inspired single-make motor sport championships.

Significantly, the move to revive Gordini follows the revival of Abarth, the sporting badge recently revitalised with great success by Fiat on the 500 supermini. Renault believes the elegant finish and strong design codes of the Gordini brand will offer a fresh interpretation of their sporty values. The Gordini models look likely to remain mechanically identical to the Renaultsport cars and will instead be differentiated by posher colours and wheels and trim. It’s bound to catch the eye, as the pics of the concept Gordini Megane shows…

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