The Gordini has some of the requisite styling cues, but will it have the cache'?

Reviving a long neglected name of decades ago, Renault becomes the latest automaker to attempt to cash in on a retro trend with the return of a Gordini model today.

Twingo Gordini R.S. premiered at the L’Atelier Renault on the Champs-Elysées as part of the showroom’s Christmas in Blue exhibition.

This latest addition to the Twingo city car lineup goes on sale in Europe next March, with prices announced in February.

The diminutive A-car uses the same performance and equipment package as the Renault Sport version of the Twingo. This includes a “Sport” chassis with 17-inch wheels; 1.6-liter, 133 horsepower gasoline engine with specially tuned exhaust; front seats with extra lateral support, and blue and black quilted Gordini-badged leather upholstery.

It's been a long, long time.

Twingo Gordini R.S. has a Malte Blue lacquered metallic finish, and two white racing stripes, as the original Gordini racing cars had. The front and rear bumpers have gloss black details, while the foglamp surrounds, exterior mirror housings and lip spoiler are all in a contrasting white finish.

Gordini Series badging either side refers back to the heyday of the Gordini Cup when the qualifying heats of the different races were known as séries.

The garb is an update from the from the past when Gordini models used French blue, white stripes and four round headlights as cues, which all contributed to the identity of a series of rally cars over a 20-year period.

Aside from making Gordini an important part of Renault’s sporting heritage, the cars slipped over into popular culture as well. The R8 Gordini was featured in French films alongside famous stars, including Romy Schneider, Alain Delon and Lino Ventura.

Renault claims that the “fashionable and sporty Gordini label still possesses its exclusive and sporting values.”

The revived versions – a Clio based Gordini follows in the summer — won’t have the four, famous, headlights of their namesakes. Renault claims that the “fashionable and sporty Gordini label still possesses its exclusive and sporting values.”

Amédée Gordini as a tuner developed almost 200,000 Renault vehicles over a 20-year period, and achieved some of the brand’s greatest racing successes.

Twingo itself continues with considerable success in the European A-segment, with sales between January through October 2009 of 140,700 cars, an increase of 20% compared to last year. With 83,000 cars sold in France (+53% over 2008), Twingo has emerged as the best-selling small city car for the second year running. Twingo accounts for almost one sale in three in the segment.

The Renault Sport versions of Twingo are the segment’s best-selling small sporting models.