The Renault Clio V6 Renault Sport(RS)----Hell's Hatch, For The Modern Man.

The Renault 5 Turbo changed the formula for a good Hot Hatch. I don’t need to tell you that. But after that…Nobody seemed to follow it. The only people who really followed it were, the makers themselves.
The Paris Motor Show, held once every two years, is kinda a special place for Manufacturers, in the same way that Monaco is for the F1 Calendar. For a French constructor celebrating its 100th anniversary, though, the Show usually takes on an altogether different dimension, as was the case for Renault in 1998.

The onerous challenge of marking the occasion and celebrating a century of success and know-how in style fell to three models: the restrained, latest-generation Twingo II, the Vel Satis luxury concept car and the Clio Renault Sport V6 24V, a project derived from the new Clio Renault Sport Trophy. Toned down but definitely not lacking in character, the V6-powered car was slated to deliver plenty of fun, while offering a level of comfort, safety and features normally found in high-end cars. Keyword: Slated.

Renault apparently made the Clio V6 as a Tribute to the successes of the past, one of which was the gloriously good 5 Turbo. Aside from being based on the more popular Renaults’ of the day, with the 5 Turbo being based on the 5, and the Clio V6 on the Clio II, they also shared another similarity: The engine was placed behind the front seats. This meant that it was now a 2-seater Hot Hatch with a bit of an anger issue.

The engine itself, was the ES9J 3.0 V6 that was robbed from the PSA parts bin of engines, which was also utilized in….:Peugeots’ 406, 407, 607, and the Citroen C5. Of course, they weren’t going to leave it in whatever paltry state of power it originally was in, and promptly beefed it up to 227 bhp and 221 lb-ft of Torque. Later on, this’d increase to 255 bhp. Sounds good. And not just on paper, too. But of course, in order to accommodate the radical change from being a Front-engine, Front-Wheel-Drive City Hatch to a Fire-breathing Mid-engine, Rear-Wheel-Drive Super Hatch, the whole car had to be extensively reworked structurally. As a result, the Phase 1 weighed 300 kilos more than the ‘regular’ 172 Cup. But 1355 kilos for the Phase 1 doesn’t sound heavy to you, does it? As a result of all this increased weight, even though it had significantly more power than usual, it wasn’t that much quicker in a straight line, since the 0-60 time was ‘only’ 6.2 seconds, in comparison to the 172 Cup’s 6.7. But the V6 does manage to one-up the Cup, as the top speed was 146 mph compared to the 172’s 138. All this fiery fury was sent to those rear wheels via a 6-speed Manual.

Though designed by Renault Sport, the Phase 1 was developed and built by English engineering firm Tom Walkinshaw Racing(TWR for short), at its Swedish factory. 1,631 units were sold in less than two years, signalling that the Clio V6 was a hit with its target audience, driving ‘enthusiasts’(I don’t really like this word, I’ll be honest), who were rather excited about the prospect of nabbing one of these, though some observers found it a little too unpredictable and potentially dangerous in the hands of inexperienced drivers. But it comes with the question: What inexperienced driver is so stupid as to think ‘I know, even though I’m an inexperienced driver, I’ll ask Daddy to splurge a bit and buy me something that’ll make me look cool at school!’?!

But then…Came the Phase 2. At the time of launch, the ‘regular’ Clio had just gone through a Phase II facelift, and likewise, the V6 would have to do the same. It received a All-New bumper, hood, grille, and got itself a pair of xenon double optic headlamps. The fact Renault had decided to make the Phase II was something of an amazement, seeing as how the Phase 1 wasn’t what you call….’Benign’, handling-wise. As mentioned earlier, the engine was further upgraded, now producing 255 bhp. Though Torque apparently stayed the same. They also managed to procure some assistance from Porsche with the engine, which is interesting.

But that wasn’t the end. Renault Sport had decided to bring production of the V6 RS in-house at its factory in Dieppe back in March of 2003. And aside from the increased power, the 6-speed Manual had been modified with a Shorter Final Drive, and maybe a few tweaks to the gears here and there. With a 0-60 time of 5.8 seconds, a 0.4 second improvement over the Phase 1, it’d also dash to 150 mph. A rather large surprise, seeing as the Final Drive was shorter, along with the fact that the Phase 2 had gained some weight, now tipping the scales at a still-fairly-light 1400 kilos. The suspension had been modified, too. It was stiffer, and had new ‘Kinematics’….Whatever that means.

Though based on a utilitarian hatchback, the Clio V6 was and always will not be a practical family car. With an average fuel consumption of 24 MPG, an empty tank was guaranteed at anything over 300 miles. The loss of the back seats and most of the boot space, due to the engine placement, resulted in a severe restriction in luggage space – there was only a small space in the front where the engine used to be, only big enough for a holdall bag and/or week-end groceries, a small netted area behind the seats plus a small stash area under the tailgate. The enhanced steering made tight manoeuvring a little challenging, since turning circle is 13 metres – or around three car lengths – turning what might normally be a three-point turn into a five-point turn. Ah well, can’t have it all, now can we?

And remember how I said the Phase 2 had managed to gain some weight? Well, I think I might have just found out why…. Standard equipment included ‘rain-sensing’ windshield wipers(Seems likely to be of absolutely no use), automatic headlights(Ooh, funky), air-conditioning(Nice), six speakers and a CD changer. Or the kind of kit you expect cars of the 2000s’ to have. The Phase 2 retailed for £27,125 in the United Kingdom, until it was withdrawn from sale in 2005 coinciding with a facelift for the Clio range. Now? Well, on carandclassic.co.uk, it seems that they may have retained their value too well, with prices now starting at 24500 quid for a Phase 1, to well over 30 000 for a Phase 2. But you can find Cheaper Phase 1’s on other websites, apparently.

…And that’s about it. All I really have for the Renault Clio V6 RS, what I think to be Hell’s Hatch, for the Modern Man. And from everything I’ve read, with good reason too, with the engine hanging out the back making you feel as though you’re driving a ‘normal’ car with the tow-bar behind you being weighed down by what is effectively a really heavy caravan, pointing the bonnet basically skywards. IF you want one, do go prepared with lots of cash. Like, seriously. Lots of cash.

….Anyways, Feel free to leave more information, overlooked details, your thoughts on this Hatch from Hell(by production car standards anyways, that GTI 650 Golf thing doesn’t count), suggestions for the next article down in the comments below, and I hoped you enjoyed it.

See you at the next one.

[Writers’ Note: If you’re here, then again, Thanks for sticking around! The support all of you have given has been great, no matter where I post my articles. You all have always been the motivation to deliver an article every week.

So, the Clio V6 RS. In hindsight, its a daft little thing, serving basically no purpose other than to give Driving Enthusiasts something to lust over, so its all the more amazing that Renault would go ahead with such an idea. Ever since they ended production, I haven’t really seen a Hot Hatch that’s quite so mental, something quite so bold. Sure, you can argue that the GTI Clubsport S fits the brief, but its still basically a FWD, Front-Engine Hot Hatch with the Back Seats and Electronic Speed Limiter binned. Lets hope we see something like this again soon, eh?

Anyway, stay tuned for the next article, Leave whatever I’ve mentioned earlier down in the comments if needed, and if you’ll excuse me, I need to study for my upcoming tests.
Hoped you Enjoyed it, and I’ll see you at the next one.

Thanks Again—-Joel.]