Cute, but not cute enough. - The Renault sport spider

Where it all started

back in the mid 90’s Renault sport began developing this small mid engined race car for the road but sadly no one really remembers it, this is why.

Renault spent much of the 1990s as Formula One’s leading engine supplier, powering four Driver’s and six Constructor’s championships. Yet its road car range had virtually no performance models. There was the now-legendary Clio Williams and the 911-rivalling Alpine A610, but by 1995 both had been discontinued. Renault needed something completely new, so turned to its in-house racing division, Renault Sport. Renault set up Renault Sport in 1976, famously introducing turbocharging to F1 when it joined the grid in ‘77. RS handled all of Renault’s racing activities, including taking victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours in ‘78. But it wasn’t until the Spider was introduced in 1996 that Renault Sport became the manufacturer’s sub-brand for hot cars.

The Spider was first seen as a concept car at the Geneva Motor Show in 1995. It made a huge impact, looking like it had just come off a race track, with a stripped-bare interior and no windscreen. The specs were just as race-influenced. The Spider was built around a welded aluminium box chassis with composite plastic body panels. Power came from the Clio Williams’ 148 bhp, 2-litre motor and five-speed gearbox, rotated 180 degrees and plonked behind the driver.

Racing career

The Spider’s low, wide, wheel-at-each-corner stance made it every inch the road-going racer. That was no coincidence, as it was designed from the outset to double as a racing car, taking part in its own one-make series. The Renault Spider Trophy cars featured a tuned, 180bhp engine, six-speed ‘box and racing tyres.

A young Jason Plato swept the board in 1996’s inaugural season, earning a seat with Renault’s Williams-run British Touring Car Championship team. Now he holds the record for the most wins in BTCC history, currently standing at 78. As a road car, the Spider was a very hardcore proposition when it hit the streets in 1996. Early models were left-hand drive only, and shared the concept’s lack of a windscreen. A wind deflector helped keep your hair in place, but couldn’t stop stones smacking you in the face.

A helmet was a must for longer drives. In ‘97 the UK got a RHD version that came with, shock! an actual windscreen. With a wiper! The overall look lost some of its drama, but at least the cockpit had some protection from the elements. But it still didn’t have a hood. Or even a heater. It rather set the tone for the whole driving experience. The RS Spider was a car you had to drive, doing without power steering, or anti-lock brakes, or even a servo. It was a car that put you right into the thick of the action.

Specs

this was not a practical car at all there was relatively no space in the front trunk thanks to a tool kit which barely fit in there in the first place, so for the people who bought this car it was merely a statement to the rest of the world saying look at me I’m in a small little road going bright yellow track car but even though it was small it was no slouch.

it housed a 2.0 inline 4 engine 16 valve from the late Clio Williams behind your head which we all know was a brilliant little car of the time and today is a rare collectors item. it had 148bhp and 136lb/ft 0-60mph was done in just 6.5 seconds which for the time was very quick and thanks to its tiny weight of only 845kg it was able to go on to a top speed of 137mph beating lots of sports cars of the time. So why then is i not a very well known car today, here’s why.

Cute, but not cute enough.

Renault wanted the Spider to deliver single-seater thrills on the road, which it did with ease. So why is it now largely forgotten? Two words: “Lotus Elise”. Launched shortly after the Spider, Norfolk’s finest was more practical, sharper to drive and significantly cheaper; the Spider cost an enormous £28,000. The Elise is still regarded as one of the greatest driver’s cars of all time and, for a while at least, it kept Lotus afloat.

Amazingly the two cars’ chassis were built by the same Danish company. Rumour has it Renault didn’t realise Lotus was developing its revolutionary (much lighter) bonded construction technology until it had signed-off its welded chassis design so effectively it was doomed to fail from the moment the idea came about which was sad because well this could have been the start of something amazing for the Renault sport tuning company but it was not to be.

Short lived

Sadly only around 1800 Renault Sport Spiders were built between 1996 - 1999. It has always had a loyal following, though it’s yet to gain wider recognition. But that isn’t really the point. The Spider’s legacy is that it introduced the world to the Renault Sport brand. Renamed Renaultsport, the Dieppe-based outfit has gone on to produce some of the greatest hot hatches ever seen and probably if it wasn’t for this car there may nit have been any fast Renault’s of the future. For that alone, the Spider deserves much more respect.

#blogpost - hope you enjoyed it.