RE: (Not) Spotted: Renault Sport Spider

[stephendell]

aelord said:

Yes the press reviews and general consensus when they came out was one of disappointment. They did not live up to the trailers Renault put out, they were slower than expected and heavier, and really were/are more show than go.

Watch the video from 1:45. They are not slow as the 911 driver discovered...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvcTdhIdKCg&fea...

[ant leigh]

Bedazzled said:

stephendell said:

And another angle:

Love that colour scheme, what a fantastic looking car!

Surely you mean 'What fantastic looking cars'

[Matbmx1]

I had a mate that had one years ago, cool looking thing at the time but those headlights are really showing the age of the car!

They do look fantastic as race cars though. but most cars do, headlights tend to ruin most cars and bikes.

[FestivAli]

Wow that thing must have looked awesome sitting next to Twingos and Clios in the showrooms. All I will say is Roadsters for Nintendo 64

[ZesPak]

Loving the look of the race-prepped cars with the full roll cage, they look properly amazing!

I do find it a bit odd to compare to an Elise, as this is a fully-open car that looks a lot less practical than the everyday Elise, unless I'm missing something?

[chickensoup]

Launched without a windscreen, then when the screen arrived, no roof - did they really expect to sell many.

And then the Helem that never happened - that still looks stunning

[eps]

sugerbear said:

Desirable? Really? A Lotus Elise is better in every way.

Have you driven both?

[eps]

sugerbear said:

Desirable? Really? A Lotus Elise is better in every way.

Have you driven both?

[pSyCoSiS]

In th erace car guise, they look ok.

But, otherwise, I think they look hideous.

That shade of red they do is a nice colour, however!

All IMHO, of course!

[eps]

Looks shmooks, I've driven one on a trackday, really enjoyed it, the sequential gearshift was rewarding and it was happy to take a lot of speed through
corners and accelerate away. Got out of the car with a smile on my face and wanting to get one. I should have, if they've gone up by that much!! Great fun.

[AliV6]

Love them! Super rare. I would be tempted by one to sit beside the V6.

[Ozzie Osmond]

eps said:

sugerbear said:

Desirable? Really? A Lotus Elise is better in every way.

Have you driven both?

Fact is, the Spyder was obliterated as soon as Elise was launched. At the end of the day most buyers want a windscreen and a roof as well as roadholding. I know Renault went on to fit a windscreen (and a truly ghastly shower top) but the Elise had it well beaten.

Mind you, on the Porsche Spyder thread I've got into trouble for mentioning the practicalities as well!

And if there was a KTM X-bow thread there's no prizes for guessing why I think it's been a sales disaster.

[eps]

Ozzie Osmond said:

eps said:

sugerbear said:

Desirable? Really? A Lotus Elise is better in every way.

Have you driven both?

Fact is, the Spyder was obliterated as soon as Elise was launched. At the end of the day most buyers want a windscreen and a roof as well as roadholding. I know Renault went on to fit a windscreen (and a truly ghastly shower top) but the Elise had it well beaten.

Mind you, on the Porsche Spyder thread I've got into trouble for mentioning the practicalities as well!

And if there was a KTM X-bow thread there's no prizes for guessing why I think it's been a sales disaster.

Dunno, I had a lid on when I drove it It was a trackday event. Is this what we've descended to, worrying about a windscreen??? PH 'heated seats matter'

[Ozzie Osmond]

eps said:

Is this what we've descended to, worrying about a windscreen???

And people wonder why specialist sportscar builders are going out of business...

[stephen300o]

As popular as the Elise is, some people want something different, Renault certainly offered that, I'd love to see more these about.

[Adrian W]

I think it's a great car



And with the right engine they are very quick

[ZesPak]

Adrian W said:

I think it's a great car

Why is the clamshell over the front?

Seems unnecessary unpractical and complicated, no reason for it at all except "because race car" .

[Adrian W]

I'm at work so haven’t got many pictures, the front suspension has horizontal shocks, and it has a storage box under there. Also it has a full crash structure under there, its one of the few low volume sports cars to have been fully crash tested.

[speedtwelve]

stephendell said:

Nice A610... Always wanted one of those.

The Spider is quite striking in the flesh; power/weight always seemed a bit low for what it was, on the road car anyway. There was an ex-race Spider at a trackday I was on a few years back. Seemed to go round corners quite well but didn't have much poke on the straights.

[renaultgeek]

I fell in love with this car after sitting in one as a 12 year old in 98. This car is currently for sale now, 1 owner, only about 5k miles if anybody was interested, it was a showroom car. The comparison with an elise doesn't make sense to me, this just seems so much more special.