RE: Renault Sport Spider: Spotted
Discussion
I really like the bold style. It looks like a toy car one might have had, which wasn't quite based on any real car.
I saw one at Blackbushe auctions in the 90's. I distinctly remember leaning surreptitiously on the wing and there seemed to be zero suspension travel. Bit of a roller-skate I reckon.
I saw one at Blackbushe auctions in the 90's. I distinctly remember leaning surreptitiously on the wing and there seemed to be zero suspension travel. Bit of a roller-skate I reckon.
AlexIT said:
Sorry to be pedantic, but IIRC the spider was fitted with the F7R engine as found on the Clio Williams, not the the F4R of the Clio2 and 3 and Megane.
Great car to be in
Yep, it's an F7R in the spider, not the F4R, although it's the mk1 Megane Coupe version rather than the clio williams version.Great car to be in
It's not a pedantic difference either. F7R and F4R are very significantly different engines.
I had the pleasure of "borrowing" a red one over a weekend from a motor trader, who eventually wrote it off. If I remember rightly it didn't have servo assisted brakes. It relied on a hard push to stop it. We drove it up the M1 to Donnington park for the touring cars. Passing cars and lorries so close to the road with no roof or windows was n experience. Once on the twisty roads it was great fun. The handling was great with excellent traction. It's a real head turner with a great engine.
Nealio said:
AlexIT said:
Sorry to be pedantic, but IIRC the spider was fitted with the F7R engine as found on the Clio Williams, not the the F4R of the Clio2 and 3 and Megane.
Great car to be in
Yep, it's an F7R in the spider, not the F4R, although it's the mk1 Megane Coupe version rather than the clio williams version.Great car to be in
It's not a pedantic difference either. F7R and F4R are very significantly different engines.
I've got same bore and stroke for both engines and had them as related and it was in conversation with Patrice Ratti at Renaultsport where he said the Spider engine was a version/predecessor of the F4R and the first of their products to use it. This was over dinner so the subtleties of the similarities or otherwise may have been lost! Perhaps block and basic dimensions shared but F4R uses a more modern head design?
Either way, sounds like you've got some additional insight/intel though so by all means set us right!
Cheers,
Dan
Dan Trent said:
OK then chaps, please, you have the floor!
I've got same bore and stroke for both engines and had them as related and it was in conversation with Patrice Ratti at Renaultsport where he said the Spider engine was a version/predecessor of the F4R and the first of their products to use it. This was over dinner so the subtleties of the similarities or otherwise may have been lost! Perhaps block and basic dimensions shared but F4R uses a more modern head design?
Either way, sounds like you've got some additional insight/intel though so by all means set us right!
Cheers,
Dan
F4R bottom end is derived from the F7R bottom end and indeed has the same bore and stroke but is substantially revised in other respects. The head is 100% different.I've got same bore and stroke for both engines and had them as related and it was in conversation with Patrice Ratti at Renaultsport where he said the Spider engine was a version/predecessor of the F4R and the first of their products to use it. This was over dinner so the subtleties of the similarities or otherwise may have been lost! Perhaps block and basic dimensions shared but F4R uses a more modern head design?
Either way, sounds like you've got some additional insight/intel though so by all means set us right!
Cheers,
Dan
Dan Trent said:
Nealio said:
AlexIT said:
Sorry to be pedantic, but IIRC the spider was fitted with the F7R engine as found on the Clio Williams, not the the F4R of the Clio2 and 3 and Megane.
Great car to be in
Yep, it's an F7R in the spider, not the F4R, although it's the mk1 Megane Coupe version rather than the clio williams version.Great car to be in
It's not a pedantic difference either. F7R and F4R are very significantly different engines.
I've got same bore and stroke for both engines and had them as related and it was in conversation with Patrice Ratti at Renaultsport where he said the Spider engine was a version/predecessor of the F4R and the first of their products to use it. This was over dinner so the subtleties of the similarities or otherwise may have been lost! Perhaps block and basic dimensions shared but F4R uses a more modern head design?
Either way, sounds like you've got some additional insight/intel though so by all means set us right!
Cheers,
Dan
The main difference is the head port shapes (Clio version is superior for tuning/performance) and the fact that the Megane version has sequential injection with a pick up on the cam which is annoying as if you fit high lift cams you can't easily fit the vernier pulleys from a Clio Williams as they don't have the pick up and the timing ends up slightly out.
Spider Race Car = F7R Clio Williams Version 180-200BHP depending on who built it. The extra ponies make a big difference as does the reduced weight and Sadev sequential box.
I was looking at these about a year ago, as I was thinking of getting something to blast around for the summer. This very same model was for sale then. Whilst I didnt go to see it as I decided after doing a bit of research that maybe I would be better with something else - it did sound nice with the roof which the owner made and designed whilst he worked at aston.
What concerns me most is that its still for sale - either too expensive or hard vehicles to sell with limited demand. I have to assume its the former rather than the latter?
What concerns me most is that its still for sale - either too expensive or hard vehicles to sell with limited demand. I have to assume its the former rather than the latter?
oilit said:
either too expensive or hard vehicles to sell with limited demand.
It's both. It's too expensive, and it'll be hard to shift when you consider what else you could get for the money. People went with the Elise when new for a reason, and they'll do the same now - especially as the Elise is far cheaper.kambites said:
It looks like the engine and gearbox is about 50kg of the difference. If the rest of the difference is the chassis, that would make it over three times the weight of the Elise one!
I seem to recall something from a documentary about the Elise, where they mention the difference in techniques of the chassis.Both Elise and Spider chassis were made by the same manufacturer, but indeed due to the difference of Renault welding the thing, it has to be a LOT heavier.
There's also a "supposed" reaction in car magazine articles that when the naked chassis was shown to one of the designers he actually replied it had to be the jig to make it instead of the chassis itself... But htat could be "journalistic liberty" of course.
Pulse said:
It's both. It's too expensive, and it'll be hard to shift when you consider what else you could get for the money. People went with the Elise when new for a reason, and they'll do the same now - especially as the Elise is far cheaper.
However it is far more exotic than an Elise - it looks like a concept car. I've seen one of these in regular use - pretty much daily from what I could establish - in metallic red. It's a great looking car. Just the thing for a hot climate. Show and Display plates in the USA perhaps.Had one of the original press cars from Renault when they were launched. Didnt feel fast at all but felt VERY special and was very fun. Will never forget a pedestrian venomously shouting 'Lego' at me as I drove past them... He seemed to hate the car as much as I was enjoying it.
Would love one now... with 300bhp
Would love one now... with 300bhp
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