"Tell me what you think after driving it," was Renaultsport Technologies head Patrice Ratti's counter argument to the pre-launch furore over the
DCT-only
Clio 200. Well, Chris Harris
has done just that
and we'll concede that, whatever we might think of Renaultsport's aims for a more
mature hot hatch
, the boys from Dieppe have achieved them.
New-school Renaultsport heavy on gadgetry
Namely to bring new buyers into the fold, even at the expense of upsetting a small number of purists. It's working too, the hot Clio going down a storm in emerging - in Euro hot hatch terms - markets like Australia and Japan. We're buying fewer Renaultsports here in the UK than once did but the bigger picture sounds healthy.
A less obvious but perhaps more significant change for the new Clio is the dropping of the Perfohub front struts and their offset steering axis design, this perhaps one of the unsung contributors to the Clio 197/200's hardcore appeal. Over dinner at Goodwood Ratti told us the design wasn't cost effective on the Clio and, unless you're at the absolute limit, didn't offer a significant benefit in the lower powered cars.
The system, along with mechanical limited-slip differentials, will remain on the Megane which Ratti said could take as much as 275hp from its long-serving F4R 2.0-litre engine. Yes, the one that becomes snigger-worthy abbreviation when it gains the 'T' suffix in turbo form... As acknowledged by tuners like K-Tec, the F4RT isn't as responsive to big power gains via conventional tuning methods. With a Gallic shrug Ratti says more horsepower is possible but torque is less easy to boost and that's what makes the difference.
Old-school values maintained by Megane
Overall then there's a subtle shift in the Renaultsport line-up with the Megane offering the Cup chassis'd hardcore mechanical foundations to satisfy demanding drivers. And the more accessible Clio driving the hot hatch agenda forwards with new-school technology based around downsized engines, dual-clutch gearboxes and lots of modes and settings. And enough to leave the simultaneously launched
Peugeot 208 GTI
It's not all gadgets and gizmos though, Ratti especially proud of the rally-inspired hydraulic bump stops fitted to the Clio, meaning the full damper stroke can be utilised without ramping up towards the end as it would against a traditional polyurethane bump stop and then pinging back off it.
Meanwhile the bridge-building with Caterham continues as the Alpine-Caterham project gathers speed. Knowledge - and ownership of - Renaultsport products isn't unknown within Caterham ranks but we were surprised when chatting with Alpine-Caterham man Jean-Pascal Dauce how few Renaultsport folk had ever driven Caterhams. There's apparently an old crossflow engined Seven in the Renaultsport car park but Dauce is keen to get something more up to date in so his colleagues can get a handle on what makes Caterham tick. A perfect opportunity for the Euro-homologated Seven 485 there...