Renault Sport Spider

[buccal]

Never ever seen one in the flesh.

Have any of the pistonheads faithful actually owned one?

Edited by buccal on Thursday 9th April 19:12

[David87]

They're awesome-looking lil' things! IIRC they used the Clio Williams 2.0 engine, which should have made it a right laugh. I'd love to have a go in one. Always liked 'em.

[Gizmo!]

I'm sure I saw one at a PH meet some time ago - great looking.
Can't work out why they fetch twice the money of an Elise though.

[Dale19]

Theres one sat in a deadlership not far from me in blue, its not for sale though, lovely looking thing.

[grim_d]

Closest I ever came to seeing one was playing "roadsters" on the N64.

[Bushmaster]

IIRC they are very heavy compared to Elises.

[Fastra]

They used to have a one-make race series that backed up the Touring cars (1988 - ish...?), always made good watching. Remember the wave they caused on launch too, Performance Car used to love them!

Great cars and, look wise, well ahead of their time I think.

[darronwall]

Bushmaster said:

IIRC they are very heavy compared to Elises.

your correct,they are a bit pointless really!

[Mrs Muttleysnoop]

Never owned one but always lusted after one in grey and yellow.

[JonRB]

Trouble is they were *very* heavy and suffered from a woeful power-to-weight ratio.

[greenBo**ox]

they aren't that heavy really, maybe a fair whack more then the elise but still manage 0-60 in the 6's with 150bhp which still make for a fun car. But they are over priced as not many were produced, which is unfortunate

[Killer2005]

Gemini

PH'er Gemini had one until last year

[Ferg]

Trailing wishbones on the rear......

Edited by Ferg on Thursday 9th April 20:26

[anonymous-user]

Don't forget there are two versions - one with a windscreen and the other, errm, without. Lots of pics of both available on google images.

The one without a windscreen is IMO utterly pointless in the UK.

The one with a windscreen has the most ugly "camping holiday gone wrong" soft-top arrangement you can imagine! Best left at home.

Definitely an interesting car, though utterly eclipsed as soon as Elise hit the market. Sales were miniscule and any value in the cars is mainly a reflection of their rarity.

[CarlT]

The Spider is a fantastic car to drive and is certainly becoming a collectors car.

It has no roof at all (save a tonneau cover) and 150 bhp 16v engine. It is fair to say that it was over-shadowed by the Elise when it was launched in '96/'97.

The values have held up very well - they tend to go for around £15-£20K at present - not far off their list price back in '97.

Definitley 1 to buy and cherish

[JonRB]

greenBo**ox said:

they aren't that heavy really, maybe a fair whack more then the elise but still manage 0-60 in the 6's with 150bhp which still make for a fun car. But they are over priced as not many were produced, which is unfortunate

Oh come on. My Corrado made mid-6's when standard and it's just a Golf in a posh frock.

[Lordbenny]

One of my best mates has one, he has had it from new and covered about 5,000 miles in it! it's a UK spec car so it's got a windscreen & not a wind deflector. He's had a devil exhaust fitted & re-trimmed the interior. The only trouble with them is that they're under powered, the little clio 2 litre engine just can't cope. They are a stunning looking car, especially with those wheels & will be a real collectors car in years to come.

[V8mate]

This thread needs pics

[colinrob]

The race series supported the BTTC that is where Plato made his name he either won 16 from 16 races or 15 from 16 cant quite remember but he was awesome driving them

[sniff diesel]

I remember the road safety columns in the Saturday Telegraph they used a LHD one without a windscreen as the reckoned they could get the best possible view from the drivers eye point of view.