RE: Renaultsport Clio: turbo, dual clutch confirmed

[Mikeyplum]

1.6t this, 1.6t that yawn yawn fking yawn.

Really dissapointed at the ever increasing lack of NA engines!

Also, it it me, or does it look fking massssive!?

[Oddball RS]

Why show a car at a public event covered in wall paper?

[pthelazyjourno]

MiseryStreak said:

What's the big deal? Just order it with the 'Goodwood' wrap and it looks like a three door doesn't it?

Just like my Elise looks like an estate if I paint some back doors on it?

No. It will still look dull and uninspiring.

RX8 looks OK, but they're only half doors. Couple of odd crossovers that look reasonable - Merc and VW in profile - but they also look like they're 40ft long!!

Last 5-door hatch I liked was the Integrale, but lets face it that's a different era, and it was hardly a beauty. Big front overhang for the time, looked like a bouncer. It was just so damn aggressive that it looked cool.

The majority of small hatchbacks look infinitely better in 3-door guise.

[Ian974]

Article said:

...but a company spokesman did promise us the overall effect is almost coupe-like, with its falling roofline and hidden rear door handles.

There you go, other than being a 5 door hatchback it's almost coupe-like!

[TNH]

Looks like the Vel Satis in one of the photos.

That wasn't exactly a sales success.

[Dragoco]

Was hoping for at least 7 doors to be honest. This has two too few.

[lpzsantana]

It looks like a BIG and angry Toyota Aygo 5 door.

soooo soo sad.... I soooo want the current shape one... but cringe at the thought of paying almost £20K for a Clio.... Maybe the 2nd hand market will be my route in... any comments / suggestions?

[C.A.R.]

Alfa 147.

There you go. Knew there was a decent-looking 5-door hatchback in existence. Shame it hasn't got much company...

[pthelazyjourno]

C.A.R. said:

Alfa 147.

There you go. Knew there was a decent-looking 5-door hatchback in existence. Shame it hasn't got much company...

Forgot about that one, you're right. It's OK.

I still think the 3-door looks better though.

[don logan]

Have Renault shown us this thing in order to shift what is left of the current Clio 200?

I.E, quick, buy what`s left of the car you love before we replace it with one that is nothing like the one you love!

[Greg 172]

C.A.R. said:

Alfa 147.

There you go. Knew there was a decent-looking 5-door hatchback in existence. Shame it hasn't got much company...

Mk1 Leon? Had the benefit of being 5-door only design, so looked in proportion, where a lot of contemporary hatches had to get a balance between 3 and 5 door.

We all know modern superminis will have tall bodies to give more space, and there's obviously not much RS can do about that. Maybe we'll have to pray for a Clio-based coupe in the future, in the same vein as the Mini Coupe? Similar thing to the Wind, only without the convertible bit and not hideous.

[Butter Face]

I think it's going to look brilliant.

Just hope it has Brembos.

[Powerrr]

Well, i for one will be keeping an eye on the (hopefully falling) 200 prices.

[Dr Imran T]

pistolp said:

Manual or no manual. That is one ugly beast.

Spare the detail , that is one awful looking car.

It still has a smaller engine that my 15 year old Rover Turbo.

Does adding another 400cc really make the car uneconomical? I like the era of 2.0 Turbo cars. I truly thought the current Clio would have been a perfect contender for the Megane's 2.0 Turbo unit.

A 2.0 Turbo Clio would be a really attractive proposition, kind of like the Mk1 Focus RS.

[nickfrog]

doogz said:

MiseryStreak said:

I'm placing my bet now that in its Cup iteration, it will be a class leader, again. K-Tec have probably already developed their 250bhp remap for it too, so it will monster anything else out there on trackdays for an extra £500.

Calm down.

LOL. I naively thought that lateral grip and traction were ever so slightly more useful than raw power on track, if you know how to use them at least .

[Baryonyx]

It looks like a bloody great bus.


EDIT: 'great' meaning huge.

[Greg 172]

Dr Imran T said:

Spare the detail , that is one awful looking car.

It still has a smaller engine that my 15 year old Rover Turbo.

Does adding another 400cc really make the car uneconomical? I like the era of 2.0 Turbo cars. I truly thought the current Clio would have been a perfect contender for the Megane's 2.0 Turbo unit.

A 2.0 Turbo Clio would be a really attractive proposition, kind of like the Mk1 Focus RS.

Quite apart from the fuel economy, I presume the 2.0 weighs a bit more than a 1.6 and has higher emissions? Plus they won't want to rob sales from the RS Megane by putting an identical engine in the Clio.

[ode]

I can see why they've done it. People are getting bigger in every direction, and they don't want to alienate any potential customers, so we all have to put up with bigger, taller cars.

Don't blame Renault, blame the fatties.

[nickfrog]

Makes the MINI Cooper S look like a good car, despite the turbo (which incidentally is nowhere near as bad as people who haven't driven one make out it is).

[Mastodon2]

C.A.R. said:

Alfa 147.

There you go. Knew there was a decent-looking 5-door hatchback in existence. Shame it hasn't got much company...

I think the old Leon Cupra R didn't suffer for being a 5 door, but I agree in general that 3 doors look much, much better and are far more suited to hot hatches.



As for the Renault, it looks absolutely huge. Not interested in the blown engine either; a NA engine, even if it wasn't a gem like a Honda engine, was the Clio's main USP on the market after the Civic Type R was killed off. I think the last of the NA Clio's will be very well remembered indeed. Get one now, they won't be around forever!