Clio Renault Sport

The Renault Clio Renault Sport (or Clio RS for short) is a hot hatch produced from 1998 to 2019 by Renault Sport (or RenaultSport), the high-performance division of French automaker, Renault. It is based on the Clio supermini.

The engine and layout has remained relatively unchanged throughout most generations of the vehicle; a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter straight-four petrol engine with a FF layout and a three-door hatchback body style. However, the last generation was changed to a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine and a five-door hatchback body style.

In 1999 Renault presented the first officially branded RenaultSport Clio, the third Clio produced by the RenaultSport division succeeding the Clio 16V and Clio Williams.

This new Clio, the 172, was based on the three-door Clio II shell but had numerous features over the standard car, including wider arches, restyled bumpers, side skirts and 15-inch OZ F1 alloy wheels.

Power was delivered by the F4R 730 engine, a 2.0-litre 16-valve Inline 4 engine with a Variable valve timing (VVT) system via a dephaser on the intake camshaft pulley. The engine was a modified version of the F4R used in models such as the Laguna and Espace and was modified by Mecachrome to deliver a power output of 172 PS (127 kW; 170 hp) at 6250 rpm. Power was delivered to the wheels via a JC5-089 five-speed manual gearbox, resulting in a 0-60 mph time of 6.6 seconds, as tested by Evo Magazine in their February 2000 issue.

The 172 also featured interior changes over the standard car, including half leather, half alcantara seats embossed with the RenaultSport logo and equipped with side-impact airbags. The car also came standard with manually controlled air conditioning and a Radiosat 6010: 60W RDS radio, with a 6 disc multi-changer positioned underneath the passenger seat.

Upon its initial release to the UK market in January 2000, the 172 was only available in 647 Titanium Silver. However, six months later in June 2000, Renault would introduce four new metallic paints as an optional extra; 377 Sunflower Yellow, D44 Odyssey Blue, 676 Pearl Black, and B76 Flame Red. Following on from this in January of 2001, Renault would then replace the 647 Titanium Silver with the new 640 Iceberg Silver, which was also the primary colour option for the Phase 1 Renaultsport Clio V6.

A limited edition of the Phase 1 172 was introduced in February 2001, known as the Clio 172 Exclusive. It was limited to 172 units, all of which were painted in 296 Scarab Green, featuring BBS alloy wheels and a 'Dune Grey' full-leather interior, as opposed to the half-leather half-alcantara seats featured in the standard car. Each Exclusive also came with a door-sill tread step featuring the RenaultSport logo and the individual vehicle number.