Renault Clio - Now the ultimate hot hatch

[Chancer]

Well I'm sure you've all seen the hot reviews that the Clio has received over the last few months, beating off competition from the likes of the Golf GTI, Peugeot 206 GTI etc. It boasts 172 BHP and great handling, even though the model doesn’t come with traction control, and can do 138mph and 0-60mph in less than 7sec’s. So does this sound like the ultimate hot hatch? Well, for the moment, until, the next super Clio! By the end of the year wel will have the new RenaultSport Clio V6 24V with 250bhp. Its front-wheel drive chassis could not cope with 50 per cent more power, so RenaultSport did what race engineers do and put the engine at the back in place of the seats, driving the rear wheels. Could this possibly be better fun than a BMW? Methinks it could!

[PaulKanters]

It's actually old news really, as Renault has already tried out this trick before in the mid 80ies with their Renault 5 Turbo2. Took the body shell of a simple old Renault 5, slotted in a highly tuned 1500cc engine, bolted a giant Turbo charger onto it and hey presto: 160hp, 122mph and 7 sec 0-60! It was actually remarkably easy to drive as well. The group B racing versions threw out an impressive 350bhp, and were able to beat the odd Audi Quatro and Lancia Delta.

I don't know how much the new Clio will cost but an immaculate 5 Turbo2 will set you back only about 14k!

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Paul Kanters
Nothing beats Classic Motoring! welcome.to/classiccarsireland (http://welcome.to/classiccarsireland)
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[Justin]

Yes,and why buy an Aston DB 7 Vantage when £50k will get you an immaculate Bentley Superblower from 1928 :rolleyes: (go on, tell me it would be more than £50k but is still better than a Vantage.

Is there any thread that doesn't get hijacked into retroland?

I wouldn't buy a 250bhp mid engined 2 seat Clio - get a 911 (of whatever vintage) instead (it'll be £50k here by special order,I'll bet)

[PaulKanters]

OK Justin, point taken. I'll shut up ;)

Aaghr, nope, can't do it :p ...
Here I go again, stop me ... a bentley superblower would set you back a couple of hundred grand, but even I would have to admit that the Vantage would be a far better option than a vintage bentley from a handling and practical point of view.
Now I'll shut up

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Paul Kanters
Nothing beats Classic Motoring! welcome.to/classiccarsireland (http://welcome.to/classiccarsireland)
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[PaulKanters]

I actually still have the dinky toy!! Sad eh...

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Paul Kanters
Nothing beats Classic Motoring! welcome.to/classiccarsireland (http://welcome.to/classiccarsireland)
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[BeCos]

Yeah, and I still have the costume.Wasn't the car a Lincoln Futura?

[PaulKanters]

Yep, it was indeed, but I think they constructed about 5 models of the car along the running of the series in the sixties, so you see the odd one cropping up around the globe in different auctions.
I think this dentist in the UK, that runs a Museum with "Film" cars, has one on display

Holy smoke, batman...let's check it out

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Paul Kanters
Nothing beats Classic Motoring! welcome.to/classiccarsireland (http://welcome.to/classiccarsireland)
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[SpyCamera]

Ok Paul, talking about old cars what car did Batman drive in the 60's. I mean, that was a fast car with a rocket sticking out the back and it seemed to handle beautiful. LOL :p :p :p :p :p

[Junior]

To get back to the discussion anyways boys .... I dunno does it sound like the "Ultimate" Hot Hatch .. I would much prefer to see a VR6 Polo .. I've never driven a 172 Clio I've driven the last model and was not impressed by it's build quality at all .. I've driven a number of Golf GTi's and in fact once you are use to the Mk III's handling it can become quiet a good car to drive .. As Paul mentioned in his retro blast at the start Renault have successfully used this ploy before and well know how to use it .. when this clio was first meant to be built it was a mid engined 3 litre two seater, should this be classed as a hot hatch ?

The day of the Hot hatch died with the yuppie and the filofax .... we are in a new era of Performance cars Hot hatches are Part of a Uk mindest... that should be left well enough alone .. to me a proper hot hatch is something like a Corrado Vr6, An Integra Type R, A Puma ...

Just my 2p on the topic

yeah baby yeah

Junior

[Anders]

Isn't the Subaru Impreza Turbo really the ultimate hot hatch these days? Who can get excited about a car doing 0-60 in 7 seconds?

[Justin]

Purlease, a Scooby a hot hatch? It costs £30k and is based (very very closely) on a rally monster, not a receptacle for a shopping trolley such as the Clio

[Tony]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Anders:
Isn't the Subaru Impreza Turbo really the ultimate hot hatch these days? Who can get excited about a car doing 0-60 in 7 seconds? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The Impreza may be fast, but it certainly isn't a hatchback, unless the motor industry have changed the definition of a saloon! :p