Clio 172

The small, hot hatchback Renault Clio 172 is an affordable and practical Renault Clio featuring a 2.0 L, 16-valve engine and 51-litre fuel capacity. It is capable of attaining a top speed of 220 km/h (139 mph) in 7.2 seconds. Released under the label Clio Renault Sport 172 in 1999, the Renault Clio 172 has a system comprising features like servo-assistance, ventilated disc brakes with ABS anti-lock. It is one of the best-selling small cars in Europe, with a reputation as an outrageous hot hatchback.

Coming after the Renault Spider, this first Clio RS (Renault Sport) was the second car from the Renault sport division. It had the same body as the original Clio II. It was facelifted and fitted with a tuned suspension design for race track handling and was released as the Clio 172 Cup. At the end of 2001, Renault built only 172 limited edition cars labelled as Clio Renault sport 172 Exclusive. All of these were Scarab Green coloured with leather seats and new alloy wheels. Additionally, they were numbered 1 to 172. This powerful supersport car outperformed the Mini Cooper S (162 bhp), the SEAT Ibiza FR (150 bhp) and, more recently, the Peugeot 206 RC and the SEAT Ibiza Cupra R (both rated at 180 bhp).