Clio Sport

The Renault Clio Sport was launched in 1999 by Renault Sport, which is a high-performance division of French automaker Renault. This hot hatch is also known as Renault Clio Renault Sport or Clio RS. This is the second car from the Renault Sport division after the Renault Spider. The Clio Sport is based on the Clio supermini and comes with sportive features like running boards and bigger wheels. The Clio Sport has a FF layout and a three-door hatchback body style. It uses a 2.0-litre straight-4 petrol engine that hasn’t changed since the first Clio Sport.

The second generation Clio Sport (Clio II RS) first appeared in 2001. The standard equipment included xenon headlights with washers, six-disc changer, four airbags, leather seats (with a "Renaultsport" logo) and 16 inch alloy wheels. The engine was upgraded to 182 bhp and there was an addition of a dual exhaust system and different 4-2-1 manifold. The final Clio II RS included suspension revisions such as Sachs remote-reservoir dampers from the Clio Cup race car.

The next-generation Clio III adopted technology from Formula One which included a rear diffuser and brake cooling side vents. The acceleration figures of the car are lower than its predecessor due to the new six-speed gearbox with shorter gearing. The Clio II RS-Trophy won 'Evo' magazine's People's Performance Car of the year, 2005, beating more exotic rivals like the Lamborghini Gallardo. Boasting a superior finish, the New Renault Clio has been voted car of 2006 and was awarded 5-stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests.