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SPORT THE DIFFERENCE

Last year Renault had the first three F1 races in the bag but following the third race of this season fans may need a bit of a morale boost. Well what better symbol of hope than the Renaultsport Clio R27?

The latest in a line of hot hatches from Renault ideally lends itself to track-going enthusiasts due to its ride height and stiff suspension set-up. It has also acquired the 194bhp engine from the Clio 197 which is eager enough to take on a fair bit of thrashing despite a bit of shortfall in torque. In fact it bases quite a lot of its genetic make-up around the 197 as well as being loaded with tons of extra kit. Take the tinted windows, striking 17” anthracite alloys and the red brake callipers peeping out from behind them. Inside there’s also Recaro bucket seats and Renault F1 Team decals together with the production number. With only 500 being made this is obligatory - you don’t want passengers to forget they have the privilege of cruising around in a limited edition model.

With £1500 worth of extras, you can hardly quibble about paying a premium £17,250 as opposed to £15,995 for the Clio 197. What might rile your better nature though is knowing that by the end of the year you’ll be able to get the same chassis set up on the Clio 197 Cup and it’s likely to be about £2,000 cheaper than your exclusive R27. It seems then that Renault are relying on the impatience of buyers; well at least you’ll get a head start on learning your racing lines this summer.
But what defines the R27 from the current Clio 197? Essentially the engineering is tweaked to a higher grade of efficiency, the R27 is quicker to bite with its tyres and holds itself better when cornering. That said it isn’t particularly well behaved on pitted tarmac; as is the quarm with many stiffened suspensions it jolts and jigs a bit too much. But that’s why it’s geared to a sub 30 market as comfort isn’t number one on the priority list; its exhilaration that matters.

Aside from producing almost 100bhp per litre of engine capacity and streaking up the straights from 0-60mph in 6.9 seconds, it will easily keep things steamy until 134mph and there’s no doubt anyone’s going to miss your exploits out on track what with the car’s lairy paintwork. Keeping everything in check are 27 per cent stiffer springs at the front which increases to 30 per cent at the rear. The chassis is also 10 per cent stricter when it comes to body roll. Then being a whole 7mm closer to the tarmac also means that its handling feels sharper.
The R27 is certainly no half way house, they’ve built 500 because they know there’s going to be at least that many serious petrol heads who will go to their local track religiously and drive it how it was meant to be driven. That’s not to say these enthusiasts won’t commute in it as well but if it only breathed life to sit in traffic; it would be a real waste!

Judging on the fact that Renault has sold the last Six limited-edition models like hot cakes, there’s already a hungry audience. It certainly surpasses the attributes of the Clio 197 with its pin-point steering and superb control but will having a numbered plaque and an earlier arrival date be worth the extra £2K or will you hold out for the 197 Cup?

Verdict

FOR: Drive it as hard as you like and just in the nick of time the ESP will save you from yourself
AGAINST: The Clio 197 will be getting the R27’s chassis later in the year and is likely to be cheaper
CONCLUSION: The new R27 is a fully fledged track car both in image and performance. The appeal is in its passion for hard driving and its desire to provide that big boys toy fantasy. Where it looses out on outright grunt it more than makes up for as it glides through the twisty stuff with superb poise. You’ll buy it complete with race ready kit and although it’s a bit pricey, its one hell of an asset to the limited edition family of Renaults.

Spec

ENGINE: 4 cylinders 1998cc
Co2 (g/km)/tax: 199 g/km
POWER: 194 bhp at 7250 rpm
TORQUE (lb/ft): 159 lb ft at 5550 rpm
0-60mph (sec): 6.9
TOP SPEED: 134
MPG: /-/-/33.6 (urban/extra-urban/combined)
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual
WHEELS: 17” anthracite alloys
WEIGHT: 1240kg
PRICE: £17,250
RIVALS: Vauxhall Corsa VXR, Peugeot 207 GTI, MINI Cooper S