Tag: RS 200 EDC

The new Clio RS 200 EDC is now on Australian shores. Renault Australia told us back in October that entry level pricing was going to be $28,790. Hurrah, we all said; that’s quite cheap!

Of course, that price is for the Sport option and the Clio RS is available in four trims in total. There’s the basic Sport model and the sharpened Cup chassis, as we’ve come to expect from Renault. The Cup is 15% stiffer and 3mm lower (make sure you measure it to be absolutely certain).

In addition to that both the Sport and Cup can be bought in Trophy spec, which nets you leather seats, auto climate control, rear parking sensors, a rear view camera and 18″ alloys.

Quantify all that in dollars and in its most expensive form—Cup Trophy—the Clio is priced from $36,790. Add your taxes etc and it’s starting to push the friendship a little.

Remember, too, that Renault, in its wisdom, has joined the rush for fuel efficiency and replaced the screaming normally aspirated engine with a 1.6 litre turbo. We can only hope the recipe for the hot Clio’s handling hasn’t been changed and that Renault Sport has found a way to ensure not one single kilowatt from the 147 on offer is wasted.

Rightly so, hot Renaults have a bit of a cult following and we wonder if the ingredients of the Clio RS have been changed too much. While the tech boffins will like the exclusive “choice” of a 6-speed “Efficient Double Clutch” transmission we reckon the purists would prefer if Renault saved some cash and gave them the choice of a proper gear box and a three-door layout.

All hot hatches should be three doors. It’s like that and that’s the way it is!

Fans of French hot hatches will welcome the arrival of full specifications for the new Renault Clio RS 200 EDC. The car was first shown in Paris last year and was accompanied by some good detail then, but this time there’s a lot more info to sink your teeth into.

To refresh you of the basic specs, the Clio RS 200 EDC is now powered by a 147kW/240Nm 1.6 litre turbocharged four cylinder engine and coupled to a 6-speed Efficient Dual Clutch. It weighs 1204kg and can reach 100km/h in 6.7 seconds.

While some may bemoan the lack of a manual gearbox and the lack of a free revving normally aspirated engine, as found in previous hot Clios, they may gain some comfort in the fact the Renaultsport engineers are still in control of the Clio RS 200’s suspension. Indeed, Renault proudly claims their latest hot hatch is the first production car to be fitted with hydraulic compression stops in its shocks.

We applaud the functionality of the RS Monitor 2.0 that allows data logging to be downloaded to a USB stick, among other very cool things, but cannot criticise Renault enough for adding the R-Sound Effect. This system allows you to tap into the car’s throttle position and so on to electronically pipe the sound of other cars through the stereo system. Really, have we descended that far into the realm of electronic trickery? Does anyone really want their Clio RS to sound like a Nissan GT-R?

After the break you’ll find another 30 or so images (the screen graphics are not available in larger sizing) and access to all the press guff you could hope to read.

According to evo, the rumours suggesting the new Clio RS will exclusively feature a dual clutch transmission have been confirmed by Renault.

Compounding the loss is word the Clio hot hatch will be powered by a 1.6 litre turbocharged four cylinder (with around 150kW). Gone is the free-revving normally aspirated four-pot, swapped for a default turbo solution. Gone is the slick shifting manual box, swapped for a granny-friendly twin clutch transmission.

On the plus side, the Clio IV should tip the scales around 100kg lighter than the Clio III. We’re sure Renault Sport won’t forget how to make the Clio a cracking drive, we just think it’s a shame that, on paper, it is taking something of a cookie cutter approach.

Oh, if you’d already put one and one together regarding Renault reuniting with Williams, well, don’t. There’s no plans to revive the iconic Clio Williams badge.

[Source: evo]