2004 Renault Clio Sport V6 24v review

Renault Clio Sport V6 24v review:

An exclusive sports model carrying the Renault Sport badge, Clio V6 showcases the styling of the latest-generation Clio. Blending sportiness with flowing lines, the unique design also boosts efficiency. Thanks to a host of new developments, New Clio V6 combines pleasure of use with unusually high performance, with a 0-100kph time of less than 6 seconds. New Clio V6 features a new chassis together with 18-inch wheels. Fitted with a completely new top end, the 3-litre 24- valve V6 engine delivers 255bhp at 7,150rpm and 300Nm at 4,650rpm. The six-speed gearbox benefits from specific developments, including a shorter final drive, revised internal gear ratios and shorter selector movements. Assembled at the Alpine facility in Dieppe, New Clio V6 will go on sale in Europe at the end of 2002, with enhanced levels of equipment and perceived quality.

Successfully launched in June 2001, the new-generation Clio has posted steady growth, occupying second place in the Western European B segment since August 2001, and first place in the French market since January 2002. It's now the turn of Clio V6 – the image-building model of the range and a symbol of the passion associated with the Renault brand – to get a complete revamp.

New Clio V6 Geared to Driving Pleasure

With a two-seat rear-drive layout and a V6 engine transversely installed in the midrear position, New Clio V6 is an exclusive sporting model designed to offer the maximum amount of pleasure: pleasure in owning a distinctive car, and pleasure in using a new, nimble and safe chassis, and an expressive engine delivering 255bhp mated to a sports-type gearbox. New Clio V6 offers unusually high performance, notably with a 0-100kph time of less than 6 seconds.

Featuring a unique and thoroughbred design, New Clio V6 displays an even more incisive front face by adopting the styling of the latest-generation Clio. The front bumper, grille, bonnet and twin-unit xenon headlamps are entirely new. The very slender headlamp units are installed in new extended front wings which accommodate the 18-inch tyres mounted on OZ "Superturismo" rims with a gloss finish. These wheels completely fill the wheel arch openings and, with the increased wheelbase, are moved out well towards the four corners of the car.

A New Chassis Teamed With a Powertrain Full of Character

The new chassis benefits from a more sporting specification combining stiffness with progressiveness. The front suspension castor angle has been increased and the larger-diameter anti-roll bar is now connected via drop-links for improved efficiency.

This new chassis runs on 18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport tyres specially developed for New Clio V6. They provide greater directional stiffness for improved precision, and good feedback of steering feel for the best possible driving pleasure. A popular feature in the former version, the ABS-equipped braking system benefits from the higher level of grip provided by these new tyres.

In New Clio V6, the six-speed "PK6" gearbox has been specially adapted. The shorter final drive lowers the overall gearing to the benefit of response and acceleration. The internal gears are more closely spaced with new ratios for first, second and third. These developments are accompanied by a shift mechanism which has been redesigned for more sporting operation: selector movements have been reduced by 20% and the stops are more pronounced. These changes significantly improve the ease and precision of gearchanging.

The acoustics of New Clio V6 have been the focus of especially close study, resulting in a metallic and sporting exhaust note which contributes to the overall pleasure of driving. A resonator modifies intake noise at high speeds and the adoption of a damped windscreen allows booming to be eliminated. Noises emanating from the driveline are filtered by a damped twin-mass engine flywheel.

Manufactured by Renault and Generously Equipped

Intended for the same customer base that was won over by the previous version – 1,630 units of which were built in 20 months – New Clio V6 is assembled at the Alpine facility in Dieppe using bodies supplied by a special department within the Flins factory. New Clio V6 thus benefits from the quality standards applied to fullscale production and from the know-how of workers at Alpine’s Dieppe plant for a production rate of 12 cars per day.

To go on sale in Europe at the end of the year, New Clio V6 will be available at launch in three body colours: Titanium Grey, Iliade Blue and Mars Red. End of Renault Clio Sport V6 24v review.