Last month, Renault revealed a lightly facelifted version of its popular Clio hatchback. Now, the French automaker has unveiled the similarly subtly tweaked Clio RS.
The Clio RS Trophy will top the range, sitting above the standard RS and RS Cup derivatives. Renault says customers will be able to choose from three types of chassis and two power outputs with the updated model.
Sadly, though, there’s still no manual gearbox, with all Clio RS derivatives instead employing the six-speed EDC dual-clutch automatic transmission.
So, about those chassis options. The first is the Sport chassis with 17- or 18-inch wheels, which Renault says is best for everyday use. Then there’s a strengthened Cup chassis with 18-inch wheels, which is a little harder but still apparently rather usable.
The final option is the hard-core Trophy chassis with 18-inch alloys, lowered by 20mm at the front and 10mm at the rear to place the focus firmly on the driving experience. This Trophy version can also be specified with an exhaust system developed with the help of the folks over at Akrapovič.
The 147 kW powerplant is available with the Sport or Cup chassis, while the perkier 162 kW unit can be selected for the Trophy variant. Renault says the latter takes just 6,6 seconds to sprint from zero to 100 km/h, with a top speed of 235 km/h.
Interestingly, the facelifted Clio RS features a new multi-faceted lighting signature (taking the form of a chequered flag), which it inherits from the Clio RS 16 concept car unveiled a little while ago.
While Renault South Africa has confirmed that the facelifted Clio is scheduled to arrive locally late in 2016, the local arm of the French brand will say only that the updated Clio RS is “in the planning” for local introduction, hinting that it will touch down some time in 2017.
