Highlights

Bonkers mid-engined, RWD V6-engined Clio built by TWR for RenaultSport
Low mileage Phase 1 car with full service history
A great example of this ground-breaking car in fine condition
Full service history and recent timing belt change
MOT to 2nd February 2024 with no advisories

The Appeal

Sometimes car companies do crazy things and sometimes those crazy things are as mad as they are good. Take the remarkable Clio V6, a mid-engined, RWD version of Renault’s family shopping trolley. There is no reason for it to exist, but be thankful that it does because it is one of the most remarkable cars ever produced by the French firm.

Built as a halo model for the new Mk2 Clio, the V6 began life on the track and evolved with few changes into something you could actually go into a showroom and buy. Just 1,555 Phase 1 cars like this Iceberg Silver example reached customers and these are now highly revered examples of a truly remarkable car.

This 2002 car is number 366 of those first 1,555. A low mileage example with full service history and long MOT it surely ticks all the boxes and it is a great opportunity to buy one of the zaniest and most outlandish of hot hatches.

The History and Paperwork

First registered 5th April 2002
Car number 366 of 1,555 Phase 1 cars
Factory handbooks and service books included
Registered as having six owners but the vendor states that three of these were the same person who emigrated and returned to the UK during his ownership
MOT to 2nd February 2024
MOT history verifies mileage - there is a gap in the records likely due to the previous owner’s time overseas
Full service history with 13 stamps in the book, a mix of main dealer and specialist independents
Most recently serviced on 28th January 2022 at 29,945 miles, only 50 miles ago
Timing belt done on 12th May 2023 at 29,997 miles

The Interior

Original and standard interior, right down to the Renault audio system
Trim and fittings in very good condition for age and mileage
RenaultSport Alcantara and leather seats in very good condition
Some light wear on the driver’s seat bolster to note
Radio controls on steering column
Air conditioning
Two seater with rear seats replaced by engine and rear cargo net
Fire extinguisher
Front ‘froot’ boot storage area in good condition
Factory tool box in boot
Classic white V6 dials

The interior of the Clio V6 is quite a contrast to the wild exterior and drivers of the standard model would have found much that was familiar when this car was new. But a quick glance around reveals that it is quite clearly a whole other world, most noticeably a large V6 engine where there should be a pair of rear seats.

The figure-hugging RenaultSport seats also signal intent, as do the white-faced dials.

In this low mileage example everything is in remarkable condition for a 21 year old car. Just some very light wear on the driver’s seat bolster indicates use, otherwise the interior is very fresh. It is also highly original, right down to the factory-fitted sound system.

The mid-engined arrangement means that this Clio has two boots - a front ‘froot’ boot for storing small, squashy bags and a larger narrow boot beneath the rear hatch.

The Exterior

Immaculate Iceberg Silver metallic paintwork with no visible marks or deterioration
Barum Bravuris 17inch tyres in good condition
Factory standard smoked silver multi-spoke wheels in very good, unmarked condition
Tiny area of kerbing on the front offside rim
Factory standard exterior in excellent condition

The V6 was designed to be a halo car for the new Clio as well as a firm nod back in time to that car’s ancestor, the Renault 5 and the tarmac-munching mid-engined Turbo. It may be badged a Clio and its silhouette may approximate to the much-loved French runaround but they share little else in common. Most of the body panels are different, specially developed by TWR for Renault, and then each car built in Sweden.

It is an unavoidably purposeful shape, the car’s low, wide stance and big rear air intakes clearly setting it apart not just from other Clios but any other hot hatch of the time.

The bodywork on this 2002 car is in very good condition indeed, the Iceberg Silver metallic paint appearing original and with no visible marks or deterioration, even on the vulnerable front and rear bumpers and bonnet.

The smart 17in multi-spoke alloys are in similarly excellent condition with only a very small area of kerbing to note on the offside front wheel.

The flat underside of the car matches the paintwork for condition and there were no structural advisories on the last MOT.

The Mechanics

3litre V6 engine sourced from PSA and developing 227bhp
Mid-engined, rear wheel drive layout
6spd manual gearbox
0-60mph in 6.2secs
Full service history with 13 service book stamps, most recently 50 miles ago
Timing belt changed in May 2023 and has covered 9 miles since

The idea for the Clio V6 began with a Renault engineer spotting that the Twingo and Ferrari 308 shared the same wheelbase and wondering, as you do, what a 308-bodied, performance-focussed Twingo would be like. From there it was a convoluted path to the Clio V6, a car conceived as a halo product for the standard Clio and initially planned as a one-make race series car called the Clio Trophy.

Along the way Renault’s marketers got involved and realised that here was an opportunity to revisit the iconic Renault 5 Turbo.

The road-going V6 was mechanically similar to the race car, Phase 1 models like this one getting a 227bhp version of the 3litre V6 engine fitted to upmarket Lagunas. With the extra weight of that engine the V6 was not noticeably quicker off the mark than a Clio 172 Cup but it was how it composed itself where the different was clearly felt.

Mid-engined and rear wheel drive, the V6 was a very different kind of Clio indeed. The engineering team behind the V6 went on to develop the current Alpine A110, one of the most critically lauded cars of recent years.

This low mileage car comes with full service history - a mix of main dealers and specialist independents - and was most recently serviced 50 miles and less than one year ago. The timing belt was changed 9 miles ago in May 2023. The car has MOT to February 2024 with no advisories and the test records confirms the low mileage.

Summary

Sometimes car companies forget the focus groups and the spreadsheets and just build what they want. When they do, the results are often remarkable. The Clio V6 is just such a car, one that defies logic but is all the greater for it.

This low mileage V6 is a Phase 1 with excellent service history. The condition attests to careful, enthusiastic owners. With interest in this era of modern classic building this is surely a perfect time to buy into one of the period’s strangest and greatest models.

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