Description
Overview.
First registered in September 2002 and showing just 11, 671 miles on the odometer, this lovely Silver Renault Clio V6 is number 460 in the run of Phase 1 cars, only 256 of which were UK cars.
Finished in Iceberg Silver, i bought it in 2022, following a period of long term storage (2006) when it was just four years old and it’s racked up only a thousand miles or so since.
Freshly serviced and MoT’d, it runs well, looks terrific, and sounds fantastic. Now for sale with a very reasonable price, this is a rare opportunity to buy one of the lowest mileage Clio V6s in the UK with a clean bill of health, £2700 just spent recommissioning and an advisory free MoT.
Exterior.
All the panels line up nicely and have consistent panel gaps and straight flanks. The doors, bonnet, and boot all open and close as they should too, and they fit nicely in their respective apertures.
But, boring or not, this stuff matters because the Clio V6 can be a handful if it’s driven badly, so alignment like this speaks volumes as to its history before it was tucked away in 2006.
The Iceberg Silver colour gives it a hewn-from-solid look that suits its chunky, purposeful lines to perfection.
The 17-inch alloy wheels are in great shape, and they’re fitted with matching Dunlop SP Sport 9090 tyres, delicate little 205/ 50ZR17 on the front and 234/ 45ZR17 on the rear.
Interior.
With only minor creasing to the Renault Sport seats, the sort of creasing that comes with fewer than 12, 000 miles of use, there’s little to worry about in the front – and if you’re looking for rear seats then this ain’t the car for you because there’s a 227bhp, 3. 0-litre V6 engine where the kids would normally sit. This probably rules it out as a family car!
The headlining, door cards, and carpets are all good, as is the dashboard.
The rest of the interior is pretty standard Renault fare and none the worse for that because it’s durable and attractive and does what it needs to do without fuss.
The frunk is full of pipework and mechanical bits so there’s barely any space inside the black plastic tray that tidies it all up. The rear boot isn’t much better, being tiny.
The windows all open and close at the press of a button, and the central locking, switches, and instruments all do what they’re supposed to.
The silver trim in the centre console has gone a bit sticky, as they all do, but it's not too bad.
Mechanicals.
As it hasn't seen much use for a period. It has just returned from my local Renault Main Dealer after they re-commissioned it for me. Work included an engine out, full service, all new belts, including timing belt (hence engine out!), new tensioners, new water pump, new ancillary belt, brake and clutch fluid changed, coolant flushed and renewed, gear box & engine oil replaced, new clutch slave cylinder, new washer pump, new plugs and coil packs, all filters and finally a fresh (advisory free) MOT, all ready for the new owner. If you know these cars, you'll know that's a long list of all the essentials taken care of, at significant expense.
History.
The Clio was previously MoT’d until March 2023 with no advisories, something it’s made a bit of a habit of over the years. It has been in storage since early 2023, and now ready with its fresh MOT...
As far as paperwork goes, it comes with a wad of old invoices and MoTs plus the original book pack and wallet.
Summary.
The Renault Clio V6’s time has well and truly come; after years in the doldrums, they’re now rightly highly collectable – and their price reflects that.
Cars like this. With fewer than 12, 000 miles on the clock in its two decades on this planet, you could buy it and drive it long and hard on barely run-in components - or continue to pamper it as an investment.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Boring bits.... no unaccompanied test drives. Proof of comprehensive insurance required. Deposit to be agreed on sale and full cleared funds, via bank transfer upon collection.
Thanks for looking. The standard Renault Clio is a charming little thing; in a market where plodding mediocrity and penny-pinching is the norm, the little French hatchback is full of vim and pep. So much so that one of our number was having so much fun on the official launch that he got hopelessly lost and ended up miles from where he was meant to be. (He also missed a very good lunch, which is the real tragedy in the story…)
On the other hand, the Clio V6 Renault Sport is a stone-cold killer with a PTA mum’s smile; Live Fast, Die Young is the French car’s motto – and we love it all the more for being so fabulously and incurably bonkers.
The Clio V6 Phase 1 of 2001 to 2003 is based on the Clio MKII, although this relationship is more notional than real as they ended up sharing very few components. With a three-litre, 227bhp V6 engine stuffed where the rear seats used to live, the need for extensive strengthening means that it weighs a porky 300kgs more than the 172 Cup,.
Developed and built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) in Uddevalla, Sweden, the Clio V6 might only be marginally quicker than a decent hot-hatchback of the era - 0 to 60mph in 6. 2 seconds and a top speed of almost 150mph - but it is such an astonishingly visceral car that it renders other comparisons meaningless thanks to a unique cacophony of noise and motion blur.
And, as if that weren’t enough, anyone who has driven one in the wet will confirm that the rear-wheel-drive chassis will spit you off the road given the slightest provocation, although the minimal sound-proofing helps the Renault redeem itself as its noise satisfies every Group B fantasy you’ve ever had.
Just 1, 513 Phase 1 cars were built before Renault introduced the Phase 2 in 2003.
