1998 Renault Sport Spider SV – Auction Car of the Week
February 25, 2024
Looking very much like a toy car from the design studios of Mattel rather than a racer from Renault’s motorsport, performance and special vehicles division, the Renault Sport Spider is anything but child’s play – this is a bona fide, track-focussed sports car. But that’s not to say it can’t or shouldn’t indeed be played with because fun is the name of the game here, just grown up fun. The kind of fun that will see you hooning sideways around your favourite circuit as you feather the throttle to keep the drift going for as long as possible, all the while grinning from ear to ear like an idiot. Petrolhead perfection then.
Utilising the 2.0-litre 16-valve in-line four-cylinder from the Clio Williams, albeit transversally mounted behind the driver, the Renault Sport Spider is every bit the race car. Its 148bhp may not seem like a lot but once you pair that power with an aluminium chassis and plastic body panels for a 930kg curb weight it all start to make a lot of sense. 60mph comes up in under seven seconds and flat out the Spider will hit 134mph, which is plenty.
Despite the distinct lack of windscreen the Spider can very much be used legally on the road, too. Granted, you may have to pick the flies out of your teeth after nipping to the shops for a pint of milk but you’ll likely be spending most of your time at the track where the car belongs anyway. It was developed to go racing after all and sliding behind the wheel and settling into the Recaro bucket seats will remind you that this is definitely more Brands Hatch than Brighton Bypass.
Built between 1996 and ’99 the Renault Sport Spider was intended, much like the aforementioned Clio Williams, to capitalise on Renault’s F1 rep at the time, as well as to grab a slice of the booming ’90s sports car market. With only around 1,635 examples ever produced, however, it’s a rare beast indeed. Overshadowed, somewhat unfairly, by the Lotus Elise, the Renault Sport Spider nevertheless remains a bright spark of inspiration in a mundane sea of the ordinary and we love it.
Which is exactly why you should buy this particular model we have available via our auctions platform. A 1998 SV, or ‘saute-vent’ (i.e. without a windscreen), only 438 of these were built in left-hand drive, making this quite the collector’s piece. For all our lyrical waxing earlier on about circuit driving, however, this car has never actually seen a track. Instead it has been painstakingly maintained by its enthusiast owner, with a clean history and continuous servicing since new.
But, dear reader, despite not having any track use the Spider has received a whole host of upgrades to further improve how well it drives, making this a unique version of an already sublime sports car. Improvements include the addition of a 6th gear, reinforced clutch kit and self-locking differential (to the tune of over €6,000 ), an optimised braking setup with torque adjustment between the front and rear axles, a full Orbisound stainless steel catalysed exhaust system and reconditioned suspension. All professionally fitted the car also comes with full service history, including that all important timing belt replacement.
Some might say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it but these tasteful and indeed useful mods only serve to heighten the experience of driving this Renault Sport Spider whilst leaving intact the original characteristics that make these cars such a joy to pilot. There’s no brake assist or power steering here meaning that you can still manhandle the thing in complete control (depending on your skill level of course) and to your heart’s content.
Not only is this Renault Sport Spider SV a rare statement piece but it also represents driving pleasure in its purest form. If this was, in fact, a toy, it would be more akin to a fully immersive VR video game than a Matchbox replica so chuck in a bid and head to the track. You won’t be disappointed.
