Renault Sport fans, you have no time to waste: only 15 Clio R.S.18 limited editions are coming to the UK, and each is going to cost £24,295. Oh, and it’s on sale right now.
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Carrying the same name as the 2018 Renault Sport Racing F1 car, the Clio R.S.18 was originally only offered for European buyers – but hefty public demand from Renault hot hatch-loving Brits has encouraged the firm to bring just 15 cars over here.
This will make the R.S.18 “one of the most exclusive Renault Sport versions to have ever been sold here”.
It’s based on the Clio R.S. 220 Trophy, itself a pumped-up version of the regular 200hp Clio, and each car will wear a Deep Black and Liquid Yellow paint job. Only R.S.18 Clios have the Renault diamond, R.S. logo and rear diffuser painted in Black Gloss, and the R.S.18 decals on the rood and doors are also unique.
Contrasting all the black are Liquid Yellow highlights for the front blade, wheel centre caps and bodyside mouldings.
Inside, there are Renault Sport floor mats, Alcantara steering wheel, carbon fibre-effect air vents and a numbered kick plate.
The fancy hardware from the R.S. 220 Trophy is all carried across, including a fruity Akrapovic exhaust, Hydraulic Compression Control suspension dampers and uprated brakes. Performance? 0-62mph takes 6.6 seconds and the 1.6-litre turbo R.S.18 will do 146mph flat-out (and average 47.9mpg if you take it steady).
Like all Renault Sport models, the cars are sold through 20 specialist dealers – and Renault has announced 11 of them, listed below, will each be granted one R.S.18 to sell (lucky Renault Enfield gets two).
The remaining three cars? They’ll be spread across the entire Renault UK network. Keep the fighting clean, Renault Sport fans…
- Renault Enfield
- Lookers, Newcastle
- John Banks, Cambridge
- Pentagon, Lincoln
- Rawlinson, Bury St Edmunds
- Bristol Street Motors, Nottingham
- Harratts, Wakefield
- Martins, Basingstoke
- Arnold Clark, Hillington
- Renault Solihull
- Masters of Beckenham