What's all this then?
This is the glitz, the glamour, the sheer unadulterated money-ness of the Monaco Grand Prix, everyone's favourite billionaire's tax haven race track. And the perfect backdrop for the launch of a new, small French car, right?
Well actually yes, possibly. Renault is set to use both Monaco and its own F1 team to launch a hotter-than-hell version of the Clio Sport. The current Clio Sport lives rather in the shadow of some illustrious forebears, so Renault plans to fix this by adding more power. A strategy with which we totally agree. Rumours, and they are just rumours, suggest that the Clio Sport will get the 250hp engine from the old Megane Sport, and possibly that car's manual gearbox too. Crazier rumours say it will get the Megane GT's 276hp engine, which would be quite something, and potentially a pocket-rocket rival to the likes of even the mighty Focus RS, given the Clio's lower weight.
Crazy seems to be on the agenda, though. Patrice Ratti, Managing Director of Renault Sport Cars, said: "We successfully completed the project of a slightly crazy car. It was a joint effort by the Renault Sport Cars and Renault Sport Racing teams. This Clio R.S. refines the expertise of Renault Sport engineers whilst exploring new avenues for the future".
Neil Briscoe - 23 May 2016