2005 Renault Clio V6 Phase 2

“ This Clio is a Pocket Rocket Supercar with Renault's 3.0 V6 ridding in the back and powering the rear wheels. ”
With such a limited production run, the Phase 2 Renault Clio V6 is proving to be a good investment.

Background
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 so much fun to drive that one of our number was so distracted by the nimble chassis that he got hopelessly lost on its launch and missed a very good lunch.

On the other hand, the Clio V6 Renault Sport is a stone-cold killer with a PTA mum’s smile – 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 300kgs more than the 172 Cup, the next fastest car in the Clio range.

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’s 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 over 1,500 Phase 1 cars were built before Renault introduced the Phase 2 in 2003. The Phase 2’s two-year production life comprised 1,309 cars and a power boost to 252bhp.

The resulting car is less raw, more civilized, and better equipped. The Quaife close-ratio gearbox is also much nicer to use than the ‘box fitted to the early cars, and the heavily revised chassis means it is less likely to try to kill you. (Although this can never be ruled out completely…)

It is also even faster than the original with a 0-60mph time of just 5.9 seconds and a top speed comfortably in excess of 150mph. The Renault Sport Clio V6 is, in fact, so good that Jeremy Clarkson once named it one of his top ten cars, which is quite the accolade.

Overview
Number 201 of 1,309 cars built – only 354 of which were right-hand drive – ‘DY05 WBT’ has been in the seller’s care since July 2024.

Finished in the iconic hue of Iliad Blue with a grey half-leather interior, the seller took it on a 1,000-mile European road trip shortly after buying it, which he (obviously) thoroughly enjoyed.

It’s been in dry storage since and, with just 33,800 miles on the odometer, it’s little more than run-in.

However, he’s been careful to put regular heat cycles through it, and it’s just had its oil and filter changed.

Is that all? We hear you ask.

Well, given it’s only covered around 1,500 miles since being treated to significant mechanical expenditure that included a full service and much more in 2021, it simply hasn’t needed anything.

Estimate: £45,000 - £55,000

View The Current Bid Price HERE