Renault Clio RS 200 fast-tracked to Australia

The tiny tearaway of the Renault Sport family has been given an early clearance for Australia. The  Clio RS 200 was originally set for touchdown by March 2014, but the first of the French pocket rockets will now become early Christmas presents with a starting price of $28,790. They have been rushed through the system at Renault Sport in Dieppe in a reflection of Australia's second place in the RS world - only beaten by the home team.

The Clio 200 made an impressive impact during a Carsguide preview drive in France at the start of this year, where it emerged as a mini Godzilla, and also during track laps at Sandown in Melbourne when F1 ace Mark Webber took the wheel. The turbocharged tot even shares the aluminium shift paddles for its double-clutch gearbox with the rampaging Nissan GT-R.

The Christmas confirmation comes this week as Renault Australia continues its run of success with RS Megane models, which have now been delivered to 393 owners through the end of September. "We've cut six months out of the waiting times. Renault Sport has been very supportive and we've managed to get our cars early," says Emily Ambrosy, spokesperson for Renault Australia.

"Supplies will be modest at first but we'll be looking to ramp things up early in the new year." The RS 200 EDC takes its name from its 200-horsepower engine - that's 147 kiloWatts, matched by 240 Newton-metres - and its six-speed Electronic Double Clutch gearbox. It also gets a taut tweaking of the basic fourth-generation Clio chassis, brakes from the V6 Laguna model, larger alloys and a leather-wrapped cabin.

The original plan was to take the car with the track-tuned Cup chassis settings, but Renault Australia has decided to also take the less-extreme Sport set-up. It's a contrast to the Megane, where customer demand means there is only a Cup car. "We believe the Sport is a good drive. Yes, it is the softer option. We've talked to customers and looked at some of the competitors and believe it has a place," says Ambrosy. The last time there was a Sport chassis in the local Renault Sport lineup was back in the days of the Clio 197, in 2010.

The starting price is well below the $35,000 target set earlier this year, when Renault was aiming to slightly undercut the Volkswagen Polo GTi and Skoda Fabia RS it sees as the car's toughest opposition. The $28,790 sticker applies to a Sport chassis model, with the five-door body and EDC, with details on the rest of the lineup still to be confirmed. Ambrosy believes the RS 200 will be an early sellout, based on the reaction following the preview drives this year. "We certainly have had some very strong expressions of interest, but we only open the order book this week."