Renault Clio News

... a radical new design and more support from Renault Australia could change that.The fourth-generation Clio definitely has a unique look and should make it down under in 2013.

Of the 666 cars for 15 markets worldwide, only 40 Angels & Demons have been allocated to Australia, with the car priced from $39,990. Its `bad boy' exterior is complimented by the acclaimed Cup chassis and 151kW of grunt to take you beyond the daily grind.The Clio RS Angel & Demon is a debutante in more than one way, introducing a pair of enticing matt body colours to Renault's line up in Australia: the angelic Matt Hologramme Grey or devilish Matt Toro Red. The exterior is enhanced by gloss black 18-inch Interlagos wheels, with red Brembo brake callipers. The wheels display the R.S. badge in the centre and are shod with Bridgestone RE050A tyres  a first for Renault Sport in Australia.These asymmetric, ultra-high-performance tyres incorporate dynamic sporty handling and a quiet, comfortable ride to meet the rigorous demands of prestige performance vehicles. The matt body colours are complimented by a gloss black roof, upper tailgate, rear spoiler, rear diffuser, F1-style blade in the front bumper, door handles and exterior door mirrors. The rear-side and tailgate windows are dark-tinted to complete the roguish style. An optional Angel & Demon tattoo can be grafted onto the left hand side of the rear quarter window pillar to identify this limited series.

The new model's front end has been grafted on to an existing chassis and the new Renault corporate face is clearly seen.Carparazzi says the engine line-up for the 2013 update won't change, other than tweaks for fuel efficiency.

The French carmaker has two Renault racers in the Formula One field at Albert Park, as well as the Renault-engined Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, and is lining up four Megane RS 250 coupes for a Red Bull-backed on-track shootout including David Coulthard and young Aussie hopeful Daniel Ricciardo.But there is more - a limited-edition, grand prix-themed Clio Sport. The new pocket rocket is the latest addition to Renault's go-faster lineup, which has provided the bait for local buyers over the past 18 months.There are only 30 Clio R.S. 200 Australian Grand Prix edition cars and each has a commemorative plaque signed by Webber. The mechanical package is unchanged - with a 147.5 kiloWatt 2.0-litre engine and a close-ratio six-speed gearbox that combine for a 0-100km/  h sprint in 6.9 seconds and a top speed of 225 km/h.The difference between the GP edition and the regular Clio Renault Sport are mostly cosmetic, apart from a $1000 price hike to $39,990. The cars are painted in traditional Renault racing colours of liquid yellow and black, with black-gloss Speedline alloy wheels. The roof is also black.Inside, there are Recaro sports seats, the Renault Sport monitor system and an additional rear spoiler. Cars will hit dealers next month and Renault Australia boss, Justin Hocevar, is predicting an early sellout."I am confident the new Clio R.S. 200 Australian Grand Prix Limited Edition car will become an instant classic," he says.

The retired Olympic swimmer proves it pretty regularly and does it again as he trumps a 12-star field - and a couple of motoring journalists - during a fun run around the Melbourne Showgrounds.The occasion is the Top Gear Live celebration, which includes a series of display drives around a short-and-narrow course mapped through the access roads in the Showgrounds. It's far too dinky for the driver of the classic Elfin to unleash his Formula 5000 racer, but good enough for the celeb contenders in a timed shootout that runs as a backdrop to the Melbourne leg of James May and Jeremy Clarkson's world tour.The best thing about the celebrity challenge, and the reason for a Carsguide cameo, is the cars. Renault has brought a couple of its perky little Clio hatches along for the event, and they are the hotrod 147 kiloWatt RS 200 Gordini Edition. For people who don't know, Gordini has a long history in the France with race and fast road cars.It's a bit like Holden Special Vehicles, with a focus on the baby cars that have been Renault bedrock for generations. The Gordini looks a bit special with a pair of racing stripes over the top, but it's when I turn they key that it really comes alive. It's surprisingly quick, incredibly responsive, and just plain fun.And that's before I head onto the course at the Showgrounds. Australia is now picking up a growing selection of hot hatches from Europe and the Gordini becomes an instant favourite alongside the latest Polo GTi from Volkswagen and the rorty - but expensive - John Cooper Works version of the Mini Cooper S.Just over $40,000 is not cheap, but - apart from a steering column that doesn't adjust for rake - there is no much else to complain about. The Gordini really jumps around the Showground and is quick enough to have celebrity trainer Nathan Pretty - a handy V8 Supercar co-driver at Bathurst and now a V8 ute racer - jumping for cover as I cut one corner tighter than he expects.There is little chance to run through the slick six-speed gearbox but the brakes are great and the suspension keeps the wheels planted on the slippery surface. Later, running back to Melbourne airport, the Gordini is good fun and easy to nip through gaps and ease around some favourite corners. It's a smiley car - and that ticks the box for Carsguide.Pretty really earns his money as the celebrities run through the program, with a wide range of ability and a 13-second spread between Welsh and Vince Colosimo on a run that takes barely 90 seconds. Welsh is eventually a full four seconds quicker than Paul Chapman - Carsguide would have been second - and shows the benefit of years of training and practice.He applies similar dedication to his driving as he used for success in swimming, even arriving at the Showgrounds in a pair of custom driving shoes, in a lesson to anyone who wants to be a better drive. "Matt was always pretty keen. I've seen him at a lot of events," says  Pretty."He used to turn up all the time when I was doing stuff with Holden. He's pretty good. "I wish everyone was like that. This job can get a bit scary at times."

The Captur will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1 and already the French company is talking about its potential impact. It follows Renault's great looking two-seater DeZir coupe concept and was created under the direction of new design chief, Laurens van den Acker."I'm quite sure the Captur is being used to test design cues for future production models. It's not exactly like what we'll see but it gives a very good taste," says Justin Hocevar, managing director of Renault Australia. "This is part of a concept vehicle stratgegy that kicked off with DeZir.Laurens Van Den acker is communicating the future design direction and this is the next instalment. We're exploring all avenues to grow." The Captur is said by Renault to preview a future road car. "Captur is a fun and sporty crossover, ideal for a young couple about to discover the world," says van den Acker.It is powered by a twin-turbo diesel engine for plenty of punch with low CO2 emissions of just 99 grams/kilometre. Renault says it has a 0-100km/h sprint time of 8.0 seconds thanks to an engine with 180 kiloWatts and 380 Newton-metres from just 1.6 litres.It is also fitted with a locking mechanical differential, to boost its front-wheel drive traction in slippery conditions, and a forward looking camera at the top of the windscreen - called Visio-system - to provide the sort of driver-assistance functions already available at Volvo, Benz and other brands.Hocevar says he is looking forward to the arrival of the next-generation Renault models as he continues work to rebuild the brand's support in Australia. The Megane got price cuts and a new hero car last year and he says the results are starting to show among shoppers. "We've still got a long way to go with rebuilding the brand in Australia, but our enquiry has increased to record levels," he says."It's under the halo of the RS250, which is a hero car that has really helped put the brand back on the map. I think we've done a very good job of positioning these cars at the appropriate levels. We're sitting against premium Japanese compact cars as an entry to the European market."

The Gordini designation is a tribute to Amedee Gordini, who developed almost 200,000 Renault vehicles over a 20-year period, and who achieved some of the brand’s most formative and greatest sporting achievements – including a memorable first, third, fourth and fifth places in the 1964 Tour of Corsica Rally, all in Renault R8 Gordinis.This modern tribute was thought to be limited to just 500 examples, all destined for the UK market, but the vehicle’s presence in Sydney could herald a positive change for enthusiasts Down Under.You get: F1-style 'blade' in the lower grille area, twin racing stripes, contrasting wing mirrors, and 17-inch Gordini alloy wheels. Three colours were made available: Malta Blue, Pearl Black and Glacier White. Renault would delete the stripes upon customers’ request.The interior is treated in grey leather with contrasting details and a Gordini-embossed logo, with sundry details – including a really neat contrasting trim job for the steering wheel, highlighting the straight-ahead position, racing-style and sport pedals.The tacho is highlighted in white, with black gloss highlights used to good effect elsewhere.Two suspension options are available – a standard ‘sport’ setup and an even stiffer ‘Cup’ setup as an option.Complementing the sports styling and ‘Perfohub’ steering technology is a fade-free Brembo brake package and a high-performance 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine with a generous 150kW peak power output.

It is already set for local sales, continuing the emphasis on hot hatches with a RenaultSport twist."In Paris they will have the Clio 4 and that will be the first of the production cars with the new design cues," says Rudi Koenig, managing director of Renault Australia."We have the Clio Sport in the current generation and will have the same in the next generation. Whether we get the rest of the range depends on the price. At the moment the Clio is not price competitive."Koenig says the Clio will follow the new compact Megane as Renault looks to recover lost ground in showrooms."Our sales haven't been as strong as we would have expected. The timing hasn't worked for us," he says."Our new models are coming from the last quarter. We'll catch up and have a good year next year."

 Apart from European hot-hatches such as the Renault Cleo Sport and Peugeot 206 GTi seldom have we seen any manufactures brave enough to bring 3 door hatch variants into our market.  Sure you can get an entry level 3 door Yaris but what about a nice 3 door Corolla Sportivo, um… sorry they don’t come in 3 door in Australia.This pattern seems to have started in the late 80s with the introduction in droves of mass produced front wheel drive hatch backs.  Remember the Pulsar SSS?  Yep that came in 3 door hatch in Japan.  How about the Corolla GTi, or Mazda 323?  Yep 3 door again overseas.At one stage in the early 90s even the iconic Golf GTi was only available in 5 door in this country.  For years Australia has been denied many of the accessories and engine options that are prevalent in Europe, the US, and even the rest of Asia, but they are happy to throw in an extra 2 doors for nothing.  There are some companies that have bucked the trend like Honda, but even they gave in to with the “5 door hatch only” Civic model a few years back.  And now it looks like the Europeans have caught on to this trend.  We are missing out on the 2 door BMW 1 series hatch it seems…Though through the gloom comes the news that Australia will shortly see the new 2 door VW Polo.  A brief hint of fun in a sea of practicality it seams.I really can’t see any reason why the Australian market seems to be so against the 3 door hatch… especially when it comes to the performance market. 

The Chevrolet Camaro might be built and sold in the USA, but it was designed, developed, tested and approved down under as a spin-off from the VE Commodore. It is named this week among the 31 finalists for the World COTY (see gallery above for full shortlist), and will be judged by a global panel of 60 motoring journalists before the winner is named at the New York Auto Show in April next year.The finalists carry badges from Audi to Toyota and are as diverse as the latest green-power Honda Insight and Toyota Prius to the super luxury Porsche Panamera."The list came from the manufacturers, who sent us their eligible cars for the year. There may be one or two more yet, because a couple of companies might have some extra models before the end of the year," says WCOTY co-chairman, Peter Lyon. "For example, there is the Mercedes SLS Gullwing. We don't know yet when it will go on sale."Apart from the World COTY contest, the same judging panel also decides the World Performance Car of the Year (see gallery), World Green Car of the Year and World Car Design of the year.So far there are 18 potential winners in the performance category, from the Aston Martin V12 Vantage to the Renault Clio 3 Renault Sport. Judging on all fronts now advances to the semi-finals, three cars in each case, which will be named at the Geneva Motor Show at the start of March. Then it is over to the judges to drive, assess and vote."This year we have 60 judges altogether. We've capped at that number, after adding a couple of new judges this year," says Lyon. "Originally we had about 44 judges. But 60 is the basic number of the North American, European and Japanese COTY awards and that seemed like the right number.""We've got judges now for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. We've basically covered 25 or 26 countries, from Australia to Russia and everywhere between."Lyon says the basics of the award have not changed for the sixth judging and he makes no apologies for the list of contenders. "The German and Japanese cars are romping it in again. It's basically a reflection of the quality of car manufacturing today. The Japanese and Germans are making the best cars in the world, full stop," he says."But we think, of all the Car of the Year awards, this is the most natural. There is no pressure on any of the judges. They just vote for the best cars as they see them in their countries."