Add power and add even more lightness with more yellow than is necessary. A perfect recipe for a mad Renault Clio RS.
Some leaked images have prompted rampant speculation that Renault has something rather special in store off-track at this weekend’s Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix – a special edition hardcore Clio RS with the engine from a Megane RS 275 Trophy.
The initial reports come from Greek website Motori over the past weekend accompanied by an especially angry looking yellow Clio RS with bulging body panels, 19-inch black alloy wheels and a large rear roof spoiler.
Dubbed ‘KZ 01’ for now, the car’s existence is apparently to celebrate the Renault factory team’s return to Formula 1 as well as to celebrate Renault Sport’s 40th anniversary as the company’s in-house performance and motorsports division.
It’s unclear at this stage just what this new Clio RS will mean for the current line-up of performance Renaults or whether it will make it to production at all – it could just be a concept, after all.
However, the initial report did boldly disclose the shoehorning of a 275hp (205kW) engine from the Megane RS, leaving us to speculate that Renault must have also swapped out the Clio RS’ twin-clutch transmission in favour of a manual, making it the only current-generation Clio RS to have a self-shifter.
We suppose we’ll have to wait until the Monaco GP for Renault to reveal exactly what this surprise of theirs will be. Either way, the sight of that menacing Clio RS is very assuring indeed that the very capable small hatch isn’t being shadowed too much by the larger Megane.
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