New Renaultsport Clio set to reignite hot hatch class with hybrid power
RS badge could reappear on sixth-generation Clio, thanks to “high-power, low-CO2” hybrid powertrains
Renault is eyeing up the return of its Renaultsport sub-brand, admitting that there are “plenty of possibilities with electric” and that “high-power, low-CO2” hybrid engines would suit a new RS-badged Clio hot hatchback.
Renault’s global sales and operations director, Bruno Vanel, told Auto Express that while there is no RS “for now”, if there is enough interest “maybe [Renault] can reconsider”. He said: “We’ll wait a couple of months, and then we’ll think about it”.
Vanel continued: “The good news is that we have the know-how internally to make such a car. We also have hybrid powertrains; solutions to get high power with low CO2 emissions. This is really important now that we are more and more challenged on CO2”.
It means that the new Clio supermini, which is still at least 12 months away from its UK launch, could be offered in hot RS guise later down the line. Likely to use an uprated version of the standard car’s 1.8-litre petrol-electric hybrid with more than 200bhp, the race-car inspired dog-clutch layout is already well set up for this kind of model.
The last generation of Clio RS used a 197bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine, boosted to 217bhp in Trophy guise. It was one of the first models to use a dual-clutch automatic gearbox, albeit aided by a Race mode and launch control function. While not a stand-out model, RS-badged Renaults through the ages have been among the sharpest and most focused of the breed.
In a separate conversation, Vanel admitted it is “more and more difficult to sell hot hatches” these days, but that there are “no preconceptions as to where [Renault] will go”, hinting that electric RS models could also be under consideration.
“Having Alpine helped us [to] develop [the] Renault 5 Turbo 3E,” he told us. “There are plenty of possibilities with electric; we will see”.
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