Renault Clio
The Renault Clio is a supermini car, produced by French automobile manufacturer Renault. It was launched in 1990, and entered its fifth generation in 2019. The Clio has had substantial critical and commercial success, being consistently one of Europe's top-selling cars since its launch, and it is largely credited with restoring Renault's reputation and stature after a difficult second half of the 1980s. The Clio is one of only two cars, the other being the Volkswagen Golf, to have been voted European Car of the Year twice: in 1991 and in 2006.
The car is named after Clio, one of the nine Muses in Greek mythology. In Japan, it is sold as the Renault Lutecia because Honda retains the rights to the name Clio after establishing the Honda Clio sales channel in 1984. Lutecia is derived from Lutetia, an ancient Roman city that was the predecessor of Paris. The Renault Lutecia was formerly available through Yanase Co., Ltd., but in 1999 Renault purchased a stake in Japanese automaker Nissan. Following Renault's takeover, distribution rights for the Lutecia were handed over to Nissan in 2000, and the car was sold at Nissan's "Red Stage" dealerships.
First generation (X57; 1990)
Renault had replaced its R5 supermini with a completely redesigned model in 1984, but soon afterwards began working on an all-new supermini to take the company into the 1990s. It was eventually decided that the new car would feature a name designation, rather than the numeric model designations which Renault had traditionally used – this would be adopted across the entire Renault range by 1995. Cars like the Fuego coupe had been an exception to this rule, and the last "numeric" Renault was the 19, launched in 1988, and by the end of 1996 the numeric model designations had completely disappeared from the Renault range in Western Europe.The Clio was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in June 1990 and sales in France and the rest of the continent began then, although sales in right-hand drive Britain did not begin until March 1991. The Clio was the replacement to the hugely successful Renault 5, although this car remained in production until 1996 at a factory in Slovenia, where some versions of the Clio were later built. The Clio's suspension and floorpan were largely the same as the R5, which was derived from the R9 saloon of 1981 and R11 hatchback of 1983 – not that of the original 1972 Renault 5, despite the later R5 visually resembling the original model.
The suspension uses half-width torsion bars with trailing arms at the rear, and coil sprung MacPherson struts, attached to a thick pressed steel subframe at the front. The engine range available at launch included 1.2 L and 1.4 L E-type "Energy" petrol inline-four engines and 1.7 L and 1.9 L diesel engines, both based on the F-type unit. The petrol engines gradually had their carburettors replaced with electronic fuel injection systems by the end of 1992, in order to conform to ever stricter pollutant emission regulations brought in by the EEC.
A minor trim facelift occurred after only a year of being on sale. A new "smooth" version of the Renault diamond badge and a new front seat design were the only changes. The altered design did not constitute a new "phase". In March 1994, the phase two model was launched, with small updates to the exterior and interior of the Clio. Most noticeable was the change in the front grille from two metal ribs to a single colour-coded slat. The bump strips were made slightly larger and rounder and had the car's trim level badge incorporated into them. The badges on the tailgate strip were moved up onto the tailgate itself and the tailgate strip was given a carbon fibre look. The rear light clusters were given a slightly more rounded bubble shape, giving the Clio a more modern look. The clusters, however, are physically interchangeable with phase ones'.
In May 1996, with the arrival of the phase three facelifted Clio, the 1.2 L Energy engine was replaced by the 1,149 cc D7F MPi DiET engine, first used in the Renault Twingo; for some time also, versions were available with the older 1239 cc "Cléon" unit from the original Twingo. The cylinder head design on the 1.4 L E-type was also slightly altered for the phase three models in a bid for better fuel economy. This resulted in the engines producing slightly less power than their earlier versions.
The phase three Clios have a slightly more noticeable update than the phase twos. The phase three has different, more rounded headlights, incorporating the turn signal in the unit with the headlight, and the bonnet curves more around the edges of the lights. The tailgate incorporates a third brake light and a new script "Clio" name badge, following the same typeface as contemporary Renaults. Some mechanical improvements were also made, as well as the introduction of side impact bars and airbags, which became common features on mainstream cars across Europe.
Renault also released a hot hatch version of the Clio in 1991. It was aesthetically very similar, but with the addition of an 1.8 L eight-valve engine, side skirts and disc brakes on all wheels. This, with multi-point fuel injection, was badged as the RSi. From 1991 a lighter tuned version of this 1.8 litre engine joined the earlier 1.7 used in the very luxurious Baccara version which was sold in some continental European markets. In addition to this reasonably powerful engine, the Baccara has a luxurious interior with much leather and wood, as well as power windows, locks, etc. The Baccara was renamed "Initiale" in 1997, in line with other Renaults, differing from the Baccara mainly in the wheel design.
During 1991, a fuel injected 1.8 L 16-valve engine producing capable of propelling the car to was introduced to the Clio engine range, known simply as the Clio 16S in France, and Clio 16V in export markets. It was the successor to the Renault 5 GT Turbo, which was discontinued that year as the R5 range was pruned back. As well as having a higher top speed than a regular Clio, the 16S sports wider plastic front wings, an offset bonnet vent, wider rear arches and uprated suspension and brakes, and colour-coded front mirrors and bumpers. The RSi side skirts were omitted, however. Inside, the 16V model has an extended instrument panel that houses dials for engine oil pressure, oil temperature, and oil level. The seats are also more supportive to match the sporting nature of the model. The non-catalyzed versions, still available in some markets, offer and marginally higher performance with top speeds up to and the 0–100 km/h time dropping from 8 to 7.8 seconds.
In December 1990, the Clio was voted European Car of the Year for 1991, and soon became one of Europe's best-selling cars, as well as the first Renault to be consistently among the top-10 best sellers in the United Kingdom, where it was selling in excess of 50,000 units a year by 1995. UK sales were helped by a famous television advertising campaign by Publicis shot in France, featuring the two main characters of Papa and Nicole, played by Max Douchin and Estelle Skornik respectively.
From 1991 to 1993, trim levels were identical in every European country. Starting in 1993, trim levels designations became more varied across the various markets. The car was sold as the Renault Lutecia in Japan, as "Clio" was used there by Honda for one of their domestic marketing networks.
Clio Williams
In 1993, Renault launched the Clio Williams as a limited edition of 3,800 cars – 1,300 more than they needed for homologation purposes – with each car bearing a numbered plaque on the dash. These sold out so quickly that Renault ended up building 1,600 more.After the first series, due to the demand, Renault built the Williams 2 and 3, with more than 12,000 eventually being built. However, many new road cars were directly converted to race cars and when damaged replaced with another converted road car, which means that the actual number of road cars is significantly lower than the figures suggest.
The car was named after the then Renault-powered Formula One team WilliamsF1, though Williams had nothing to do with the design or engineering of this Clio. The modifications to the Clio 16S on which it was based were the work of Renault Sport, Renault's motorsport division. Nevertheless, this car had a Formula One link by being the sport's Safety Car in 1996.
The naturally aspirated DOHC 4 valves per cylinder fed by Multipoint fuel injection Inline-four engine, was rated at at 6,100 rpm and at 4,500 rpm of torque. It has a top speed of equipped with performance-tuned ride and handling. Renault later released the Williams 2 and Williams 3 special editions, much to the chagrin of those owners who had been assured of the exclusivity of the "original" Williams. One common mistake people can make is thinking that the 2.0 16V used in the Williams is simply a bored out 1.8 16V, whereas, in reality the large engine had different size valves, cams, stroked crank and engine oil cooler. Other differences between the Williams and the Clio 16S it is based on include a wider front track with wishbones similar, but not the same as the Renault 19, wider Speedline alloys, uprated gearbox, bespoke four-to-one manifold, firmer suspension, and some cosmetic differences on the exterior and interior.
The differences between the three versions of the Williams were largely a reflection of phase changes across the Clio range, e.g. the gradual addition of enhanced safety features and cosmetic variations. Other than this, the Williams 1 and 2 had no sunroof and were painted in 449 Sports Blue. The final Williams 3 was painted in a slightly brighter shade of blue and finally gained a sunroof which had long been standard on virtually all previous Clios. The original Williams was the lightest of the three, lacking the electrics necessary for the sunroof or the mirrors, and was the only one to support a metal plaque stating the build number.
The Renault Clio Williams was and still is a very popular rally car. The basic racing version had racing suspension, different engine management, and a more free flowing exhaust. Power output was around. Roll cage was made by Matter France. Bucket seats were made by Sabelt.
The next step up was the Gr.A car, which was fitted with 16-inch Speedline 2012 rims, further improvements on suspension and a more tuned engine producing between. Front brakes were also updated with 323 mm discs and four-pot Alcon brake calipers.
The final evolution was the Renault Clio Williams Maxi kit-car with wider arches and 17-inch Speedline 2012 rims and improved Proflex suspension. The Sodemo engine was further tuned to.