Renault's new Clio R27

Say hello to the Renault Clio F1 Team R27. Wait, déjà vu? Not surprising. Here’s the deal – there’s the Mégane Renaultsport 230 F1 Team R26 and the Clio Renault F1 Team R27.

In the Megane, which was launched last year, you get a 230hp, 2.0 litre turbocharged engine, and a yummy limited slip differential to sharpen its handling enough to let you cut your French cheese in it. Its max horsepower arrives at 5,500 rpm while 310 Nm of torque kicks in at 3,000 rpm, with 90 percent of the twist available from 2,000 to 6,000 rpm. All these allow the Megane R26 hit 100 km/h from standstill in 6.2 seconds.

Its new cousin, the Clio R27, there’ll be 215 Nm at 5,550 rpm to guide you until 200 horses burst in at 7,250 rpm, all thanks to its naturally-aspirated 2.0 litre engine. Interestingly, it will only consume 8.4 litres of fuel for every 100 km, making it one of the most frugal sporty 2.0 litre cars around. Unfortunately, it will only go on sale in May 2008, which means at least another couple more months before it finally hits our shores.

So which is the one to get? Well, stay tuned as we find out soon!


[B]Press Release

Clio Renault F1 Team R27: a potent mix[/B]

An outstanding car dedicated to sheer performance, passion, and driving pleasure, this special edition of the Clio Renault Sport is exclusive in style, while handling very much like a sports car thanks to technological solutions borrowed from the world of motorsport. Clio Renault F1 Team R27 boasts a Cup chassis that gives it an even portier feel and higher precision. It is powered by a 200hp (145kW) 2.0-litre 16V normally aspirated engine delivering 215Nm of torque. Designed by Renault Sport Technologies, the engine responds instantly to the open throttle. In keeping with the chassis setups, the Recaro bucket seats are equipped with side airbags. Its new Sirius Yellow colour and exclusive markings emphasise its athletic, pedigree shape. The Clio Renault F1 Team R27 is the perfect vehicle for celebrating Renault’s back-to-back F1 constructor world championships and offers motorsport enthusiasts some pedigree power.

Unveiled in Amsterdam on January 24 by drivers from ING Renault F1 Team, this special edition – dubbed the R27 – is the Clio family’s standard-bearer, much like its larger sibling Mégane Renault F1 Team R26. Developed by Renault Sport Technologies, Clio Renault F1 Team is assembled in Dieppe in France, at a plant dedicated to the production of Renault’s sports cars.

[B]Chassis and setup effective in the extreme[/B]

Clio Renault F1 Team R27 benefits from the Cup chassis and 17-inch Dark Anthracite BeBop 17’’ wheels which combine to improve handling feel and precision. With a stance slung 7mm lower than Clio Renault Sport, it boasts a lower centre of gravity which reduces load transfer, so offering more effective cornering (with circuit time gains of 0.2s per kilometre). Its cornering power on the flat is further enhanced by damper setups and increased spring stiffness (+27% at the front, +30% at rear) for higher performance and extreme pleasure. With a 10% increase in bending stiffness and more flexible bump stops, the double-axis strut system derived directly from Clio Renault Sport expresses its full potential. It is more stable when braking and offers greater steering precision when negotiating bends in quick succession.

Equipped with the Clio Renault Sport’s robust, powerful brake system derived from Mégane, Clio Renault F1 Team has 312mm ventilated disks at the front and 300mm solid disks at the rear.

[B]A sporty, responsive, normally aspirated engine with output of 100hp per litre[/B]

Clio Renault F1 Team R27 is powered by a normally aspirated 2.0 16V engine (F4R RS). It can be adapted to equip competition cars like Clio Renault Sport, and delivers output of 145 kW at 7,250rpm.

With a six-speed manual gearbox (TL4), it develops 215Nm of torque at 5,550rpm. The short-throw gear shifts ensure fast-response acceleration on all changes, while allowing the engine to “let rip”. At low revs it is unobtrusive, but comes it into is own when pushed to the limit. Clio Renault F1 Team goes from zero to 100kph in just 6.9 seconds and takes only 27.5 seconds to travel 1,000 metres from a standing start.

With a fuel consumption of 8.4 litres per 100 km (199g CO2/km) its combined cycle intake is one of the lowest among sports cars with an equivalent engine package.

[B]Renault F1 Team shows its colours[/B]

With its red Brembo four-piston brake callipers at the front, its new Sirius Yellow colour, and its exclusive Renault F1 Team and World Champion badging, this special edition of Clio Renault Sport brings its bigger sibling Mégane Renault F1 Team R26 immediately to mind. Derived from racing technologies, the air diffuser channels airflow to increase aspiration. Like the same feature on Clio Renault Sport, it produces downforce on the car’s rear end, so counteracting lift. Extractors on the front fenders reduce turbulence and facilitate the outflow of hot air from under the bonnet. In addition to Sirius Yellow, Clio Renault F1 Team also comes in three metallic colours (Deep Black and Makana Grey) and two non-metallic ones (Toro Red and Dynamo Blue).

In the cabin, the bucket seats are equipped with side airbags and are especially adapted together with Recaro for the chassis setup. Adopting a real structural shell makes it possible to refine the seat design and reduce its weight while lowering the centre of gravity. The lowered shape and wrap-around seating provide a natural anti-submarining effect, so that the ESME device used on the production model does not need to be implemented. The seats hug their occupants, in keeping with the chassis setups of Clio Renault F1 Team. The harness fitting and neck restraint built into the back of the seat heighten the sporty look. The numbered plate alongside the handbrake leaves no doubt as to the unique character and firmly asserted sports car heritage of Clio Renault F1 Team R27.

[B]Dieppe plant know-how[/B]

Clio Renault F1 Team R27 is assembled at the Dieppe plant from body parts manufactured at Renault’s production site at Flins in France. Like other sports cars developed by Renault Sport Technologies the production process is tailored to its specifics, while guaranteeing a standard of quality required in mass production.

First unveiled at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, this Clio Renault F1 Team R27 special edition will hit the market in May 2007, depending on the country. Since it was launched in June 2006, 8.000 units of New Clio Renault Sport have been produced – one more chapter in the story of Renault’s “hot hatches”.


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Credits: Kr0n