The first ever Clio made its debut at the October 1990 Paris Motor Show and sales of the first Renault Clio, the Clio I began in March 1991. Replacing the then Renault 5 hatchback, the Clio promised features and dynamics of a larger car in a compact package. At launch it had the longest wheelbase and widest track in its class, in order to make its ride unsurpassed.
Arguably, the most famous hot Clio of all the variants were Mk1 cars: the much coveted, three-model Clio Williams series began in 1993 with 150hp, but even these blue and gold painted legends were preceded by one of our favourite performance Clios and one that has been forgotten, the 1.8 16v from the late 1991. This had 137hp, a bonnet bulge and flared wheel arches. More than 300,000 units found happy owners.
Then came the birth of both the Renaultsport Clios, starting with the 172 and 172 Cup, and then the 182 and 182 Trophy and the rare and very fast mid-engined Clio V6. Phase 1 cars had 230hp, Phase 2 cars (from 2003) had 255hp.
Bigger again than its predecessor, the Renault Clio 111 arrived with the 197, 200 and R27 Team F1 variants of Renaultsport product.
The current Clio IV was a development of Renault’s design chief Laurens van der Acker’s DeZir concept of 2010. The IV only comes in five-door format and the three-door discountinued.
The Clio III was the first car in its class to win a EuroNCAP 5-star safety rating, while the Clio was also the first model to win the European Car of the Year award twice and more than 13 million units have been sold globally. This year the Clio celebrates 25 years of keeping its hot hatch manners a hit and we wish it happy birthday.
