Remember when you first discovered your love of cars? No? Me neither, well not exactly. What I do remember, however, are the cars involved that first gave me the hunger for the petrol that runs through my veins. Don’t worry, this isn’t some sort of weird love of a Renault at the age of 7 or so. I had the usual love of a Ferrari 288 GTO and the Porsche 959. I had a die-cast model of each, and it was such a task going to bed on a night as to which stood closer to me on my bedside table. I didn’t have a favourite, and still don’t. They’re both the ‘top of the tree’ dream cars in my fantasy garage.
Fast forward 10 or so years, and the dream cars were still up there. Throw the F40, McLaren F1 in there, along with some other choice exotica, and it pretty much mirrored the majority of boys’ thoughts or bedroom walls. Though I had something that nobody else seemed to have at that time. The Renaultsport Clio had just been released as I was learning to drive and I was obsessed with it. I loved the way it looked and bought all the magazines at the time so I knew* exactly how it drove. Realising my chance of owning a GTO or 959 were pretty slim, this rushed straight in at number 1 on the wanted list. All my friends thought I was a bit mad. Their realistic dream cars were Cossies, Astra GTE’s and such, ‘why would you have a car my mum would drive’ was a typical jibe of the time.
*of course I knew…
So I learned to drive, saved up, and went to buy one of these amazing little machines only to be met with an insurance company who thought differently. So I did, what I thought at the time to be a good decision, what every other teenage boy had to do, and got a 1.2 instead. I say every other teenage boy, I mean every other teenage boy except my lucky friend that worked for his dad’s company, and who could use the company car insurance. Guess what he got? Yes he did. I was green with envy every time I saw him. I still am to this day to be honest. But being a good friend, he did what any other good friend would do and let me drive it when we went out anywhere. Anywhere where he wanted a drink that was!!! But I didn’t care, I was getting to drive the car that I aspired to owning, and it instantly made me fall in love with the Renaultsport brand.
I remember taking the long way to nowhere just so I could experience a good handling car with an engine that seemed to just rev and rev. It was bliss. And because I loved that car I always aired on the side of caution if any potential danger were to arise. Unfortunately, not all other road users see it that way, and the 172 was taken out by a corsa which smashed into the side of it while my friend was driving. I will never buy a corsa for that reason (and many others of course).
The years went by and I still hadn’t scratched my RS itch (so to speak), so oneday I literally decided to just go out and buy one. I wanted something that was a bit of a bargain, I am from Yorkshire after all, and though I was looking at the 197 that had superseded my beloved Mk2 Clio, I stumbled upon the bargain of all bargains. I found a Renaultsport Megane 225 at 2 years old for £7500 on the forecourt of a sportscar/supercar dealers. It was by far and away the worst car there, but it was exactly the car for me. A quick test drive and boom, I’d bought my first ever Renaultsport. The drive back to my house over the country lanes was simply the best drive I’d had up to date and further cemented that love for this brand.
After nearly a year of 225 ownership and a set of tyres and brakes (it was a fun year), there was something still nagging away at the back of my mind. I think it was the fact that although the Megane was a brilliant car, and a great cruiser, it didn’t really echo those initial feelings that were first laid out in that 172. My wife loved it though, but I did what any self respecting petrolhead would do. Ignored the wife and got what I wanted. So out went the old and in came……the older. I’d purchased a Clio Trophy. The highly acclaimed best hot hatch money can buy, and boy was it good.
The day after I’d bought it I went up into the lake district with some other friends/geeks who also had Renaultsports in various guises. It was simply epic. I’d found what it was I’d been looking for for the last 7 years. Not only was I by far the fastest thing in the lakes that day, the car was alive, it hugged me, fed all of my senses and there wasn’t many other places I’d rather be sitting at that moment in time – including the GTO and 959.
The steering, damping, power, noise, everything was perfect for a fast road car. Some people say that the Clio was a bit tiresome because you’d have to rev it. But for me therein lied the pleasure. Others said it could do with a bit more power, but I then replied that I could use the whole potential of my car most of the time compared to the scoobies and Evos that couldn’t go anywhere at ten tenths or else they’d be in prison for speeding or killing someone, whereas my little Clio at full chat was just about the limit for the dales national circuit.
I thought I’d keep that car for a long time, but along came the only reason I’d let my head rule my heart over a car. My little boy was born. The Trophy was ok, but it was a bit tight in there, and the buggy that the wife bought would only just fit in a Discovery, or so it felt. It had to go. Probably the only time I’ve been really upset to see the back of a car. To cheer myself up I took the buggy down to the Renault dealership to see what could take this monstrosity. I was absolutely delighted to find out it fit in the boot of the new, and even more highly acclaimed, Renaultsport Clio 200. I didn’t even need a test drive.
The 200 was/is a fantastic piece of kit. Mine had the sorted cup chassis option, but still had all of the day to day luxuries of climate control, bluetooth radio, keyless entry etc. as opposed to the basic cup. It was pretty much the perfectly balanced car for my needs. Big enough for a family trip to Scotland, albeit a squeeze. But equally, and perhaps more at home on the routes where I go just to drive for the sake of driving. Places like the Yorkshire Dales. Again handling was bordering on the side of perfect, power was just so that it wasn’t too fast for the routes, and the grip levels were simply unbelievable, even in the wet.
I ran the 200 for 2 years, and loved every trip in it. Never once did I think ‘I wish I had something bigger and softer’ as others that would travel with me would wish. But again, something else popped up (not out this time). I had another itch I needed to scratch, and it was to actually get out on a circuit and do a few trackdays. I love karting and go quite regularly, so going to a track to test mine and the cars’ skills was something I needed to do. I had a head versus heart moment, I knew the 200 would be a weapon on track, but would it start costing me a pretty packet in tyres, brakes, insurance etc. What if I had a bump in a new(ish) car? Would it be better if I had a little track car to run that would be cheaper on all of these fronts? I decided yes it would. As an aside it also meant I can now save up for something even more epic than a Clio 200. Clio V6?….
So off I went looking at older cars. There was only going to be one car really that I’d look at wasn’t there? Needed to be still ok for the commute, but equally at home blasting around Oulton or Cadwell. My first search was for a 172 cup, one of the Renaultsport variants I’d yet to drive. No luck with the one’s I’d seen on that front. Then I widened my search to just 172′s and there was one for sale only 5 miles from my house. It was a Phase 1 172, the one I’d dreamed of owning whilst learning to drive. Surely this was too good to be true? Had a little look around it, looked pretty tidy for an 11 year old car, took it out for a test drive – wow. Back came those first memories of my friends 172, the fundamental pleasures of driving something that wasn’t ruled by health and safety was plain to see. A good friend of mine clung on in the back as I give it a good kicking to see if it would withstand the abuse it will receive on track, and after £1500 being exchanged, the first car I’d dreamed of actually owning was mine.
Now owned for a few weeks, my love for Renaultsport is still going strong, and growing it seems with every new purchase. I’ll write a full piece on the track car’s progress in the coming weeks. But as I write this, it is almost making me change my mind to keep the Clio as it is, a piece of nostalgia, as it were, to keep in my collection of cars. We’ll see…
My current 172. The one I'd always wanted
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