LAUNCH: Renault Clio RS200 Cup (Est. RM199,000 OTR)

Renault Malaysia, under the local Malaysian distributor of the Nissan Brand; Tan Chong Motors, has unleashed yet another hot hatch upon our streets. One that is smaller than the VW Scirocco killer – Megane RS250 Cup and perhaps one that possesses a little more pep at the pedal and handling agility than its larger RS250 Cup. The Clio Renault Sport 200 Cup.

Receiving the baptism of fire known as motorsports, the RS200 Cup has received some trickle-down race technology from the Renault Clio Cup 1-make race series that’s managed by Renault Sport, which is held in 14 countries around Europe.

The engine may be Naturally Aspirated (NA), unlike it’s RS250 Cup, but it is where the fun begins. Renault Sport personnel have taken into account the plethora of factors that would enhance the driving experience, and then focused diligently on it till it’s almost borderline joy-overkill, which could have you smiling “à la mode de Joker” - permanently.

The new Clio RS200 Cup is powered by a 2.0L 16V engine (F4R RS) that provides more than 100hp/L, delivering 203bhp at 7,100rpm and 215Nm of torque at 5,400rpm. All that gets transmitted to the front tyres via a 6-speed manual transmission (TL4). All that gain is thanks to a set of new cylinder heads, continuously variable intake valve timing and an engine re-map. Even the gearbox ratios for first, second and third has been been shortened in order to experience a more abrupt and punchier acceleration.

The engine allows the RS200 Cup to achieve the century sprint (0-100kmh) in just 6.9 seconds, able to cover 1km from standstill in 27.3s and will go on till it reaches a top speed of 225kmh.

With all that power gain and straight-line speed, you’d begin to think that the RS200 Cup would be a little petrol-holic. Rather, the RS200 Cup’s fuel consumption is 0.7L/100km (equivalent to 14g of CO2/km) better than its predecessor, the Renault Sport Clio III, possessing a combined fuel-cycle that stands at a reasonable 8.2L/100km (equivalent to 195g of CO2/km).

These gains required that the RS200 Cup be able to fully exploit all that gain found in the engine, which saw it receiving a front splitter, front-wing air-extractors and a fully functional rear diffuser that is usually found to act as an aesthetic add-on than be able to do any good on smaller performance cars. Not in this case and all thanks to Formula One technology.

Even though the RS200 Cup receives all these aero add-ons, it’s Coefficient of drag (Cd) has been reduced by 0.02 to 0.75, greatly due to the extractors visible on the front wings, which contribute to the car’s aerodynamic performance by neutralizing the turbulence produced by the wider wings and play a part in improving the model’s Cd. This also facilitated the extraction of hot air from beneath the bonnet, while the vents are angled to channel airflow along the sides of the car for enhanced performance.

However, the most significant technological innovation was the rear air diffuser. The diffuser’s role is to prevent the rear of the car from lifting and guarantee stability at high speed by channeling airflow in such a way that it increases ground effect by producing a low pressure zone beneath the car. The twin exhaust tailpipes have also been incorporated into the diffuser.

The front end was also not spared from receiving some F1-type aerodynamics via a generously-sized front splitter, low positioned air-intake (you might want to rethink going through some slightly flooded areas after some heavy rainfall) to help cool the 2.0L 16V NA engine.

The sills, extractors and wider front and rear wings all helped to highlight the RS200 Cup’s sporty nature that calls to every racer-boy/girl residing within us. And to be able to hug the corners, the RS200 Cup sits on 215/45 Continental ContiSportContact3 tyres that are mounted on 17″ aluminium alloy rims all around, that exposes the Brembo brake callipers.

To add to the already impressive cornering abilities, the front and rear tracks have been increased by 48mm and 50mm respectively as well as the wheelbase, which has been extended by 10mm to 2,585mm. The suspension has also been revised by dialling in a more responsive front end that’s less susceptible to torque steer, allowing you to pivot the car with the throttle, rather than lifting off the throttle as traditionally done with most FF produced cars. The rear suspension features a reinforced programmed deflection torsion beam which complements the efficiency of the front end’s independent steering axis system to ensure precise, immediate turn-in response. Weight was now an issue and if the car has too much weight up front, it would probably induce more understeer, which was unacceptable to the Renault Sport boys, and so aluminium components were introduced in order to keep its weight down and retain what was intended for this car – precise handling and outstanding traction whatever the conditions.

So far, they’ve got the engine maxed-out, the brakes able to pull in the reigns to slow this hot-hatch down and a suspension that could run rings around other hot-hatches, the chassis needed to be looked over to ensure for an exacting ride and uncompromising driving pleasure by by lowering the ride height by 7mm (lowering the car’s centre of gravity). In order for the RS200 Cup to corner flat, the dampers had to be up-rated by a 27% increase at the front and 30% at the rear. Torsional rigidity has also been increased by 10%, enabling the independent steering axis front suspension to exploit its full potential.

Taking a look into the cabin, the driver will find aluminium pedals and footrest, a perforated leather steering wheel with visible

stitching and yellow centre-point marker. To help optimize gear changes, the yellow rev-counter comes with an audible and visible F1-styled gearshift indicator.

To help hold the driver in place, bucket seats are standard from Recaro which comes equipped with lateral airbags, plus a rigid, glass-fibre/polyamide-injected shell, slots for harness belts and an integrated headrest. Best of all, the Renault Sport badge is visible inside the cabin on the rev-counter background, sills and front seats.

Last but not least, the Cup chassis also comes with closer ratio steering which makes turning through corners markedly quicker. In fact, 7.5% quicker, which combined with specific development, favors feedback to the driver in conditions of varying grip. The Renault Clio RS200 Cup is also certified with 5 Stars by EuroNCAP.