The Renault Clio RS 220 Trophy sets a record at the Nürburgring

The people at Renault must feel proud of their little sporty bundle of fun, the Clio RS, which in its Trophy version has set a new record on the Green Hell.

Of course, it is not an absolute record, but the smallest model in the current RS family has been crowned the fastest within its category.

The Clio RS is one of the models with the most history within the Renault Sport family. The first RS version of the Clio arrived almost 20 years ago, with a powerful naturally aspirated 2-litre engine that already produced more than 170 CV. Now, after several generations and developments, the current Clio RS represents one of the biggest changes in the model’s trajectory.

It is true that the current generation has received plenty of criticism for some of its features. It is the first Clio RS with a 5-door body, a turbocharged engine and an automatic gearbox. Without a doubt, these are advances that were perhaps a little too “optimistic.”

From the very beginning, people complained about the slowness of the gearbox, the weakest point of the car. A few months ago, the people at Renault Sport created a more sporty version called Trophy, a name already used previously for other extreme models of the diamond-badged brand.

With this model, Renault promises more sporty behaviour, better performance and a much more racing feel, which includes a recalibration of the gearbox, making it much faster and more responsive. Thanks to all these changes, the little supersonic Clio has just broken the lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with a time of 8:32.

This is a very substantial improvement over the “standard” version, as it cuts no less than 32 seconds, making it the fastest within the B-segment.

Source | Renault

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackRenault Clio20 versions · from 16,390 €