Just a few weeks after the 2013 Renault Clio was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, the Renault Clio RS Cup has been announced, which will debut in the 2013 Eurocup Clio championship. Renault say they began testing the racecar back in early August already and have since clocked up around 3 500 km at a variety of French race tracks, where the new car has been around 1 second quicker than the existing model.
The fourth generation Clio RS Cup does away with the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine found in the existing car and replaces it in favour of a new 1.6-litre turbocharged engine. The 1.6-litre unit has been upgraded from the standard car’s 147 kW and 240 Nm to 164 kW and 270 Nm of torque.
Like the generation before it, the 2013 Renault Clio RS Cup features extensive modifications to transform it from road car to race car. A six-speed sequential gearbox with an AP Racing clutch and limited-slip differential transfer power to the front wheels, which are 17-inch Speedline Corse racing alloys all round. Other mechanical changes include a high performance braking system with 320 mm AP Racing front discs and four-piston callipers, as well as one-way adjustable dampers from ZF-Sachs with specific aluminium wishbones.
Like the current Cup car, a roof scoop has been added and a large rear wing adds 40 kg of extra downforce at a speed of 201 km/h. Inside, a competition spec roll cage, racing seats with four-point harnesses and a comprehensive on-board computer system with TFT colour display, round out the changes.
The Clio RS Cup is expected to be available to customers in late 2013. Renault UK Communications Director Jeremy Townsend says, “We will continue to run the existing car in the British championship through 2013, with the intention to then introduce the new turbo-charged Clio Cup car the following season. Getting the timing right is very important, the car will race in the Clio Eurocup next year so our teams in the UK will have ample opportunity to see it in action ahead of its planned 2014 UK debut.”
