The fourth-generation Renault Clio was sold on the European market until the early months of 2019 when it was replaced by the new fifth-gen model. With no performance version in the range, the successor to today’s hatchback effectively killed the Clio RS. Seeing how difficult and expensive it is becoming for the automakers to develop new superminis due to the ever-stricter emissions standards, we doubt we will see a new RS-badged Clio ever again. And there are valid reasons for our nostalgia.
Introduced at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, the last Clio RS was launched as the first Clio RS only with a dual-clutch automatic and was sold exclusively as a five-door hatchback. Under the hood was a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine, good for 200 horsepower (147 kilowatts) and 177 pound-feet (240 Newton-meters) of torque. This wasn’t the most powerful and performance-oriented Clio model to come from the factory, though.
