Hot Captur RS needs Aussie fans!

The chances of a high-performance Renaultsport version of the Captur mini-SUV being introduced depends on how well it would sell in markets outside Europe including Australia.

Just launched in Europe but not on sale in Australia until the first half of 2014, the Captur is based on the same B-platform as the Clio city-car, which means it could accommodate the 147kW 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine from the Clio RS hot hatch, albeit with some exhaust modifications.

Speculation about the possibility of a Captur RS first bubbled to the surface at the Geneva motor show, where the French brand’s design chef Laurens van den Acker spoke enthusiastically of the possibility.

Renault Deputy Program Director Christophe Pejout confirmed to motoring.com.au this week at the Captur launch that an RS version was still being considered but had yet to be green-lighted.

“The question of course has been raised so Renaultsport has looked a little,” he said. “The question is not closed, but of course it is not decided.

“When Renaultsport make an RS it doesn’t just change the engine, it makes new axles, new dampers, new outside design. So that is rather expensive and you need to have a good business model and good volume predictions to decide this.”

And the volume opportunity for a Captur RS would mostly come from outside Europe because of tightening emissions regulations, Pejout added.

“We need to check I think first the success of the car especially on overseas marks because in Europe with CO2 taxes it will be more and more difficult for sports cars over … 150 grams of CO2.

“So the potential is questionable in Europe, but maybe in overseas market it could have potential success.”

Given the local fixation with SUVs and the strong performance of the Renaultsport brand, Australia would be one market where the Captur RS would be expected to sell in reasonable numbers.

Australia is already number two in terms of global Megane RS 265 sales, bested only by France. But we languish outside the top 10 overall because the Twingo RS and none of the Renaultsport-developed ‘RS-Lite’ GT models are sold here.

However, that’s all about to change as the Megane GT220 wagon arrives in June with other Megane GT variants potentially following. The Clio GT (previewed at Geneva) is expected to join the line-up as well, probably following the new Clio IV RS EDC (we drove here) here in early 2014.

“We have absolute credibility with Renaultsport,” Renault Australia Managing Director Justin Hocevar told motoring.com.au. “We are starting to be quite well known for that in Australia, it is showing up on all our brand indexing that Renaultsport is starting to shine through.

“I think as we bring Clio RS to market and other variants like the GT 220 and something to close the gap between what we have in Megane now through to performance … that is where we will start changing our worldwide ranking.”

Pejout said Renault was watching the performance of the Nissan Juke Nismo closely as a guide to how and where a Captur RS might perform: “In Europe it is very low but much higher in Russia.”

He said a Captur GT might also be considered, but its development would only go ahead alongside the RS as they would share bodywork, if not performance parts.

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