R27 RenaultSport Clio on sale

There's a new hot hatch in the Aussie market for under $40,000. Named in full the Clio RenaultSport 197 F1 Team R27, the new car is certain to find homes quickly in Australia. Affiliated with Renault's Formula One effort, the 'R27' is limited to just 40 units allocated for Australia, so prospective buyers will need to be quick. Power and torque figures for the R27 are identical to those numbers for the 'basic' Clio 197 (more here) on which the R27 is based, but the limited-production model is built to 'Cup Chassis' specs at the Dieppe (France) factory of Renault Sport, Renault's tame tuner.

Priced at $39,990, the R27 is available in just three colours: Toro Red, Glacier White and Victory Yellow. What also sets the R27 apart from the Clio 197 is an upgrade comprising the Cup Chassis suspension components, 17-inch charcoal-finished alloy wheels red brake calipers, Recaro front seats and F1-specific decals.

And there's also a rear air diffuser, climate control, cruise control, standard stability control and a build plate adjacent the handbrake.

Running a ride height 7mm lower than the standard Clio 197, the R27's Cup Chassis suspension features stiffer springs -- 27 per cent more front and 30 per cent more at the rear -- and more compliant bump stops. Renault claims that the uprated suspension provides a 10 per cent increase in bending stiffness and the whole kit results in greater braking stability and steering precision through consecutive corners.

Displacing 2.0 litres, the DOHC engine remains in the same state of tune as in the Clio 197, developing 145kW of power at 7250rpm and 215Nm of torque at 5550rpm. Combined-cycle fuel consumption is 8.4L/100km and CO2 emissions are 199g/km.

Drive is taken to the front wheels by means of a six-speed manual transmission and the stopping is handled by ventilated discs (312mm) at the front and solid discs (300mm) at the rear.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi