We don't like to credit the guy with anything he hasn't done, but Jeremy Clarkson is probably the reason why the Renault Clio RS is a cult car. His Top Gear review from round about 2005, if we're not mistaken, meant that a generation of teenagers grew up thinking "182" was a codeword for fun.
On the second facelift of the second generation Clio RS, the model got a power boost to 182 PS and for the first time was available with two different chassis setups, the regular one and the CUP, which has 20mm lower and stiffer.
Many years on and despite two more generations of Clio RS hot hatches, the blue 182 with white stripes is still sought after. This video shows there is a lot of passion in the community. Like many, sam adored the Clio 182 from the first moment he saw it and bought his second hand with a lot of miles on the clock. The exhaust was gone and there were a number of other problems, but he kept it on the road and say the performance is genuine.
182 PS might not sound like much, but it's a whole lot of power for a car that weighed exactly a ton. Almost a decade later, there's only about half a second difference between the 182 and its modern ancestor, the 200 EDC, which has a turbo engine and launch control.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we thing this icon of the 2000s is still going strong. If you've got a Clio RS story to tell, feel free to share it with us.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we thing this icon of the 2000s is still going strong. If you've got a Clio RS story to tell, feel free to share it with us. 
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