Photo: Kleber Silva on Behance
It was August 2014 when the head honcho of Renault Sport let it slip that the Clio R.S. would get a more affordable brother. One year later, Brazil is where the French automaker took the veils off the Sandero R.S. to much critical acclaim.
Instead of a four-cylinder turbo, the budget hot hatchback features a free-breathing engine with approximately 150 horsepower on tap. The first Renault Sport to be manufactured outside of France also features disc brakes at all corners whereas lesser versions of the Sandero make do with drums for the rear axle.
But most importantly, the Sandero R.S. comes with a six-speed manual instead of paddles on the steering wheel. It’s as back-to-basics as hot hatches get nowadays, a kind reminder that technological advancements don’t necessarily translate to driving fun. But like all great things, this story has to come to an end.
Dacia, the low-cost brand from Romania that Renault bought in 1999, has recently posted the all-new Sandero and Sandero Stepway on social media. The Brazilian division of the French automaker should follow suit, and this gets us to the Clio. Redesigned from the ground up in 2019, the subcompact hatchback is said to drop the Renault Sport treatment for good in favor of an R.S.-badged Zoe.
Indeed, ladies and gents; the rendering before your eyes is likely wishful thinking rather than a preview of the all-new Sandero R.S. for the Brazilian market. Imagined by pixel artist Kleber Silva, the go-faster machine isn’t ashamed to show off its sporty side with the help of a center-exit exhaust system, a generously-sized aerodynamic diffuser, and fog lights that resemble ice cubes.
Given that the Sandero is transitioning to the CMF-B vehicle architecture of the Clio, the 2.0-liter engine in the outgoing model may be on its way out. A turbocharged lump makes more sense with this platform, but the tradeoff is that forced induction would give the car a totally different character.
The worldwide health crisis and financial woes of 2020 also paint a bleak picture for the Sandero R.S. and Renault. Lest we forget, the French automaker reported a net loss of 7.29 billion euros in the first half of 2020 compared to a net profit of 970 million euros in the first half of 2019.
But most importantly, the Sandero R.S. comes with a six-speed manual instead of paddles on the steering wheel. It’s as back-to-basics as hot hatches get nowadays, a kind reminder that technological advancements don’t necessarily translate to driving fun. But like all great things, this story has to come to an end.
Dacia, the low-cost brand from Romania that Renault bought in 1999, has recently posted the all-new Sandero and Sandero Stepway on social media. The Brazilian division of the French automaker should follow suit, and this gets us to the Clio. Redesigned from the ground up in 2019, the subcompact hatchback is said to drop the Renault Sport treatment for good in favor of an R.S.-badged Zoe.
Indeed, ladies and gents; the rendering before your eyes is likely wishful thinking rather than a preview of the all-new Sandero R.S. for the Brazilian market. Imagined by pixel artist Kleber Silva, the go-faster machine isn’t ashamed to show off its sporty side with the help of a center-exit exhaust system, a generously-sized aerodynamic diffuser, and fog lights that resemble ice cubes.
Given that the Sandero is transitioning to the CMF-B vehicle architecture of the Clio, the 2.0-liter engine in the outgoing model may be on its way out. A turbocharged lump makes more sense with this platform, but the tradeoff is that forced induction would give the car a totally different character.
The worldwide health crisis and financial woes of 2020 also paint a bleak picture for the Sandero R.S. and Renault. Lest we forget, the French automaker reported a net loss of 7.29 billion euros in the first half of 2020 compared to a net profit of 970 million euros in the first half of 2019.
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