We often say that hot hatchbacks are Europe's version of a sports car, but that may not be true. You almost never see them as extensively customized as a BMW M3 or Porsche Cayman, for example.
Even though the Clio RS carries with it the pride of France, we couldn't find a single worthwhile body kit out there. The same goes for the Megane and their rivals from Peugeot.
You've got the Clio RS 172, which was light and agile, and the Clio RS 197 that had the wide fenders of a rally car. They're relatively cheap to buy, but once you've done that, there aren't that many exterior mods available.
Sure, there's the random chin spoiler, but we want fender flairs, like the ones the MINI Cooper got from Liberty Walk. Don't they have Renaults in Japan now?
In any case, this is the most extensively modified Clio we could find, at least cosmetically. It's a mint green Clio 182 (that's the power of the 2-liter engine) that's been "bagged" with air suspension and fitted with hellaflush JDM-style wheels. We think the fender flairs are from one of those generic kits that's supposed to fit multiple different cars.
he little mint also sports a perforated front bumper, like you'd see on Silvias and Z in the drifting scene, an adjustable air splitter and a massive rear wing that seems to be bolted to the chassis. You can't open the trunk now, but it's full of scaffolding from the roll cage, so it's pointless anyway. Other details are easier to miss, such as the tinted taillights or the badge and number plate being deleted from the trunk lid.
From what we can tell, this wasn't even a Clio RS at first, but a 1.6 16V model. However, the engine has been swapped to the 182 horsepower 2-liter.
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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