James May is probably rejoicing as we speak. He who is known as Captain Slow may be waiting for a Ferrari 458 Speciale to be delivered from Maranello, but we have the feeling James may be interested in the quirky Sandero.
For a few years now, James expressed his love for the low-cost hatchback on more than one occasion. Still, Renault’s next big thing is the Sandero RS, a go-faster version of the cheap and cheerful supermini.
Our spy photographers caught an early test mule of the Sandero RS wearing Dacia badges a few months back. In March, a Dacia insider confirmed to autoevolution that the Sandero RS will be animated by a naturally aspirated 2-liter engine, probably a Renault F4R family powerplant.
More recently, the carparazzi from Brazilian automotive outlet Flat Out spied a pre-production Renault Sandero RS almost completely camo-free. The five-spoke alloys, black mirror caps, LED daytime running lights and lower radiator chicken wire encompass Renault Sport’s design language. On the inside, the steering wheel appears to be borrowed from the Renault Clio RS hot hatchback.
Compared to the Clio RS, the Sandero RS will be offered with a good old fashioned manual transmission. Another detail that caught our attention is the climate control unit on the center stack, a piece of kit that’s unavailable on the standard, Euro-spec Sandero. Speaking of the EU, don’t get your hopes up too high for the Renault Sandero RS to be sold by the Frenchies on the Old Continent too.
Look beyond the Skoda-like C-shaped taillights and the sporty bumpers and think for a minute. The Sandero RS is rumored to weight around 1,100 kilos (2,425 lbs) and pack more than 142 bhp. On paper, the power-to-weight ratio is not as impressive as other hot hatches in the B-segment but the Sandero RS’ charm lies in its low-cost, no-frills nature of doing the go-faster stuff.
As for pricing, a BRL60,000-plus sticker is rumored, which equates to €18,930-plus at current rates.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News