Renault was seen testing a sportier version of the Sandero hatchback in Europe a few months ago. At first, the car was thought to be powered by a 1.2-liter turbo, but when inside sources told us that it had a 2-liter engine under the bonnet, we knew we were in for something awesome.
Today, the first official confirmation of the Sandero RS' existence came in the form of a teaser video. The car is fully camouflaged, meaning we can't see what it looks like, but the Sandero's chunky body has clearly been combined with the F1-style blade used by other Renaultsport creations.
What's under the bonnet? A 2-liter naturally aspirated inline-4. Dacia models are rarely given such a large engine, and it's usually not tuned to its full potential. But the RS badge never goes on a car unless it's boiling hot, which is why there aren't any SUVs wearing it.
Renault's 2-liter block could be described as "well respected". Four generations of the Clio RS have proven that natural aspiration plus manual gearbox equal lots of fun. The first was the 172 with the exhaust on one side, followed by the 182 facelift model that had twin pipes in the middle.
Some still consider the 182 Cup to be the most responsive small car ever made. It had independent reservoir suspension, and a stripped down interior. When the Clio 3 was introduced, things began to get heated up, as the 2-liter engine was pushed to 197 PS. With the 200 PS model, the engine reached the end of its life.
Which of these setups, if any, will be used by the Sandero RS? We honestly don't know, but even with 140 PS, this will be the fastest Sandero ever made.
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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