With just 400 Phase 1 and Phase 2 examples registered in the UK, either on the road or on SORN, a Renault Clio V6 is a rare sight – and that’s just how Martin Hassett likes it.
“I like things that are rare and unusual,” he tells me. “My father never drove, so I have no desire to own anything from his era. Instead, I like things that are unusual, such as Alfa Romeo SZs and low-production vehicles.
"My other car is a 1997 Mazda RX-7 – which, incidentally, hardly consumes any oil. I’ve been told I don’t drive it hard enough! The Clio has plenty of power but gets twitchy on the limit.”
Martin’s Clio is a Phase 2 V6, which was registered in 2004 and has covered a scant 33,000 miles. It being a Phase 2 is important to those in the know, because this model was much better built and better engineered than the Phase 1.
“Renault had this wacky idea to make a mid-engined V6 Clio but didn’t have time to do it properly,” explains Martin. “So the project was given to TWR. They had to rush the cars into the showrooms, because the Clio was about to have the Phase 2 facelift and Renault needed to get the Phase 1 into the market before it was too late. So the Phase 1 was underdeveloped, to put it politely.”
For the record, the Phase 1 car was called the Clio V6 Renault Sport, while the Phase 2 was the Clio V6 Sport. It’s a bit confusing, because the Phase 1, which was launched in 2002, was put together at the TWR/Volvo factory in Sweden but the Phase 2, which followed a year later, was built at the Renault Sport (now Alpine) factory in Dieppe.
Martin picks up the story: “The Phase 1’s all-aluminium, 3.0-litre engine makes 227bhp, but the car had a reputation for throwing you into hedges. It was a real handful. So for the Phase 2, Renault went to work on the chassis. It has a longer wheelbase, believe it or not, to help improve the handling, plus it has a wider track, a redesigned rear subframe and bigger wheels.
"The engine produces 252bhp, too, which isn’t bad for a normally aspirated engine. Very little is interchangeable between the two Phases.”
Martin avoids, in his words, “hooning the Clio around country lanes”, which probably explains why it looks so good and runs so sweetly – that and the fact that he does just 1000 miles a year in it. It shows, too: the bodywork and engine bay are both immaculate and the interior is like new. He never drives the car in the rain.
Despite the car’s low annual mileage, Martin still has it serviced every 12 months by leading Clio V6 specialist SG Motorsport in Chippenham, Wiltshire. In fact, he bought the car from the garage.
“The guy who then owned it was having work done to it,” says Martin. “I heard it was for sale so I went to see it and drive it and thought ‘I’ll have that’. I never met him, because he was in hospital.”
Martin paid £27,000 for his hot Clio. Today it has an insured value of £50,000, although Martin reckons it’s actually worth closer to £45,000.
“I didn’t buy it for its investment value, but I’m pleased it hasn’t lost me any money,” he says. “I’m 74 now, but I’ll carry on driving it for as long as I still can.”
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Lovely article - fabulous car. One thing though. 74 is not old. My dad recently passed his advanced driving test at 85. If you have the privilege of good health, keep pedalling!