Renault Showed Off Clio R.S. 16 Concept At 2016 Monaco Grand Prix

Renault Sport Formula One Team driver, Kevin Magnussen, took the Clio R.S. 16 concept car around Monaco’s famous Grand Prix circuit last weekend to celebrate Renault Sport’s 40th birthday as well as Renault’s return to Formula One.

By choosing Monaco, Renault Sport makes the link between Clio R.S.16 both around circuits and on ordinary roads.

Developed in record time

“Our aim was to produce a concept car with genuinely outstanding performance credentials,” notes Patrice Ratti, Managing Director of Renault Sport Cars, leader of the project which particularly inspired the development team’s specialists. “On paper, producing a Clio R.S. powered by our most potent engine – namely the 275-horsepower two-litre power unit which delivers peak torque of 360Nm – was an extremely appealing idea, but we had to make sure it was feasible.”

Thanks to new working procedures involving teams from the worlds of motorsport and road cars, the incubation of the highest-performance road-going Renault Sport car ever took just five months.

A variety of technical challenges

Finding the ideal way to house the engine, transmission and cooling system of the Mégane R.S. 275 Trophy-R into the Clio R.S.16 was a significant challenge. The exhaust system was also revised as a function of the engine’s potential, while the suspension was engineered to match the car’s outstanding performance characteristics. Careful attention was paid to the sound produced by the car, too, and an Akrapovič twin exhaust system was selected.

Performance-led design

The design and development team dealt successfully with the constraints inherent in the Clio R.S.16 project (body widened by 60mm, 19-inch wheels and optimisation of the engine cooling system) to produce an expressive, sporty stance. The result is enhanced by an LED R.S. VISION chequered-pattern lighting signature featuring exclusive multi-faceted reflector technology.

Renault Sport’s trademark Sirius yellow has been combined with gloss black details to mirror the livery of Renault Sport Formula One Team’s R.S.16 F1 single-seaters.

After its run on the streets of Monaco, the car’s next official appearance will be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, United Kingdom, on June 23-26.