• Number "1034" of only 1,309 examples of the mid-engined Renault Clio V6 255
• Equipped with a 255 brake-horsepower 2,946 cc 24-valve V-6 driving the rear wheels
• Beautifully presented in Noir Nacre Doré with leather cockpit trim
• Odometer reads just 28,223 kilometres

When Renault unveiled the R5 Alpine in 1976, few could have realised the significance of the moment. But within a few years, the hot-hatch craze had taken hold and the firm became a key player in the genre. Loosely related to that original Alpine was the R5 Turbo—a mid-engined Group 4 special that doubled as an epic road car. Two decades later, when looking to create a top-of-the-range performance Clio, the Turbo was Renault’s inspiration.

Developed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing, the Clio abandoned practicality and a back seat in favour of mid-engined thrills—the engine in question being a 2,946 cc 24-valve V-6. In 2003, the much improved 255 brake-horsepower ‘Phase II’ was released, with production shifting from TWR to Renault Sport in Dieppe. Billed as the world’s most powerful hot hatch, the Clio was insane, yet somehow made perfect sense.

Number "1034" of only 1,309 built, the car offered was despatched from the factory on 13 September 2004 and registered a few days later in eastern France. In 2007, the Clio passed to its second owner, a Renault dealer, who used it sparingly for over a decade. After a brief spell in Cognac, in 2020 the car was acquired by the vendor from Ferrari dealer Charles Pozzi. Finished in Noir Nacre Doré, this wonderful mid-engined Renault displayed just 28,223 kilometres at the time of cataloguing. A detailed history file contains numerous invoices, the original delivery note, and factory build data.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/pa24/.