The fight to be king of the hot-hatch was fraught in the 2000s. Smaller was mightier, with the lighter and punchier offerings providing far more enjoyment than the larger, often more established counterparts. The Golf, once untouchable, could barely keep pace – not least with the Renault Clio, the best of the bunch.
The line that started with the vaguely Formula 1 and British Touring Car Championship-connected Clio Williams really began to hit its stride with the Clio 182 of 2004. And the peak 182 was the Trophy, a highly limited – and highly strung – variant of just 500 cars with the brilliant Recaro Trendline bucket seats, improved suspension, the V6's spoiler and weight-saving measures throughout.
It was so good that evo, surely the ultimate drivers’ magazine, named it real-world car of the year ahead of the BMW M3 CS and placed it third in its overall 2005 Car of the Year issue. It was beaten by the Ford GT and Ferrari F430 – cars that cost 10 times the price of the humble 2-litre Clio.
Two decades later it still hits every mark and meets every expectation. And still very much holds its own, with a special place in the minds of all enthusiasts. One car proved as much in the MT Yard at the Scramble, courtesy of Sports Purpose and the event’s new online auction partner, Bring a Trailer. The 115,000-miler went toe-to-toe with Porsches and a Camaro, but shared in as much of the limelight.
Randy Nonnenberg, co-founder of Bring a Trailer, bought the car while he was this side of the Atlantic to be his get-around car for a few weeks – and his few hundred miles of driving culminated in rolling into Scramble that morning. Now that very Clio is available, with proceeds being donated to Thyroid UK when the auction ends at 6:05pm on Sunday 10 May.
It’s been properly cared for – not usually guaranteed with something as fun as this. Its first owner clocked up just shy of 20 years with it, and its second owner recently tidied up the Speedline wheels and refinished them with anthracite. They also treated it to a full service including cambelt.
Tidy but not perfect, making it the perfect b-road and Track Social toy. Bid now and raise money for Thyroid UK over on bringatrailer.com.
