Renaultsport Clio gets Trophy treatment

It's fair to say Renault's current Clio 200 hot hatch hasn't warmed our cockles anywhere near as much as its predecessor. A couple of years after its launch, then, enter the Clio 220 Trophy, which aims to rectify our quibbles.

The wraps have just been pulled off the Trophy at the Geneva motor show, and the spec certainly reads well. Its 1.6-litre turbo engine is ten per cent healthier than standard, with 217bhp (or 220PS, as the name suggests). Torque is up too, with as much as 207lb ft available courtesy of a boost function.

As is the have-cake-and-eat-it way nowadays, such gains have been yielded alongside a subtle drop in C02 emissions. And for the ultra driving nerds among you, the optional telemetry system allows five different levels of throttle pedal sensitivity. We're geeking out already.

Speaking of gears, the Clio's paddle-shift transmission has received some attention too. Our biggest bugbear with the Clio 200 is its 'EDC' double-clutch transmission; slow and recalcitrant where its predecessor's manual was slick and supremely satisfying.

Renaultsport still hasn't gone back to the delightful three-pedal ways of old, but it has jiggled with the EDC software to yield shifts 40 per cent quicker in the Clio's normal modes, and 50 per cent quicker in its harder-cored Race mode, which locks the transmission into manual only. Even the travel of those wheel-mounted paddles has been shortened for more instantaneous reactions.

Warranting the Clio Trophy name - one with illustrious history in the Renaultsport back catalogue, don't forget - the chassis has also had some attention. The suspension is lower, dropped 20mm front and 10mm at the rear. The shock absorbers and springs are stiffer, too. There's also a quicker steering rack, while sticky Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres are wrapped around the 18-inch alloy wheels.

More superfluous mods include a new white and black colour scheme, abundant Trophy badges and new sports seats.

The Trophy will be a special edition limited in number, though its gearbox and chassis mods are something we'd wager will make it to a facelifted version of the standard car in due course.

Prices haven't yet been announced, but at least £20,000 seems likely. Reckon this will drag people away from buying a fully-specced Fiesta ST?