1994 Renault Clio Williams (Phase One)

It’s the early 1990s, and the 1.8-litre Clio 16v is locked in combat for hot-hatch glory with the ageing Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9. It’s a better car by many objective criteria, but not a convincingly faster one and, in the eyes of many, the GTI still holds the crown. It took a truly special car to convincingly wrestle supremacy away from Peugeot, to really bury the old-timer and to refine the class in the process. That car was the Clio Williams.

Sold with the compelling marketing strategy of an F1 team association, the Williams was actually an homologation special in the familiar mould. It was built because RenaultSport wanted to go rallying and the class maximum displacement stood at 2.0-litres. Given this was still the era of homologation into classes A and N, Renault simply had to build 2,500 road cars to qualify, although it would eventually build many more. The initial production run of the Clio Williams was limited to just 5,400 examples, of which only 390 arrived in the UK.

Naturally, RenaultSport did a thorough job. The suspension used a reinforced front subframe borrowed from the Clio Cup racer, plus uprated springs, dampers, rear torsion arms and thicker anti-roll bars. The track was increased by 34mm and the 7J Speedline alloys were half-an-inch wider than the 16v’s and distinctively gold. The gearbox was stronger, too, with revised ratios. There was just one exterior colour offered for the first generation of Williams – ‘449’ Metallic Sports Blue – and the cumulative effect of body (already blistered of arch, front, and rear, and bulging of bonnet from the 16v), paint and those golden wheels was as close to hot-hatch perfection as many felt it was possible to get. It's a small car with a wheel pushed to the very extremity of each corner; a little shorter, slightly wider, and significantly lower than a Clio 172 or 182.

Codenamed ‘F7R’ and developed from the 16v’s 137bhp F7P unit, the new engine featured a longer stroke and bigger bore size, and benefitted from a stronger crankshaft (borrowed from the diesel Clio) plus new pistons, camshafts and conrods, with bigger valves and a lightweight exhaust manifold. Output was now 148bhp at 6,100rpm and 126lb/ft at 4,500rpm, not enormous by today's standards but 85% of the torque was available from 2,500rpm and the car only weighed 981kg. 

The car presented here is a 1994 Renault Clio Williams (Phase One), #0114, and was originally supplied through Trenton Renault of Hull to its first owner, who kept and treasured this cracking car right up until last year when, sadly, it passed to a family member (but not being registered to them, so this is a 0 previous owners car). It has been indulged from day one, being undersealed from new, always garaged, and annually serviced. The indicated mileage of 57,964 is fully verifiable, supported by its bulging history file and the car really is as good as it looks, having the sort of preservation and mechanical health that you'd associate with single-person, long-term, dedicated ownership. The current custodian has lost access to his storage so is reluctantly selling it, understanding that to keep such an original and low-mileage example in tip-top condition is a commitment and is perhaps best done by an marque enthusiast. To honour the car's superb condition and maintenance history, our vendor has made sure the car was fully serviced (on 02/12/21 at 57,628 miles, costing £1,460.99) making it absolute A1 and ready for sale (including a new timing belt and all auxiliary parts, plus five new Michelin tyres, even down to a repaired oil sender dial).

These very special performance hatchbacks are now rare; even rarer in this sort of condition with one owner and a very worthy addition to any car collection based on its status, history and amazing state of conservation.