I was 15 when I saw my first 16v. It was in the showroom at Renault Cardiff and was in metallic green with leather (ultra rare, as I now know). At the time I was with my parents collecting what was to be my first car - a special edition 1.2 Clio. I knew the 16v was special, but it was mainly the looks that did it for me.
The 1.2 became mine two years later and I had great fun with that. I even tried to race a Williams off the lights!! By the time I was bouncing off the rev limiter in 1st the Williams was a spec on the horizon. I eventually moded the 1.2 - 16s, lowered 90mm, colour coded, etc.
But the more I did to the 1.2 the clearer it became that the 16v was what I wanted. It wasnt just a matter of looks (and THAT bonnet bulge) - I now knew just how damn fast and good handling they were!
I bought my Valver last November. I completely blew all my savings and scrimped all the pennies. I had the seen the car twice in Bristol and had fallen in love with it (black, leather, black wheels). When I went to see it I didnt care what the mileage was etc - I just had to have it!! I know thats not a good way to buy a car, but I had swotted up a bit too
The first few months were amazing. The car had a 170+bhp engine re-build just before I bought it and it never let me down in a race.
I could name endless lists of cars that Ive trounced - suffice to say that when you race a 3.0 34v 250bhp 5-Series and leave it after the ton, you get the idea that its no slouch!
But then in January it all went bang. New diffs, g/box and cv joints. All becuase the car (now on 85k) couldnt handle the power. That was expensive and taught me about the costs of running a true performance car. I bit my lip at this point and nearly sold it. But instead I decided to re-build it myself, step by step, and basically make it like new. Ive spent over £3000 on the car since then. You might have seen my car at Donny 2002 - the only Valver with Cliosport. Id like to think that even by then it was looking good.
I now use my car with extreme care. I rarely do short trips - and use it at the moment for maybe one 40-mile trip a week. I cycle to work!! The pay off is knowing that I have a car that is ready to trounce most comers and that it isnt about to fall apart.
Ive met some really cool people with Cliosport and via the RSC. One of my lifes finest memories is racing a 250bhp Nitrousd Williams 3 through a tunnel (on a test track, honestly) 3 times and only losing by two or three car lengths by *120 mph. And its true - everyone with a 16v/Willy always flashes and waves!
If anybody is ever thinking of buying a 16v, stop thinking - just do it! (but it will cost a lot!).