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Would you spend £18,200 on a Clio 182?



  Turbos.
For me, the Clio 172 / 182 is the essence of what a hot hatch is. It's practical, but crucially small - perfect for B Roads. Nowadays, everything has got bigger, heavier and - of course - turbocharged.

Right now, the closest thing seems to be the Fiesta ST (conveniently, with 182bhp), a low kerb weight and similar footprint. It gets good reviews, but I personally think they look like a roller skate. There's also the small matter of them being £19,000 (you can get a couple of grand off that), or about £220 per month on PCP, whereas a very nice 182 is in the region of £4,000-£5,000.

So I've been thinking, what if I bought the 182 back? What if you could effectively have a brand new 182, with a warranty, and finance (if required) - would you pay for it?

One of my good friends is high up at Singer (the Porsche guys) and I love the obsessive detail of their cars. You can see where hours have been poured in to little details, yet the car is still very much a Porsche - just all of the best bits.

Recently, you may have also seen the gorgeous 'reimagined' Lancia Integrale by Futurista. It's incredible - but £250,000. Now I won't pretend the Clio 182 rivals the Integrale for pedigree, but it is respected as a great car - the amount you see on trackdays is testament to that.

So how would I make a Clio 182 worth £18,200?

I imagine starting with a shell that is dipped seam welded, with strengthening in various places to help out the suspension. I'd then look at what can be learnt from the aftermarket and Cup race cars in terms of suspension and brake design. I would develop the ride and handling with professional race drivers and journalists; every component would be bespoke to take into account a wider offset wheel and lower ride height.

The intention would be to make it quick on track (I would want to benchmark and exceed performance of modern hot hatches), but not at the compromise of 'liveability' - it wouldn't have ridiculous spring rates or bushing unless specified.

I know what you're thinking - you can already make a quick 182, and for little outlay. My difference would be I would be aiming to make it better at everything. It would have more sound proofing, yet less weight. It will be nicely appointed inside, and there won't be any squeaks. You will also be able to have a conversation on the motorway, because it will have a 6th gear.

Also, whilst many can make a quick Clio, it's normally only for so long. I would do proper OEM-style testing (10,000s of miles). I would plan to have the cars on ITBs running decent power, but they will have had the mapping required to ensure it starts on the button, every time.

I would also look to differentiate from the aftermarket scene with genuine unique details. For example, I have been speaking to Speedline about producing a forged version of the Turini wheel (it is THE wheel of choice naturally, but they've always been too heavy).

So am I off my rocker? I've seen people get laughed at for trying to sell Trophies for £8k. I wonder if someone can't get £8,000 for a mint, 'best of' version then I will struggle. But then I'm not really looking to target people like that; I want to appeal to people like me - those who grew up driving cars like this in their teens and twenties who want to re-live their youth, but without the pain of realising they have made a huge mistake once the rose-tinted glasses have been taken off.

I'm going to build my own one anyway, was just wondering if there would be a market in it for a limited build run - like I said I would do a warranty and provide finance.
 

Short Norman

ClioSport Club Member
  997 C4S
I’ve always wanted to build an older car to my more modern spec. E28 BMW or Sierra RS500 rep would probably be at the top of my list.

There’s people selling replica mk1 escort RS at inflated prices so why not a clio, other then maybe it’s still a little too new.

Oh and you know someone st Singer???? I was at Goodwood this year the white one on their stand was absolutely gorgeous. There wasn’t a thing I’d change on it.
C38446F5-8778-4202-A9CD-7871BFA763D9.jpeg
 
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R3k1355

Absolute wetter.
ClioSport Club Member
If you think someone is going to drop 18 grand on a totes-amaze 182 you're off your f**king rocker.

If you spend anywhere near that kind of money on your own 182 you need help mate.
 
  182 Turbo
There’s people selling replica mk1 escort RS at inflated prices do why not a clio

Because of what those cars meant, the history behind them and the landmark for the company they were, it adds to the desirability of a car, whether it was made so that ford could use that car for group a rally, or whatnot. It's not just about how old a car is, its about the desirability of the car, escort and sierra cosworths appreciated silly amounts, but the sierra xr4x4 and rs turbos which are just as old didnt skyrocket anywhere near the same amounts.

theres a cieling limit to any cars appreciation imo, the trophy will never be worth £100k like the r5 turbo 1 & 2 is and the metro6r4 because they arent desirable enough for anyone to pay that money no matter how old they get, the v6's may reach that limit though, but id still doubt even that
 

Crayola

ClioSport Club Member
In 20/30 years time people may revisit this thread when a bag of s**t 182 sells for £18k and go “f**k me I wish I’d have taken up on that offer”

But, at this moment in time there isn’t a market for this. You can buy a 172 for £500 (I bought both of mine for less than £450) and it will start and drive, it might be a dog but it’ll do mostly what it needs to. People buy a 172 or a 182 for the fact that they’re a bean tin on wheels with a 2.0 up front, not to do a daily commute in comfort.

Just buy a trophy or a LY because they’re probably never gonna depreciate anyway
 
  Cup 172. <3
18k isn't that much if it's wrapped up in an affordable finance package.
If the car genuinely had Singer levels of detail then why not?
I for one would be interested in at least seeing it, you don't necessarily have to buy the car - maybe parts could be bought seperately and put onto your old beat up Clio at home.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
It would pretty much have to be completely custom if you wanted to have the road/track blend and do very well on both, youd pretty much end up with a 182 shell being the only thing Renault
 

R3k1355

Absolute wetter.
ClioSport Club Member
18k isn't that much if it's wrapped up in an affordable finance package.
If the car genuinely had Singer levels of detail then why not?

and how much money do you think Singer put into developing a car like that??

because it's several times more 18 grand, that much is true
 
  dan's cast offs.
so you reckon you could develop AND build to a cracking spec AND sell it for £18,000 AND make a profit? to take an old shell and build it up as a new car would probably cost you at least that and that's not factoring in labour costs as well.
 

davo172

ClioSport Club Member
  TCR'd 172
If you think someone is going to drop 18 grand on a totes-amaze 182 you're off your f**king rocker.

If you spend anywhere near that kind of money on your own 182 you need help mate.


Let's be honest some people on this forum have spent more than that!!! and still not got a good reliable car that they are happy with !!!!
 
  Ph2 172, 106 Rallye
You're going to be out thousands in R&D. Then you're mentioning bespoke parts, paying people for testing, forging custom wheels etc and you still think you could sell them at £18k and turn a profit? You would need to have at least 20-30 confirmed sales to make this worth your time. Even then, I can't see it being economically viable.

For sure spend £18k on your own clio and see where it goes. I'd imagine you wouldn't get as much as you're expecting. Building a proper reliable race engine would be in and around 10k.
 

JamesBryan

ClioSport Club Member
  Titanium 182
I don't think anyone realises how rich Englebert ?

This is probably pocket change almost.

I'd say go for it, there will be a few people like yourself who would be willing to pay that. I mean people pay £50k for a v6 ffs.
 
  172
Interesting thread, but I think 99% of people that buy a Clio 182 do so because they offer a great driving experience for peanuts. On top of this, even a DIY mechanic can carry out a lot of repairs and servicing to bring them up to scratch.

£18k buys some serious machinery!

That means there's virtually no market for a heavily restored Clio 182, and no one would be willing to invest in this project.

For that reason, I'm oot.
 
I'd genuinely consider this so long as you did a proper 172 Cup version.

Oh, and the Fiesta ST has 200 bhps. Just sayin'.
For me, you'd have to do this - strip off all the driving aid nonsense that plagues new cars nowadays (because Eu safety ratings mean you won't get 5-star NCAP rating if the ickle pedestrians can't stroll out in front of your car while posting s**t to instagram and bounce softly off your bonnet without a scratch while auto-braking and ABS and bonnet-pop-trickery do their thing :rolleyes: ) and make it the equivalent of a hatchback Lotus - nothing to help if you f**k it up, what the car does is down to you.

There will be a market for this sort of thing but it would be quite small, and you might have to target 'memory cars' rather than a 182 - perhaps I'm just old now, but does a 182 evoke the strong memories of driving youth that Valvers and Williams and RS Turbos and Cossies (etc.) do in us older folks? I genuinely don't know.

I've long thought that re-imagining older cars would be ace, but I presume there'd be hurdles like IVA to get over?
 

Hixle

Hi Kiss Luke E****
ClioSport Club Member
  E90 M3
There’s certainly a demand for resto-mod’s, and with the correct marketing it could work - it’s a comparative bargain when put against other cars of the same nature.

I can’t imagine it’s something your average CS’r would entertain, but as a second or third toy for someone...

From your IG Rob you clearly have the correct people in your circle for this to be plausible. It’s an interesting idea, but whether it would be profitable at £18k would be another question.
 

Hixle

Hi Kiss Luke E****
ClioSport Club Member
  E90 M3
There will be a market for this sort of thing but it would be quite small, and you might have to target 'memory cars' rather than a 182 - perhaps I'm just old now, but does a 182 evoke the strong memories of driving youth that Valvers and Williams and RS Turbos and Cossies (etc.) do in us older folks? I genuinely don't know.

I think the 182 could work, although not necessarily to the demographic of people that have owned them before.

Car magazines still bang on about 1*2’s being the ‘last of the real hot hatches’, so I’d imagine the target market being people who’ve read that statement over and over again, but wouldn’t want to spend £2k on a shitbox. £18k to someone who reads EVO with a 911 could potentially be pocket change, whilst ‘knowing’ they have the best version of ‘the last of the real hot hatch’.

On a side note, I still don’t think it would deter many people from buying a ‘new’ hatch, ergo a Fiesta ST, over a reimagined 1*2 though.
 
  Turbos.
What's the multi-quote bit all about? Must be getting old as I can't quote people!

Perhaps this is the wrong demographic then. When I was a member, of course the 182 was a brand new car which people were paying (£15k?) for, and then going out and spending a couple of grand on.

For me, this is a pitch to make people think twice of going out and spending £35,000 on a new Golf GTI or similar.

I would plan a more extreme version too if I prove the initial concept - I plan to deconstruct a Cup race car see what can be learnt. I would swallow much of the R&D as it is just a bit of fun for me.
 


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