Ever since the Renault 5 Gordini, Renault hot hatches have been a bit feisty. So when the Renault Clio 172 appeared in 1999 as the first car (other than the niche Spyder) from the new RenaultSport ...

In today’s age of 1500kg+, hugely complex mega hatches, it’s strange to think that the 172 was actually considered a little too heavy and mature for a small hot hatch. Sure, it weighs around ...

Renault Sport unveiled the 172 Cup in August 2002 as a Group N homologation special, known internally by Renault as the ‘sport lightweight version’ and in France as the Clio RS Jean Ragnotti.