1994 Renault Clio Williams (Phase One) #0246

Please note this car is number 246 of 390, as per the title

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 (celebrating Alain Prost's fourth F1 title in 1993 with Williams, which used Renault engines at the time), 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 original Clio Williams (‘Phase 1’) was the lightest incarnation of model, lacking the electrics necessary for the sunroof or the mirrors, and was the only one to support a metal plaque stating the build number. The factory specification included central locking, electric windows, and blue-faced instrument dials with three co-ordinating blue auxiliary read-outs atop the centre console displaying the oil level, temperature and pressure – all very purposeful.

The car presented here is a 1994 Renault Clio Williams, #0264 of the original production run known as ‘Phase 1’. It was one of only 390 examples allocated to the UK and was delivered new by Renault main dealer, Taylor & Ackroyd of Halifax, in February 1994. It was pre-registered by Renault with zero mileage covered and was purchased new, along with a second example, by Clifton Garage of York. It was initially registered in the company’s name (up until 1998), with all servicing carried out 'in-house' before being purchased from his company and registered personally (V5C records confirms). This owner was also the proprietor of a Hyundai dealership in York, which then offered #0264 for sale and it was sold to its second private owner (original sale invoice confirms) in 1998. The new owner then had a Gemini alarm/immobiliser fitted, which is the only non-Renault part on the whole car.

#0264 was driven and maintained by him, accompanied by all invoices up until 2005, when it went into a personal garage, where it stayed until 2017. During this period the car was regularly checked and run-up and, in 2017, it was returned to the road with the only work required to pass an MOT being a new steering rack and brake callipers. For the next five years or so it was only used occasionally covering around 1,000 miles per year and not having had an MOT advisory since. In December 2021, the clutch and timing-belt were replaced, along with routine full service. The indicated mileage at the time of cataloguing was 41,876.

It's accompanied by the original book-pack, including the service booklet, an original PDI inspection sheet, numerous maintenance receipts and a huge file of paperwork to verify all the above, with all pre-2005 MOT Certificates present to verify the mileage.

Small, but important, details like the correct coolant having always been used, the original stereo still present (and in full working-order), the suit-carrier parcel shelf remaining in A1 condition and the heat shields still being original, all pay testimony to the car’s diligent ownership and quality of condition. These very special performance hatchbacks are now rare, even rarer in this sort of original and unrestored condition, with only a handful of owners and a very worthy addition to any car collection based on its status, history and amazing state of conservation.