Last of vanquishing species

The Renaultsport 197 whips past 100km/h in under 7 seconds and tops out somewhere above 210km/h. Photo / Supplied

One is new, the other has a few thousand km on the clock. But they both fall into the "last chance to see" category: they are the last two Renaultsport Clio III 197 models in the country.

And it is not known if the flying three-door, of one the most fun cars on the market, will be replaced.

Renault importers Motorcorp Distributors are negotiating with the French factory on a range of new vehicles for New Zealand.

"We are talking prices on different models at the moment," says Motorcorp chairman Russ Reynolds. "But nothing has been finalised.

"There are some obvious examples for the New Zealand market but we still have a way to go yet with the factory."

Nailing down competitive prices has been a long-time problem for Renault importers.

The new generation Renaultsport Clio might indeed price itself out of the market. If not, it will have to be good to top the raw appeal of the Renaultsport 197.

It is a crackerjack, an old-style flyer that thrives on a good thrashing. Its 2-litre four-cylinder engine delivers 145kW and 210Nm and drives the front wheels via a slick six-speed manual gearbox.

No turbocharging for go-fast blasts here, just an inspired chassis riding on anti-roll bars, an old-fashioned torsion beam rear and a front double-strut set-up borrowed from a bigger car, the Renaultsport Megane.

Get the 2-litre unit zinging towards its 7500rpm redline, however, and the three-door grows legs. It whips through the 100km/h mark in under seven seconds and on to a top speed of upwards of 210km/h.

The 1240kg package needs stirring along, using the close cogs to take advantage of the flexible engine.

Road surfaces don't worry it - there's more than enough travel in the suspension to iron out the worst surfaces and keep all four wheels grounded. Dial in a line through a corner either on or off the gas and the Renaultsport 197 remains constantly adjustable without any snappy bad habits.

It has few rivals, certainly not at $39,990. Unlike the French and British. They have been going at it for centuries.

Renault polled 2000 French and 2000 Britons in a campaign for the new Megane model. The French said the British were happy only when weeding their gardens. The British said "feeling culturally superior" made their Gallic counterparts most happy.

The French had little trouble with famous British men and women: The Queen, Shakespeare, Churchill, Nelson, Oliver Cromwell and and so on.

But the British in turn stumbled - only Charles de Gaulle and Napoleon Bonaparte beat "Don't Know". Inspector Clouseau, the bumbling, fictional detective, was mentioned.