Renault Clio RS Trophy claims to be fastest compact hatch at Nurburgring

The Renault Clio RS 220 Trophy has set a new lap time on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife racetrack, in 8 minutes, 23 seconds, as set by German magazine Sport Auto, and Renault is claiming the crown for the “fastest hot hatch” on the ‘Ring. There’s some fine-print though.

Renault is only considering “compact” hot hatches when claiming this record, as per the European definition of size. Slightly larger cars such as the Honda Civic Type-R and RenaultSport’s own Megane RS are a fair bit faster. So the automatic Clio is claiming the crown against smaller pocket-rockets such as the Ford Fiesta ST and the Opel Corsa OPC. It is still quicker than certain previous-gen sports cars such as the Porsche Boxster S around the 20.832 km circuit.

The limited-edition Renault Clio RS 220 Trophy has 20 hp more power than the existing Clio RS 200 we drove last year, and more similar to the race-ready version we drove in Malaysia this year. It is equipped with more direct steering, electronic differential lock, shorter shift times, retuned suspension and an electronic-stability system that can be switched off.

For specs and prices on GCC-spec models, visit the Renault buyer guide.