Renaultsport Clio V6 255 | PH Private Area

In much the same way that fast Fords are most desirable in Imperial Blue, and Type R Hondas are best in Championship White, there’s something irresistible about Liquid Yellow Renaultsports. It transformed humble hot hatches into glamorous performance cars with its lustre and depth. Even the EDC Clio that everybody moans about was a whole lot more covetable with a splash of LY.

Twingo, Megane or Clio, it was (and remains) a hugely desirable colour. Not least because it cost so much new as an I.D. pearlescent paint: it added about 10 per cent to the price of a 133 back in the day. Having one of those for sale would be interesting enough – but a Liquid Yellow Clio V6 255, the ultimate crazy Renault of the 2000s, is a very special occasion.

This is one of just 18 such cars to have existed in the UK; probably as the little V6 looked brilliant whatever the colour, but also as I.D. paints only came along in 2005, the last year of Clio V6 production. So there are only 45 globally in yellow. According to the seller (who’s a font of V6 knowledge – thanks Graeme!) the original owner wanted Inferno Orange, but with production having already ceased they had to accept Liquid Yellow. And got a discount for being so understanding… 

Some of you may recognise this car from its time with evo back in the day, so that’s a nice little part of the history. (Its fame doesn’t end there in fact, as this one is the cover star of Duncan Powell’s The Clio V6 Legacy.) The current keeper has owned it since 2014, and is responsible for just under half its current (very modest) mileage tally of 33,000. He’s kept the Clio exactly how you would hope for such a significant Renaultsport product: the paint has been protected with PPF, the services have always been at SG Motorsport, and it’s only driven in the summer months.

Even the modifications are common V6-specific ones: the seat has been mounted a little lower thanks to custom-made runners, and an uprated exhaust has been fitted to bring the 3.0-litre to life. For XXL, the latter is actually an Orbisoud item, believed by its current owner to be the only one in the UK. 

So if you want a Clio V6 (and who doesn’t?), then Phase 2 #264 has to be one of the very best out there. As the Turbo 3E nears, so interest in the mid-engined Renaults of old will surely only increase further. This one appears to want for nothing, and Liquid Yellow is an appropriately exotic colour for everyone’s favourite shrink-wrapped supercar. Be sure to bring it along to future Sunday Services, please, just as Graeme did…