Renault’s finally got its mojo back. Ever since it dropped the R.S. version of the Clio and Megane, the firm’s lineup has consisted wholly of un-hot hatches, crossovers and the Traffic van. Now, however, it has the ultra-cool 4 and 5 EVs, both of which are inspired by the firm’s quirky hatchbacks of yesteryear, while the Alpine version of the latter has shown that Dieppe hasn’t lost it touch on its return to hot hatch making. Sure, they’re all-electric, and that won’t be to everyone’s taste - but they’re the most appealing Renaults we’ve seen in a very, very long time.
It makes you wonder what else could the French marque revive to complement its reboot roster. For instance, the A110 perfectly relaunched Alpine as the company’s performance division, while the retro charm of the 4 and 5 is enough to make even the biggest EV sceptic take notice. So what next then? Arguably, nobody’s really built a properly lightweight electric car yet (aside from this one-off Ultima ‘RSE’ prototype), and while Alpine has long planned to switch the A110 over to battery power, the company claims it’ll be heavier than the current combustion car. Maybe if it bought back the Renault Sport Spider, like the car we have here, it could get that down to under a tonne. That’d send a message.
A stretch, perhaps, but reviving the Spider is at least worth considering. It had all the hallmarks of a smash hit when it debuted at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show: a lightweight, two-seat sports car formed around an aluminium chassis with plastic body panels that delivered blistering B-road performance at an affordable(ish) price tag. A very similar recipe to the Lotus Elise, which would appear six months later at the Frankfurt Motor Show. But while Lotus would go on to tens of thousands of Elises across a 25-year production run, Renault mustered just 1,685 road-going Spiders (96 of which were right-hand drive) before calling it quits in 1999.
There was nothing inherently wrong with the Spider, it’s just that the Elise had it beat in a few crucial areas. Renault’s offering ticked the sub-tonne box with a 965kg kerb weight, though that was still 240kg heavier than the Elise. And though neither was remotely practical, the Elise’s bolt-on soft top at least provided (some) rain protection, while Renault never offered the Spider with any sort of roof, not even the temporary kind you’d find on a Porsche Boxster Spyder. At least all UK cars came with a windscreen, which was an optional extra for European cars, but it made the Elise look like a Rolls-Royce by comparison.
That didn’t mean the Spider was without merit, mind. Quite the opposite. Its 2.0-litre, 16v engine plucked from the Clio Williams developed 150hp, a good deal more than all but the sportiest Elises. Then there’s the suspension, comprising rose-joined double wishbones paired with Bilstein coilovers. A serious setup that, admittedly, required a fair bit of effort to get the most out of thanks to the Spider’s unassisted steering. But above all, it looked absolutely wild, like a race car that had been loosely adapted for road use, which is essentially what it was. Relaunch the Spider as an electric Alpine with its own one-make series and Renault would surely have a hit on its corporate hands.
Anyway, the likelihood of that happening is approximately nil, so better grab this one while you can. And what an example it is, with only 12,000 miles on the clock covered by the previous and solitary owner. It looks immaculate, too, with no signs of wear on the Recaro seats and a spotless engine bay. The seller’s asking £30,495 for it, which admittedly gets you quite a lot of Series 1 Elise, while an extra £2k brings this Sport 160 into the mix. But Elises are two a penny because Lotus sold so many of them, whereas you’re almost guaranteed to be the only person with a Spider at any given car meet. What’s a bit of rain in your face on a spirited drive, anyway?
SPECIFICATION | RENAULT SPORT SPIDER
Engine: 1,998 four-cylinder
Transmission: five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 150@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 136@4,500rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 1997
Recorded mileage: 12,000
Price new: £25,950
Yours for: £30,495
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