I've updated the timeline with recent discussions on last made cars, production transfering from Sweden to Dieppe, etc. Any changes, mods or additions just shout up. We'll get there!
Dec 97
Renault withdraws from F1.
The F1 committee meets at St-Tropez to consider how to continue promoting the Renault marque in motorsport. They quickly decided on developing a track version of a Clio with a mid engine V6 engine, from which a road version could be developed.
Feb 98 – Jun 98
Approval given by Renault board to fund the project given in February. The design and requirement concepts / specifications developed for both race and road cars over the following 4 months.
Feb 98
Work begins on detail design of body shape, and construction of two 1/5th models begins.
Apr 98
Solution F contracted to develop and build the V6 race engine to the RenaultSport design brief.
June 98
Full scale clay 'master' completed.
May 98
Standard production Clio II launched
Jun 98
MOC Composites contracted to build full scale master body from standard Clio body supplied by Renault. Having produced this quickly, MOC were contracted to deliver two prototype cars; The 'Route' (road car, codename R1) and the 'Course (race car, codename C1) ready for the Paris Motorshow in September.
Jun 98
Sadev contracted to design and build the straight cut six speed sequential gearbox with ECU controlled gearshift for the race Trophy car. Specification finalised in July.
Jul 98
In Mid July, the concept road car, finished in grey, was completed by MOC.
Aug 98
By the end of August, the concept race car, finished in Pearlecent Yellow, was completed by MOC.
Sep 98, Paris
Clio V6 launched at Motorshow.
Oct 98
22nd – 25th At the Renault International Finals meeting at Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, Jean Ragnotti gives the Renault Sport Clio V6 Trophy (C1 ?) it's first track demonstration.
The car is presented to the public by Christian Contzen
Oct 98
End of month. Magneti-Marelli contracted to provide the engine's electronic management system. Development work on the engine begins.
Nov 98
Sadev starts to produce gearbox components for the road car
Nov 98
TWR appointed to produce the development and production feasibility study for the road car with RenaultSport. To be completed within 2 months.
Nov 98
C2 prototype begins runs at 5 circuits:- Le Luc, Le Grand Sambuc, SEERTA, Le Castellet and Nogaro.
Dec 98
MOC Composites start to built the 100 (or so) Clio V6 Trophy bodyshells, and have a target of 3 months in which to complete the work.
Jan 99
Sadev starts to deliver the race gearboxes to RenaultSport.
Feb 99
First prototype race engine completed. 10 other prototype engines completed between Oct 98 and Mar 99.
Mar 99
85 standard V6 engines delivered to Solution F for modification.
Mar 99
15th – First 7 Clio V6s tested by the press, running for the first time at Pont l'Eveque circuit in Normandy (pre-production cars?)
Apr 99
MOC Composites complete delivery of the 100 bodyshells to RenaultSport (Dieppe).
Apr 99
11th, RenaultSport (Dieppe) Solution F complete delivery of 85 fully developed race engines. In all, Solution F deliver some 200 race engines over the life of the race series.
Apr 99
RenaultSport (Dieppe) start to build the 85 race cars required for the Trophy Series. The cars are built by 25 personnel on 11 stations in a 2000 square meter facility.
Apr 99
15th Delivery of completed cars starts.
Apr 99
17th / 18th - Track Debut at LeMans Bugatti. 80 RenaultSport Clio competitors tried the cars for the first time.
Apr 99 Jamara Circuit, Spain
25th - Competitors line up for the first race in the Clio Trophy series.
Jun 99
End of month. Contract awarded to TWR to produce the road car, to be build at TWR facility in Sweden at the Uddevalla factory. Target for launch in Autumn 2000.
Note: Presumably between feasibility study completion in Jan 99 and Jun 99, TWR were given the go-ahead to produce several prototype cars (shown in book as black – suspension development, white – first crash tests, yellow, braking evaluation).
Who designed / developed the road engine and gearbox?????
Jul 99
TWR conduct first full scale crash tests on road car prototype (blue)
Jul 00
(this was the scheduled start of production from the press release...actual start date unknown, but probably delayed as cars weren't available until end of 00).
Production starts at TWR Uddevalla, where the cars are built from components supplied by Renault.
The base Clio bodyshell is provided by the Renault Flins factory, in white, complete with bonnet, doors and tailgate. TWR modify the shell to Clio V6 specification, building the rear stucture and subframes on site.
The Douvrin factory (Française de Mécanique PSA - Renault) supplies the engines, and the Renault Cléon factory supply the gearboxes. The Grand Couronne site collects and delivers those parts from the range which are not specific to the Clio Renault Sport V6.
There was a target production of 12 cars a day.
Sep 00
Production road car first shown at Paris Motorshow
Nov 00
Press launch for the road Clio V6 production road car.
Feb 01
First production cars delivered in Europe.
Jun 01
Standard production Clio 'Facelift' (Ph2) launched. V6 continues as Ph1 style.
Jul 01
First production cars delivered to UK.
??? 01
TWR undertakes the design and development of the Ph2 road car
??? 01
Porsche Engineering contracted to further develop the road car engine.
Feb - Mar 02
First Ph2 Pre-Production car build started at TWR, and road registered in Jun 02. Note that the chassis number was for Feb, which implies that build started a few weeks later.
May 02
Last Phase 1 Clio V6 made at Uddevalla.
Question....was the decision taken to transfer production (of the Phase 2) to Dieppe made before TWR got into trouble? I guess so, and maybe a few months before the last Phase 1 was producced, as Dieppe made the first pre-production Phase 2 only 5 months after the last Phase 1 was made.
Jul 02
First Ph2 prototype spotted on the road being tested by TWR (Autocar 23rd Jul 02) Registration OV02 YND.
Sep 02
Ph2 Clio V6 launched at Paris Motorshow.
Oct 02
First Pre-Production Phase 2 cars produced in Dieppe.
Dec 02
Ph2 planned to be available in UK
Feb 03
TWR in receivership, brought down by Arrows F1 Team liquidation in 2002 (Feb 14th 2003, PwC)
Mar - Apr 03
LHD Press Cars produced in Dieppe
Apr 03
Phase 2 car launched (8th).
May 03
Full production of the Phase 2 underway at Dieppe
Jul 03
TWR Liquidation Sale of Racing Sports cars and memorabilia at Brands Hatch (Wyles, Hardy & Co, Brands Hatch, Jul 5th 2003)
Aug 03
Ph 2 production road car available in UK
Nov 05
'Standard' production of the V6 Clio slows down to a trickle , with only another 25 or so cars built in the following 4 months.
Dec 97
Renault withdraws from F1.
The F1 committee meets at St-Tropez to consider how to continue promoting the Renault marque in motorsport. They quickly decided on developing a track version of a Clio with a mid engine V6 engine, from which a road version could be developed.
Feb 98 – Jun 98
Approval given by Renault board to fund the project given in February. The design and requirement concepts / specifications developed for both race and road cars over the following 4 months.
Feb 98
Work begins on detail design of body shape, and construction of two 1/5th models begins.
Apr 98
Solution F contracted to develop and build the V6 race engine to the RenaultSport design brief.
June 98
Full scale clay 'master' completed.
May 98
Standard production Clio II launched
Jun 98
MOC Composites contracted to build full scale master body from standard Clio body supplied by Renault. Having produced this quickly, MOC were contracted to deliver two prototype cars; The 'Route' (road car, codename R1) and the 'Course (race car, codename C1) ready for the Paris Motorshow in September.
Jun 98
Sadev contracted to design and build the straight cut six speed sequential gearbox with ECU controlled gearshift for the race Trophy car. Specification finalised in July.
Jul 98
In Mid July, the concept road car, finished in grey, was completed by MOC.
Aug 98
By the end of August, the concept race car, finished in Pearlecent Yellow, was completed by MOC.
Sep 98, Paris
Clio V6 launched at Motorshow.
Oct 98
22nd – 25th At the Renault International Finals meeting at Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, Jean Ragnotti gives the Renault Sport Clio V6 Trophy (C1 ?) it's first track demonstration.
The car is presented to the public by Christian Contzen
Oct 98
End of month. Magneti-Marelli contracted to provide the engine's electronic management system. Development work on the engine begins.
Nov 98
Sadev starts to produce gearbox components for the road car
Nov 98
TWR appointed to produce the development and production feasibility study for the road car with RenaultSport. To be completed within 2 months.
Nov 98
C2 prototype begins runs at 5 circuits:- Le Luc, Le Grand Sambuc, SEERTA, Le Castellet and Nogaro.
Dec 98
MOC Composites start to built the 100 (or so) Clio V6 Trophy bodyshells, and have a target of 3 months in which to complete the work.
Jan 99
Sadev starts to deliver the race gearboxes to RenaultSport.
Feb 99
First prototype race engine completed. 10 other prototype engines completed between Oct 98 and Mar 99.
Mar 99
85 standard V6 engines delivered to Solution F for modification.
Mar 99
15th – First 7 Clio V6s tested by the press, running for the first time at Pont l'Eveque circuit in Normandy (pre-production cars?)
Apr 99
MOC Composites complete delivery of the 100 bodyshells to RenaultSport (Dieppe).
Apr 99
11th, RenaultSport (Dieppe) Solution F complete delivery of 85 fully developed race engines. In all, Solution F deliver some 200 race engines over the life of the race series.
Apr 99
RenaultSport (Dieppe) start to build the 85 race cars required for the Trophy Series. The cars are built by 25 personnel on 11 stations in a 2000 square meter facility.
Apr 99
15th Delivery of completed cars starts.
Apr 99
17th / 18th - Track Debut at LeMans Bugatti. 80 RenaultSport Clio competitors tried the cars for the first time.
Apr 99 Jamara Circuit, Spain
25th - Competitors line up for the first race in the Clio Trophy series.
Jun 99
End of month. Contract awarded to TWR to produce the road car, to be build at TWR facility in Sweden at the Uddevalla factory. Target for launch in Autumn 2000.
Note: Presumably between feasibility study completion in Jan 99 and Jun 99, TWR were given the go-ahead to produce several prototype cars (shown in book as black – suspension development, white – first crash tests, yellow, braking evaluation).
Who designed / developed the road engine and gearbox?????
Jul 99
TWR conduct first full scale crash tests on road car prototype (blue)
Jul 00
(this was the scheduled start of production from the press release...actual start date unknown, but probably delayed as cars weren't available until end of 00).
Production starts at TWR Uddevalla, where the cars are built from components supplied by Renault.
The base Clio bodyshell is provided by the Renault Flins factory, in white, complete with bonnet, doors and tailgate. TWR modify the shell to Clio V6 specification, building the rear stucture and subframes on site.
The Douvrin factory (Française de Mécanique PSA - Renault) supplies the engines, and the Renault Cléon factory supply the gearboxes. The Grand Couronne site collects and delivers those parts from the range which are not specific to the Clio Renault Sport V6.
There was a target production of 12 cars a day.
Sep 00
Production road car first shown at Paris Motorshow
Nov 00
Press launch for the road Clio V6 production road car.
Feb 01
First production cars delivered in Europe.
Jun 01
Standard production Clio 'Facelift' (Ph2) launched. V6 continues as Ph1 style.
Jul 01
First production cars delivered to UK.
??? 01
TWR undertakes the design and development of the Ph2 road car
??? 01
Porsche Engineering contracted to further develop the road car engine.
Feb - Mar 02
First Ph2 Pre-Production car build started at TWR, and road registered in Jun 02. Note that the chassis number was for Feb, which implies that build started a few weeks later.
May 02
Last Phase 1 Clio V6 made at Uddevalla.
Question....was the decision taken to transfer production (of the Phase 2) to Dieppe made before TWR got into trouble? I guess so, and maybe a few months before the last Phase 1 was producced, as Dieppe made the first pre-production Phase 2 only 5 months after the last Phase 1 was made.
Jul 02
First Ph2 prototype spotted on the road being tested by TWR (Autocar 23rd Jul 02) Registration OV02 YND.
Sep 02
Ph2 Clio V6 launched at Paris Motorshow.
Oct 02
First Pre-Production Phase 2 cars produced in Dieppe.
Dec 02
Ph2 planned to be available in UK
Feb 03
TWR in receivership, brought down by Arrows F1 Team liquidation in 2002 (Feb 14th 2003, PwC)
Mar - Apr 03
LHD Press Cars produced in Dieppe
Apr 03
Phase 2 car launched (8th).
May 03
Full production of the Phase 2 underway at Dieppe
Jul 03
TWR Liquidation Sale of Racing Sports cars and memorabilia at Brands Hatch (Wyles, Hardy & Co, Brands Hatch, Jul 5th 2003)
Aug 03
Ph 2 production road car available in UK
Nov 05
'Standard' production of the V6 Clio slows down to a trickle , with only another 25 or so cars built in the following 4 months.
