Will a Renaultsport Clio V6 drift? | Mid-engined, rear-drive madcap hatchback | Autocar

Welcome to the fifth and last in the current series of videos set to answer the crucial question: will it drift? Having taken four 4wd hot hatchbacks - the new 2021 Volkswagen Golf R, the latest Mercedes-AMG A45 S, the Toyota GR Yaris and a Mk3 Ford Focus RS - around the new low-grip skidpan at Thruxton, now’s the turn of the ace in the pack: the deliciously nutty, V6-engined, rear-wheel-drive Renaultsport Clio V6. Perhaps we should rename this episode ’will it spin’. Because the answer’s yes. A lot. The first Clio V6 emerged in 2001, having been engineered for Renault by TWR. Instead of having a smaller engine sitting between its front wheels, it adopted a transverse V6 mounted between its rear wheels, and driving those rear wheels exclusively with anything up to 227bhp. The facelifted 2003 we’re testing got a power boost to 247bhp but otherwise the same unconventional layout of major mechanical components. This series complements a written Autocar feature about torque vectoring, that includes f