Power was delivered to the wheels via a JC5-089 five-speed manual gearbox, resulting in a 0-60 mph time of 6.6 seconds, as tested by Evo Magazine in their February 2000 issue.

The car also came standard with manually controlled air conditioning and a Radiosat 6010: 60W RDS radio, with a 6 disc multi-changer positioned underneath the passenger seat.

However, six months later in June 2000, Renault would introduce four new metallic paints as an optional extra; 377 Sunflower Yellow, D44 Odyssey Blue, 676 Pearl Black, and B76 Flame Red.

This meant the Idle Control Valve of the PH1 was no longer required leading to a minor redesign of the intake manifold.

This was achieved by the removal of a majority of sound deadening from the car alongside thinner glass to reduce weight even further.

One large difference was also the lack of air conditioning which was a standard fit component on the regular 172, which typically led to the cup producing more power due to the engine having less ancillaries to drive.

[citation needed] Many enthusiasts regard the 172 Cup as the last "hardcore" hot hatch due to its lack of anti-lock brakes and ESC, relatively low weight and powerful engine.

This also lead to an increase for the potential of oversteer, due to the lack of weight and driver aids, alongside the revised geometry.

Within the UK this often lead to the cars failing the MOT test, VOSA eventually issued an advisory to prevent this from happening.

The inserts of the headlights were changed from black to grey, new wheels styles were introduced and new colour options were added with others being dropped.

This refresh marked the introduction of cruise control and Electronic Stability Program (ESP) as standard equipment.

The Cup Chassis also featured lowered suspension with stiffer shocks and springs and an anthracite version of the standard alloy wheels.

The engine cover and sill plates were removed and the steering wheel was downgraded to no longer include the RenaultSport Logo or rubber thumb grips.

Sound deadening was removed from the 182 Cup, the horn was downgraded from a twin to single unit and the interior light no longer included a map reading function.

These changes definitely made a big difference to the 182 Trophy and have led to its being heralded as one of the best hot hatches of all time and it won Evo Magazine's "People's Performance Car of The Year" 2005,[2] whilst also beating off rivals such as the Lamborghini Gallardo and other exotica in an Evo Magazine Group Test.

AutoCar Magazine's front cover from 5 July 2005 simply stated "World's Greatest Hot Hatch".

The new Clio III drew technology from Formula One, including a rear diffuser and brake cooling side vents, they upgraded the engine, now to 194 bhp (145 kW; 197 PS).

The facelifted Clio III is further enhanced with the inclusion of a front splitter and the engine now produces 197 bhp (147 kW; 200 PS).

This has been made possible by tweaks to the exhaust system, valve timing and ECU also stated to give a slight increase in fuel economy.

Acceleration figures are expected to be slightly improved due to shorter gearing in 1, 2 and 3 and enhancements have been made to the cup chassis including making the steering rack more responsive.

The Silverstone GP Edition came standard with "Renaultsport" embroidered Recaro seats in silver-dot/Nardo Black fabric and a RS Monitor for logging G-Force and lap times.

Similar to the Silverstone GP Edition, it featured the ‘Deep Black’ detailing across the car, including the front and rear bumpers, the wing mirrors and the roof.

The 20th Anniversary special Edition was available in a limited production run of only 20 units during 2010 to celebrate 20 years of the Clio and 10 million sales.

Raider edition included leather Recaro seats and gloss black 18x8J Interlagos wheels (derived from Megane R26.R) wrapped with Bridgestone REO50A tyres to match the renowned Cup chassis, with its lower ride height, stiffened suspension, quicker steering ratio and red Brembo brake callipers.

The Red Bull Limited edition celebrated winning the Constructors World championship in 2011 with the RB7s, powered by Renault Engines.

The RB Limited Editions included Cup chassis, ‘yellow dot’ fabric Recaro seats, Renaultsport Monitor and gloss black 18x8J Interlagos wheels (derived from Megane R26.R) wrapped with Bridgestone REO50A tyres.

The body work is painted in black with strong yellow contrasts on the front F1 Blade, rear diffuser and wing mirrors.