Forty years after its official debut, Renault Portugal is returning to national rallies with the organization of a trophy for 2024. The Clio Trophy Portugal is a competition held on asphalt and dirt surfaces, aimed at discovering and promoting young talents, and based on the Clio model, developed according to the technical regulations of the Rally5 category.
With 180 hp of power, equipped with a sequential gearbox and a limited-slip differential, and with an acquisition cost that is roughly half of other proposals in the same scope, the model of this new Renault competition aims to be one of the most competitive in Portugal.
Since the “amarelinho” of 1984, the Renault 5 Turbo driven by the duo Joaquim Moutinho/Edgar Fortes, Renault has shown ambition and competence in almost every race – it was only not the national champion in its debut year because it fell victim to a trap in the last race of the calendar, in what was perhaps the biggest scandal in the history of national motorsport. However, in the following two years, nothing and no one prevented the team from becoming the national rally champion for two consecutive years.
In 1987, the 11 Turbo allowed Renault (with the duo Inverno Amaral/Joaquim Neto) to become the national rally champion for the third time, while in the 1990s and until 2006, the brand was one of the most invested in national motorsport, with different versions of the Clio and Mégane accumulating successes and providing moments of excitement and spectacle, both in rallies and on circuits.
Coincidentally, 40 years after its debut, and 18 years after the last official project, Renault Portugal is returning to competition with the Clio Trophy Portugal.
Prices and Calendar
The prices of the Clio Rally5 for the new trophy start at €48,500 for the asphalt version and €52,000 for the dirt version. It is a model that is homologated to participate in speed races, rallies, or rallycross, with simple preparations.
The initiation kit for asphalt costs €2,862, while the dirt kit costs €2,099. Each set of four asphalt wheels has a price of €500, and the dirt set will cost €478.
The conversion kit from Asphalt to Dirt costs €7,900, from Dirt to Asphalt has a price of €5,000, from Asphalt to Rallycross (RX) costs €3,500, and from RX to Asphalt costs €6,100.
The 2024 calendar is still being defined, with the Rally of Portugal and the Madeira Rally already being excluded.
