| Tell you what, being young was brilliant. Yes, I | | | | year old and long for something socially acceptable |
| know I'm only 24 now, but I'm talking about when | | | | to feel like this all the time. Seventeen years later |
| I was six or seven and could play with my toy | | | | and it appears the local Renault dealer is on hand |
| cars, build vehicles that defied the laws of physics | | | | to make this story come full circle. |
| out of Lego and race my dad on Scalextric. | | | | Due to the success of Renault in Formula One in |
| Sitting in the cinema recently I watched Speed | | | | recent years and that their production cars are |
| Racer (I believe I make up exactly 100% of the | | | | selling like hot cakes thanks to creative styling, |
| world's population that has viewed said film) and I | | | | competitive pricing and good reliability some bright |
| really rather enjoyed it. Set in the future, the crux | | | | spark in marketing thought up a way of combining |
| of the film revolved around a lad handily called | | | | the lovable Clio with Fernando Alonso and co as |
| Speed Racer who raced around a full size | | | | they tear up the track around the globe. |
| Scalextric track in a futuristic car. Many gravity | | | | Welcome to the RenaultSport Clio 197 F1 R27 - |
| defining minutes later, with bright neon lights | | | | catchily named it's not. Aimed squarely at men |
| whizzing past my eyes I was hooked - the drive | | | | wanting to regress to childhood and competing |
| home never seemed so slow and boring. | | | | against the likes of the Honda Civic Type R, Mini |
| This got me thinking, is it socially acceptable for a | | | | Cooper S and Golf GTi, the hot Clio has a lot to |
| 24 year-old man to push toy cars around the | | | | contend with to be successful. |
| floor? Or how about digging out some Lego again? | | | | I like to remain impartial when reviewing a car, but |
| After much deliberation I decided against this as I | | | | put simply the R27 looks so jaw-droppingly |
| hope to hold on to my latest girlfriend and crying | | | | awesome that even if the rest of the car was |
| to her over swallowing a Lego brick isn't | | | | rubbish it wouldn't matter. Finished in the brightest |
| attractive. Finally then I opened the dust covered | | | | yellow, fitted with a wide-arch body kit, more air |
| box to my Scalextric and I'm not ashamed to | | | | vents than a skyscraper, Recaro racing seats, |
| say I spent all weekend assembling, tweaking and | | | | unique graphite alloy wheels and the most |
| then racing around and around until my trigger | | | | gorgeous F1 inspired rear diffuser, the R27 |
| finger went numb. The collection of cars I'd | | | | instantly sent me back to 1991. The fun however |
| amassed surprised me too, I have everything | | | | doesn't stop on the outside as the R27 sits on |
| from NASCAR, Formula One, super cars, British | | | | Renault's latest racing chassis which is 27 percent |
| Touring Cars and Le Mans racers. Despite this | | | | stiffer at the front and 30 percent at the back |
| clearly showing I was spoilt rotten when I was a | | | | than previous sport versions and makes the car |
| lad, it also drove home the point that the only car | | | | feel like it's on rails, turning every road into a giant |
| I can remember was not the shiny Ferrari or | | | | Scalextric track. |
| limited to 100 edition of the Jordan Formula One | | | | The driving experience gets better when you |
| car, but the 1991 Renault powered Benetton | | | | consider why it's got 197 in its name - that'll be |
| Formula One car with the front wing missing due | | | | the amount of horses crammed under the |
| to a high speed collision with my dad. | | | | bonnet. A six speed gearbox helps get the power |
| I think it's the circumstances surrounding me | | | | to the road as quickly as possible although you'll |
| acquiring the car that made it my favourite. | | | | want to drive as slowly as you can, not only to |
| Having been dragged from car dealership to car | | | | show off your racing decals but to conserve |
| dealership with my parents I finally found a nice | | | | petrol as it's probably rocketed another ten pence |
| seat to be bored on at a Renault dealer. In front | | | | a litre as I write this. |
| of me stood a glass cabinet towering upwards | | | | Only 500 will be made available in the UK through |
| and halfway up I could see this brilliant toy. The | | | | your Renault dealer, with equally limited availability |
| Renault dealer knew the score and struck up a | | | | worldwide meaning a £1,500 ($3,000) |
| deal that involved me getting the car and my dad | | | | topping up of the price. Put simply this car made |
| parting with lots of pictures of the Queen for a | | | | me feel seven again and that - to quote a well |
| turbo-charged Renault 25. Even now when I think | | | | known television commercial - is priceless. |
| of that story I regress back to being a seven | | | | |