(Pics) Looking at 2007 Clio RS- confused on if it has Cup suspension or not

[Kalamat88]

Hey everyone,

I’m fairly new to Renaults although
I’ve done a fair bit of research. I want to be clear about the different sport models.

The below is a 2007 Clio in Athens, Greece. I assume since it doesn’t have the red calipers nor the anthracite wheels that it’s just a “normal” RS?

So is this how the RS lineup goes?
Normal RS
RS with Cup suspension
RS F1 R27 197 (special edition)

Lastly, this 2007 model would be the one with the old gearbox without the taller highway gears?

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[Marsch]

A visual indicator for a Cup suspension are red brake calipers. If it has them then it presumably has a Cup chassis. If they're silver it presumably doesn't. The calipers can of course be swapped out or repainted.

An other way is to look at the colour coding of the springs. They've differently coloured rings painted on them. IIRC the Cup ones for the 197 should have a yellow and blue ring at the front but I'm not 100% sure on that.

 

[EthanMenace]

The easiest way to visually tell if its a factory cup (not a cup pack) is the red calipers, or if the bump strips along the door are a black plastic rather than body coloured.

The only way to 100% tell is if it has a physical key, not a key card, then its a cup.

 

[Marsch]

From what I get he doesn't want to know if it's a Cup but if it has the Cup suspension.

/edit: Having re-read the OP.

I'm not aware that LHD 197 Cups or "normal" ones with a Cup chassis/suspension even exist in Europe. This seems to be an RHD option solely. The only exception here is the F1 R27 and Japanes cars from what I know.

Yes, this one presumably has the "short" TL4 003 gearbox.

 

[Kalamat88]

The easiest way to visually tell if its a factory cup (not a cup pack) is the red calipers, or if the bump strips along the door are a black plastic rather than body coloured.

The only way to 100% tell is if it has a physical key, not a key card, then its a cup.

For some reason I don't remember the key but I'll look out for that as I'll be driving it to a Renault dealership to get it checked out. It had a leak, by the way, dripping from the splash cover underneath- I hope it's nothing serious but then again, the car has 81,000 so if not now, then soon gaskets and anything plastic will start to whittle away.

From what I get he doesn't want to know if it's a Cup but if it has the Cup suspension.

/edit: Having re-read the OP.

I'm not aware that LHD 197 Cups or "normal" ones with a Cup chassis/suspension even exist in Europe. This seems to be an RHD option solely. The only exception here is the F1 R27 and Japanes cars from what I know.

Yes, this one presumably has the "short" TL4 003 gearbox.

This is interesting and it makes sense- everything I'd read in the last month or so was based on UK Clio's but I didn't know if the markets were separate. I know there's the LHD and RHD difference but to date I've only seen one with actual anthracite rims and red brake calipers for sale in Greece; and that was the one Special Edition that sold for 17,000 euros. It's fair to say at this point that this is a "normal" RS.

Once the TL4 003 gearbox goes out, are there any good places to buy the newer version and plug that one in?