It looks like something Mad Max would be driving fast and mostly sideways in some post-apocalyptic scene, with one hand on the wheel and the other wielding a sawn-off shotgun with which he's blasting a gaggle of bad guys into the afterworld.
A Hummer? A Bigfoot monster truck perhaps? No, a Renault Clio, the modest little French hatchback that thousands of commuters use to drive to work daily, lugging briefcases and shopping bags instead of shotguns.
But this is no ordinary Clio and it shows what can be done with a little imagination and probably lots of alcohol. This, ladies and gents, is the Clio V6, the evil alter ego of Renault's meek little hatch.
This fast and flamboyant two-seater is a revamped version of the Clio V6 launched here back in 2001 and which sold for a budget-busting R435 000.
Now, with more power and arguably better handling, it retails for a more affordable but still over-the-top R360 000 thanks to the improved exchange rate. Only a limited number of them - each individually numbered - will be made and only 20 will come to South Africa.
The car looks like a Clio that's been inflated with a giant bicycle pump. The wheel arches and doors have been widened enough to make an M3 feel under-endowed and the car rides on aggressive-looking 18" alloy rims.
Extra-large spoilers wrap the car's lower regions, through which jut a pair of downpipe-sized exhausts at the back and a duo of big foglights at the front.
On the flanks are gaping air scoops that suck air into the three-litre engine which is mounted where, in an ordinary Clio, the kids would be sitting.
If you're thinking a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive car with 187kW of power sounds like a recipe for snap oversteer, you've got it. The Clio V6 has no Porsche 911-like abilities to harness such a set-up into a forgiving, neutral-handling car.
There's also no traction control so you have to be really awake and pretty slick with your opposite-lock technique to be able to give this Clio a good workout through a set of curves.
The car will more than likely bite back and, after swopping ends a few times, launch itself into something uncomfortably solid to test the effectiveness of the four crash bags and seat-belt pre-tensioners.
Growl and gusto
A few laps around the WesBank raceway, where there are wide run-off areas to catch mistakes, demonstrated the Clio's tail-happy trait in no uncertain terms. Even relatively smooth steering input cause the tail to flick, which can be fun or terrifying, depending on your driving skill.
What's always fun, however, is the growl and gusto of that three-litre engine. With no panel between it and the front seats the full aural assault come through when the V6 fills its lungs and lets cry. It's a howl, accompanied by a serpent-like hiss from the cooling fans in the air scoops.
There's bite to match the bark and the car's forward momentum is reasonably racy. The Clio V6 will reach a top speed of 245km/h and go from rest to 100km/h in 7.4 seconds at Gauteng altitude (Renault claims 5.8 at sea level).
Such figures make it slightly quicker than the Golf GTi/Opel GSi brigade and place it on a par with the 3.2-litre Alfa Romeo 147 GTA and 3.2 Audi A3.
Ultimately, this mega Clio is not as quick as it should be for a car that looks like it should be chewing up and spitting out Subaru Impreza Sti's.
Kart-like steering
The Clio V6 has strong muscles at low revs, though, and you can stick it into a higher gear and not worry about downshifting to zoom past mentally impaired drivers doing 80km/h in the freeway's middle lane. When it comes to stopping, the Renault delivers the goods; its all-disc, ABS-assisted brakes wipe off speed in a big hurry.
The steering's almost kart-like in its directness, making the car quite twitchy and not possessed of great directional stability at higher speeds. The clutch feels firm and heavy and the six-speed gearshift is a bit notchy. This Clio isn't for lentil-eaters, then.
It's not a champion of user-friendliness and takes commitment to enjoy properly. Perhaps too much commitment. Ride quality is abysmal through a suspension as stiff as the Eiffel Tower and a bumpy road makes the car feel like a rodeo horse with a bad attitude.
That, and ground clearance that makes the belly scrape on all but the mildest driveway slopes, severely limits the Clio V6's practicality. It also has the turning circle of a cruise liner and there's not much luggage space, given that the boot is where the normal car has its engine.
SUMMARY
Renault's hedonistic hatchback is a mad toy with outrageous styling that's great fun to drive.
Ultimately, though, its bite doesn't match its bark, it's impractical and overpriced and you can buy an Audi A3 or Alfa 147 for R45 000 less with similar performance plus room for four people and a couple of golf bags.