IT's official, as the biggest buyer of Renaultsport cars, the UK loves Renaultsport.

Especially Clio ones, with more Clio Renaultsport's sold in the first eight months of last year than were sold in the whole of 2003, and that was a record year itself for the 172 and 172 Cup.

Much of this increase is due to the new Clio Renaultsport 182 and V6 255 both launched at the beginning of last year. Now the nation's love affair with the ever popular hot hatch is set to increase even further with the announcement that a new Clio Renaultsport 182 Cup is now on sale.

The 182 Cup is a lighter version, delivering extra power on the road thanks to a number of technical developments.

Renault is certainly confident it will repeat the success of the much-admired 172 Cup version which endeared itself to so many who could do without some of the luxury equipment of the normal car in search of more performance and the added benefit of a lower price.

The new 182 Cup model is designed to do a similar thing with some new changes. Feedback from 172 Cup customers included requests for air conditioning and ABS anti-lock brakes, both of which were removed from the 172 to make the Cup lighter and therefore quicker.

Renault has listened to its customers and the new 182 Cup has both manual air conditioning and ABS as standard. Manual air conditioning replaces the standard automatic climate control. In addition, unlike the 172 Cup, anti-lock brakes, electronic stability programme and cruise control and speed limiter are all fitted as standard on the new model.

To ensure it stands out from the crowd even more, the 182 Cup is only available in two colours, racing blue and the new inferno orange colour.

Like the Clio Renaultsport 182, the Clio Renaultsport 182 Cup also benefits from an insurance group of 16D.

Specifically designed for those looking for top performance and driving enjoyment, the Clio Renaultsport 182 Cup is 20kg lighter than the existing Clio Renaultsport 182 helping the Cup version to deliver an improved 0-62mph time of 6.9-seconds (compared to 7.1 seconds for the 182). As with the Clio Renaultsport 182, the Cup 182's 2.0-litre 16v engine develops a mighty 182hp at 6,500rpm and a torque of 200Nm at 5,250rpm.

The Clio Renaultsport 182 Cup benefits from lower ride height, stiffer springs and dampers, strengthened front wheel hub carriers, revised steering and the eye-catching distinctive dark grey anthracite-coloured Renaultsport alloy wheels as standard.

The Cup spoiler package consists of an enlarged rear spoiler and additional lower front spoiler.

Customers also have the choice of two options on the 182 Cup: white competition stripes on the racing blue version at £95 and metallic paint (£325), which is the inferno colour option.

To help with overall performance by making the car lighter and more aerodynamic as well as keeping costs lower for the customer, certain features found in the Clio Renaultsport 182 have been replaced or removed completely from the 182 Cup.

Manual air conditioning is standard on the 182 Cup unlike its 172 Cup predecessor, which replaces climate control found on the 182. The 160W radio/single CD has been replaced by a 88radio/single CD player while the 60:40 split rear seats with head restraints have been replaced by a one piece folding rear bench seat.

Lateral airbags, xenon headlamps, headlamp wash, automatic headlamps, automatic wipers and heat reflecting windscreen are among the features that have been removed. Some minor trim detailing has also been removed.

The 182 Cup is on sale now and customers can get their hands on the hot hatch for £13,800 on the road, a saving of £900 off the list price of the 182. But with the Cup suspension and spoiler packs fitted as standard on the 182 Cup - a £395 option on the 182 - the total customer saving is £1,295.

Updated: 11:34 Friday, January 07, 2005