Aaron’s Clio RS200: Second time’s the charm, and then some

As the title suggests, this isn’t the first time we’ve been blessed with Aarons Clio RS200 on TLNTD. 10th May 2021 was when we last had Aaron featured on the site under the article, “The ultimate hot hatch?”. At the time of publishing, it’s been just shy of 4 years since, a lot has changed in the world since then… So, what’s changed with this Clio, and is it still to be regarded as one of best hot hatches rocking out of Wales? It’s certainly up there with one of the most, if not thee most, highly modified and unique Clio RS200’s in the world.

The RS200 is an amazing bit of kit straight out of the factory. It’s a naturally aspirated, 2 litre, four cylinder producing 197BHP or 200PS – hence the name RS200. It’s got an amazing chassis and drivetrain and is often in the GOAT debate for hot hatches. It’s wider stance over a regular Clio gives it more of an aggressive and muscular presence on the road. The RS200 is a spectacular drive and will provide you with endless joy on the road, as well as at any track day. It more than fits the bill of a hatch, and could be considered almost perfect for its price range. With it being already a great base to build on, what has Aaron done to make this stand out from the rest?

Up until the end of 2022, this build was still out tearing up the B-roads in Wales, but due to health, Aaron was forced to take the car off the road. This obviously wasn’t ideal, but it did allow time to rectify a few things with the car, and provide a moment of reflection perhaps. That reflection was, Aaron? “Well, whilst I'm here I may as well improve this and that”, quickly spiralling into “Only got 1 life, live it”. Ultimately, this meant Aaron drawing up a design and writing down a spec that was exactly what he wanted, and completely unique.

“The goal was to build something nobody else has with a Clio MK3 especially not the RS200.”

Let’s take a refresh and revisit the build if you’re not already familiar with it. For starters, why a Clio RS200? This could well have ended up being a carbon fibre 182, but with size an issue and the 182 being too small, the RS200 was the next obvious choice in the Renault hatchback family. We’re all too familiar with the words “I will not modify this car” and how quickly that snowballs from wheels, springs and an exhaust to full carbon fibre builds – no? Even on the 8-hour journey back to Wales from Newcastle Upon Tyne, Aaron was already planning out what would be an exciting future for this RS200.

Now we will say this, if you don’t like purple or carbon fibre (why wouldn’t you?) this car might not be the one for you, but if you do, seeing this car in person will make you happier than a pig in shit. We were lucky enough to see it at Cruise Culture 2024, and was almost left speechless. The dark, moody Viola Metallic paintwork on the exterior - in addition to all the carbon fibre that would give a Formula 1 car a run for its money - certainly gives it that not so subtle in-yer-face, highly modified look. Straight away you can tell that a lot of love, passion, time, blood sweat and tears – whatever else you want to call it – went into this build. You can see it draws inspiration from the ‘Max Power’ era, with many deeming this car as the modern-day equivalent – “hearing this brought huge amount of joy and has made me proud of what I've built.”

Since we last ran this on the site, it’s got more purple and even more carbon fibre. The roof has been replaced with a carbon fibre equivalent, as have both the front wings. The bonnet, also carbon fibre along with the frame. The tailgate, you guessed it, carbon fibre along with the frame. A carbon fibre spoiler with 1 of 1 end caps, full carbon fibre rear seat delete, another 1 of 1, and half roll cage job. Aaron’s favourite modification, and arguably most impressive on this build is the custom made, bespoke carbon fibre diffuser. “The main reason this is my favourite is that I designed it/ built it all myself. I was having crazy prices coming in for even the OEM diffuser in carbon”. The diffuser features a 4” central exit tear drop exhaust which helps this RS200 achieve a crackle and pop on over rev like that of a Group B rally car. Very nice.

This car has been modified everywhere you look. With no stone left unturned the attention to detail is second to none. One of my personal highlights is the boot build that is truly reminiscent of the Fast Car/Max Power Era and takes me back to the days of filling the boot up with subs on Need For Speed Underground. This RS200 is kitted out with Vibe speakers everywhere, I counted a total of 10, 4 of which being subs sat in the backseat. The dual NOS canisters are also a nice touch and pay homage to that era of modifying cars.

I’ve already touched on how good the performance of the RS200 is as standard, and if you thought this build was all looks and no show – you’d be mistaken. A full list of mods will be at the end of this post but it’s got all the toys under the bonnet that you’d expect, and more. A whole range of KTEC goodies lay under the bonnet from gasket inlets, fuel rails and an air-con delete kit – who needs AC in Wales anyways? You’ll find Yellowspeed coilovers, on each corner complete with a set of Bola B1 17” and some tasty looking brake upgrades.

A Pure Motorsport rear axle strengthening kit, BAF motorsport K brace plus additional suspension upgrades help give the ride extra rigidity improving stability, handling and the responsiveness of this little hot hatch. Even the gearbox has had a little love, with a Pure Motorsport carbon linkage, Proline braided clutch damper delete lite and an M Factory Helical LSD. It’s fair to say that with all the above, the driving experience is, well, even further improved. Did we forget to mention a custom map done by the guys at EFI Tuning?

“I took a mate of mine Karl out for a spin, so I asked him in his words as a passenger to describe it”

Take it away Karl.

“Unbelievable, the handling of these cars OEM is good enough but with all the modifications that Aaron has done with, it is the perfect balance.”

We agree, Aaron seems to have struck the perfect balance with this build, leaving no stone unturned regarding the car modifications.

“The handling was just breath-taking to be honest. On a back road there is nothing better than a Clio. With the engine work Aaron has done, topped off with the bespoke remap from Chris at EFI Tuning, it revs out higher and sounds amazing.”

It certainly does the sound the part, that crackle and pop is to die for.

“Doing handbrake turns around the bends was an experience I've never been passenger to, it's basically a rally car for the road. I just couldn't find a fault with it to the point I said to Aaron you don't need anything more than 200bhp on the B-roads.”

Anything else to add Karl?

“A breath-taking experience from the way it puts the power down to the handling and the way it looks.”

Do you want a job writing these build breakdowns Karl?

Like most who have a passion for all things with an engine (sorry EV guys) we often see it as an escape and modifying, a means of expression. It’s not been an easy road for Aaron with various operations in the past few years, there’s certainly been some ups and downs - “When I'm lying there in hospital, it's then I get my thinking cap on, and the crazy ideas come out. They then come to reality, so yes, it [the RS200] definitely reflects who I am as a person.”

We were lucky enough to see it in person at Cruise Culture, and it really is a one of a kind a build. The type of build that inspires you get the spanners out, do a late night shop on those overnight parts from Japan (or whatever country takes your pick..) and get to work. The attention to detail, even in places where you can’t see, is admirable of the time that’s been invested in this build. You can see this for yourself in the 2025 show season, starting off with the Max Power reunion meet 13th July, Ultimate Stance Festival, Cruise Culture and potentially the Clio Sport festival too. If you can get to one of these shows, we definitely recommend taking some time out of your day to take a look, and admire the spectacular craftsmanship on this build.

“There's a huge amount of people I'd like to thank. All @sugarskull_automotive, Richard fox and all @prestigious_fox, all @cruise_culture, Karl and kt from kr valeting, Adrian @gt gramtec, Alan @abcarbon, @ktecracing, @puremotorsport, @vibeaudio friends and family who have stuck by and helped me get to where I am.”

This isn’t the end for the RS200, whilst Aaron doesn’t want to let the cat out of the bag on what comes next, he’s teased us with more carbon fibre on the 8 next modifications to go on the car. Even hinting other mods that’d he’d like to do performance wise – do we hear the subtle whines of a supercharger on the horizon? Or potentially another build on the way? “If I didn't own this car and modify it then for me a Subaru Impreza GC8, built to replicate the 1995 winning car of Colin McRae … or a Honda CRX Del Sol with a twist.”

Full list of modifications listed below: