Bradley Jenkins’ V6-kitted Renault Clio
If I started venting some spiel to you about this awesome Clio we’re featuring with the perfect bodykit, a lairy respray and gang of subs chilling in the back, you’d probably turn back to the cover and check that we hadn’t gone back to the days of 2005.
Well, quit sweating! This isn’t 2005, this is 2012, and yes, we do have a bodykitted Clio with full respray and hench audio in front of us. But what Bradley Jenkins’ jaw-dropping French hatch also boasts, is a spec list that’ll leave you scratching your head in awe.
You see, Bradley’s Liquid yellow ride is not the Clio V6 it appears to be, but a humble 1.4-litre 16v model sporting all the signs of a project that got big quickly.
“The idea at first was having a cheap car for starters with a small budget, but as I do with most things car wise, I decided to just go for it – and in a big way,” confirms the Stoke lad of the original plan.
Bradley sourced the attractive V6 kit from a company in Portugal, and duly brought the kit over to the UK while he set his on the range-topping dynamique + facelifted Clio as a base car.
The facelifted shape was easier to strip down and work with, so I spent ages looking for one and eventually found a black ‘04 plate going cheap due to scrapes and scuffs,” says the Stoke Modified lad.
Once a sound Clio was onside, work began on honing a V6 replica with a few unique extras such as that roofrack of win, and those impressive Porsche Twists with Smarties inspired inner rim vinyl.
Inside isn’t shy either, with four Audiobahn subs taking pride of place amongst a Chesterfield chair–inspired install trim. And on top of all that, how many people do you know with a Porka D90 spare wheel sitting pretty on the roof for good measure?
Despite the mad result, it wasn’t a case of just bolting on the V6 kit and getting the filler out a la ’90s modifying either. Serious work has gone in to pull off the beefy look, as Bradley himself explains, “The original rear arches had to be cut back so much that we went through the fuel cap, and once the new ones were on, the wheels weren’t in the centre, so the rear axle mounts had to be cut and extended for example.”
The car has taken many hours of serious crafting, which involved a lot of evenings in the garage after the working day to get the V6 goodies looking right.
Bradley insists he’ll revert
the Clio back to an authentic V6 replica once he’s had his fun, but with the confused and appreciative looks this thing gets on the road, we don’t think it’ll be anytime soon – after all, he’s just gone and proved you can rock a bodykit on a slammed ride and still take home the applause, even in 2012.
TECH SPEC
2004 Renault Clio
STYLING
Clio V6 kit, headlamps, headlamp washers, side repeaters, upper grille, lower grilles, rear grilles and side grilles; xenon main beam conversion to match Renault xenon dip beams; FK Euro LED rear lights; fuel filler cap and neck moved; 206 GTi fuel filler and cap; Civic Type R aerial; Pug 307 mist washer jets; 50-percent tints; metal plates; bonnet bra; Renault harmony roof bars; Thule 581 roof basket; TV on roof; respray in Liquid yellow.
TUNING
Manifold-back stainless steel custom exhaust with rolled out tips.
CHASSIS
Boot floor removed and wheel well removed re-welded to allow exhaust space; Mk.3 Astra drop links (longer than Clio version); lowered on adjustable coilovers; 100mm front, 120mm back; front and rear arches cut away, rolled back and re-welded to fit new bigger V6 arches; Mk.5 Golf inner arch lining; rear Cliosport disc axle conversion – refurbed with 2-degree camber shims fitted; custom rear axle mounts to move axle 45mm back to suit bodykit; gloss black Porsche 911 Turbo wheels 8j front, 10j rear; 45 mm front spacers; 70mm rear spacers; 20mm 4×100 to 5x130mm adapters to fit wheels; inner rims covered in Smarties vinyl; yellow bolt covers.
INTERIOR
Clio V6 leather/suede interior including door panels, dash inserts and steering wheel.
AUDIO
Custom made boot build up to front seats; 4×12-inch Audiobahn subwoofers; 8000w loudest.com amp mounted on leather build behind front seats; black leather studded; double-DIN computer in dash with wifi and 3G connections; PS3 behind seat; TV on roof plays PC/ PS3.
