From the 1902 Paris-Vienna race winning Type-K to the current R23 Formula 1 car, Renault boasts a glittering history in every echelon of motorsport activity. But perhaps one of the most famous cars produced by this motorsport legend was the Renault 5 Turbo.

The little car became one of Renault's most celebrated rally winners when, in the hands of Jean Ragnotti, it won the Monte Carlo in 1981 ? only the car's fourth event.

Now Renault have produced another mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive car, this time for production rather than the racing scene ? the Clio Sport V6 is the latest offering from the motorsport aficionados at RenaultSport. But can it stand up to its V6 rivals? That's the question we're here to answer.

Standing out in a crowd

There's no real doubt that the Clio stands out in a crowd. Its off-the-wall and extreme racing guise certainly turns heads and just looking at it makes you want to head for the track. But can the promises its design makes be fulfilled by what lies beneath?

The Audi A3 has always had those classic lines that can make it a little nondescript in your average traffic situations. But turning heads has never been what the A3 is all about. So when Audi decided it was time to spruce it up with a 3.2-litre V6 engine, they didn't see the need for anything more that a badge to differentiate it from any ordinary Audi hatch. Obviously taking the "actions speak louder than words" approach, the A3's classic lines remain.

The Alfa 147 GTA treads the line somewhere in between. Also with buckets of racing heritage, this 147 harks back to the brilliant '60s GTA. Perhaps a little less testosterone-driven than the Clio, the GTA still boasts interior features and exterior styling that reflect its under-the-skin advances.

Yes, what we have before us is the pinnacle of the hot hatch. In fact, these three have gone beyond what anyone imagined a hot hatch could be and they've all done it slightly differently. But what's the same in all three is the monster V6 engine that powers them all.

Powerful engines

Shoehorning their V6, derived from the L7X unit fitted to the Laguna, into the back of a Clio fits right in line with RenaultSport's heritage of mid-engined hatches. This 3.0-litre mill produces a whopping 187kW and 300Nm. If you think this is a little excessive for a car so small, think again. This feisty little Clio is not so little after all and at 1400kg, it's only 95kg lighter than the Audi and 40kg heavier than the Alfa. This gives it a power to weight figure of 134kW/ton which translates directly into its 0-100km/h time of 6.8 seconds.

Power is transferred to the rear wheels through a six-speed 'box to get you up to the 245km/h top speed. Turn-in on the Clio feels a little slow and you get the impression that it has a tendency to understeer over rougher roads.

The Audi's 184kW, 320Nm 3.2-litre V6 may not be quite as sprightly as its competitors ? largely due to its weight ? hitting the 100km/h mark from standstill in 7.5 seconds. But the legendary Quattro all-wheel-drive system causing the weight differential more than makes up for this discrepancy with sheer handling bliss. The A3 is sublime to drive and is so refined that you find yourself going way over the speed limit before you realise what you're doing.

Alfa's renowned 3.2-litre V6 packs no less than 184kW and 300Nm which is driven into the front wheels through a six-speed 'box making the 147 GTA good for a 6.3 second 0-100 sprint and 246km/h. It's a driver's car and one for the Alfa enthusiast in us all.

Closely matched

What remains remarkable in these three cars is that despite the discrepancies in their 0-100km/h, 80-120km/h and 120-160km/h times is the fact that they all completed the quarter mile within 0.2 seconds of each other.

However, at the end of the day, one has to look at each car for exactly what it is. The Clio V6 is a plaything and an instant cult car. It's a weekend car to go out and have a little fun in even though there's not even enough luggage space for two suitcases. And at R360 000, it's certainly not the cheapest thrill available to the sportscar lover.

Alfa's 147 GTA is more than capable of blowing away the competition. Unfortunately the styling is getting a little old for this segment and its handling lacks some of the poise shown in the A3.

Audi's contribution to the V6 fray is simply superb. Despite the fact that it is a little slow off the mark, it's well composed and as refined as anything one could expect from a V6. Add to that 25 years of Quattro power and you've got a motorcar that, despite its muted looks, just stands out in the crowd.