Renault Sport Spider Is One Of The Wackiest Cars Of The 1990s

Does anyone else feel the urge to thrash this Renault Sport Spider? After all, it looks like it belongs on the racetrack and was built to encompass the company’s athletic side.

Don’t let us keep you from the information that truly matters here. Part of the Petitjean Collection, the 1996 Renault Sport Spider is listed by RMSothebys for their online auction on June 3, with the speedster estimated to fetch between €20,000-€30,000 ($22,076-$33,114).

We’ll remind you that the windowless 1996 Spider with doors that rise upwards is one of approximately 1,800 built by Renault Sport. It has a rear mid-engine and rear-wheel drive layout, aluminum chassis and plastic composite bodywork that does wonders for its weight.

At 149.4 inches long, 72 in wide and 42.2 in tall (3,795×1,830×1,250 mm), it has a curb weight of just 2,050 pounds (930 kg). Assembled at the Alpine factory in Dieppe, it packs the 2.0-liter engine from the Clio Williams and Megane Coupe that pumps out 148 HP (150 PS / 110 kW), or 59 HP (60 PS / 44 kW) less than the race spec edition, which was also lighter at 1,883 lbs (854 kg). The four-pot was paired to a five-speed manual and it could manage the 0-100km/h (62mph) in a respectable 6.5 seconds with a top speed of 215km/h (134 mph).

Despite the exterior visual drama that draw near supercar levels of attention and the bare-bone interior that would have you believe it’s a French Elise, the Sport Spider never received the same praise as the exquisite British roadster. Tiff Needell claimed back in the day that it could’ve been more refined and not as soft, and that it doesn’t feel that light when chewing through its tires on the circuit.

Still, at nearly half the price of the new Alpine A110, if ends up changing hands for the auction estimates, it could be an interesting choice, and since production was kept relatively low, who knows, maybe it will go up in value.

Note: You’ve probably figured out, but the two Spiders seen in the two video reviews from the past are unrelated to the car that’s heading to the auction block next month