#Clio phase 1

[frenchcurious]

Renault Clio V6 Renault Sport Phase 1 2002. - source Car & Classic.

[mechwatch]

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/2000-renault-clio-v6-phase-1

[diabolus1exmachina]

Renault Clio V6 (phase  II) .  

Porsche, commissioned by Renault, took 25 more from the power plant to reach 255 hp at 7150 rpm. The slightly heavy engine underwent major modifications, but still had very good downforce (thanks to the variable valve timing and variable length intake manifold) even though the changes were made in pursuit of an “all-rounder” engine. up". The “good” camshaft cam now produced much more lift at the intake valves and the ducts were wider and shorter to aid high-rpm breathing; the intake throttle section grew by 40%, the valve springs were replaced with harder ones, the air filter was less restrictive, new injectors, new electronic management... and a sound worthy of a racing V6. The six-speed manual gearbox was extensively revised. Lever travel was shortened and the gear ratio was closed quite a bit to achieve better performance. In relation to phase 1, the zero to one hundred went from 6.4 to 6.0 s and the maximum speed went from 235 to 245 km/h. At the frame level, the wheelbase was increased a little more, the rear subframe was stiffened, the rear suspension was completely redesigned (multi-link type in both versions), giving longer arms and different orientation to achieve less variation of the geometry with the vertical movement of the tire, the previous Michelin Pilot SX were replaced by Pilot Sport similar to those mounted on the 911 GT3 (total weight and weight distribution very similar), the front track grows, the stabilizer bar front is thicker (in phase I it was equipped with the V6 Trophy) and the springs are stiffened considerably, rear the stabilizer bar is eliminated and the spring-shock absorber assembly is also stiffened, but to a lesser extent, with which greater understeer is achieved and also increased traction capacity, 911-style.

[renaultportugal]

RENAULT CLIO 3.0 V6 SPORT PHASE I: UM “ANIMAL” RARO E VICIANTE

Com Artur Cintra

Artur Cintra apaixonou-se pelo fabuloso Clio V6 Phase I assim que o viu à venda na net. Daí até ter adquirido o raro desportivo da Renault não passaram 24 horas. Já lá vão mais de dois anos de uma relação intensa e, como o afortunado proprietário assume, viciante.

O Salão de Paris de 1998 teve um significado especial para a Renault, tendo sido um dos palcos escolhidos para a celebração do centenário da marca. Para vincar a ocasião, a Renault apresentou três novidades de peso, entra elas o fabuloso Clio Renault Sport V6 24V ainda em fase de concept. Mas a resposta do público foi tão entusiasta e avassaladora que a marca decidiu pedir um estudo prévio de desenvolvimento aos especialistas britânicos da TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing). O relatório confirmou que a execução e passagem à produção era possível e que os exigentes critérios de qualidade, segurança e dinamismo impostos pela Renault podiam ser atingidos na versão final.

A unidade que o Artur Cintra adquiriu em outubro de 2019 é um dos três Clio V6 Phase I vendidos novos em Portugal. Mal vi o anúncio na internet, disse para mim mesmo que este era para juntar a outros automóveis de coleção que já tinha. Vi o carro e no mesmo dia fui comprar e levantar ao stand. Quando o comprei, tinha 40 mil km, agora está com pouco mais de 43 mil km”.

No coração da “besta”, colocado no local onde deveriam estar os bancos traseiros, batia o 3.0 V6 atmosférico que a marca utilizava no Renault Laguna. Para ser montado no Clio, o V6 recebeu novos pistões, viu a taxa de compressão aumentada, as tomadas de admissão alargadas e o limite de rotações subiu para as 7100 rpm. Ligeiramente menos potente do que as versões de competição que corriam no Troféu, o V6 debita 230 cv de potência e 300 Nm de binário às 3750 rpm. 

Segundo a marca, o Clio V6 Fase 1 é capaz de acelerar de 0 a 100 km/h em apenas 6,4 segundos e atingir uns anunciados 237 km/h. Associado ao poderoso V6 estava uma caixa PK6 manual de seis relações que derivava da já existente caixa de 5 velocidades, tendo esta sido profundamente alterada. O diferencial autoblocante oferecido de série ajudava a colocar os “cavalos” no asfalto e a ausência de um turbo tornava a resposta do V6 mais linear e progressiva, mas a combinação de uma curta distância entre eixos e a ausência de um sistema de controlo de tração garantiam que a condução do Clio V6 Fase 1 era sempre excitante e muito envolvente...

O Artur Cintra que o diga. “Para além de ter outras tantas qualidades, o Clio V6 é viciante de conduzir, tem um som incrível, mas exige bastante concentração e mãos/pés do condutor. Em situações limite é bom reagir rapidamente antes que a sobreviragem se torne imparável. Não é fácil de conduzir (muito) depressa e não perdoa erros de principiante, mas quando “dominado” é incrível”.

Face ao Clio “normal”, o V6 é 171 mm mais largo, 66 mm mais baixo, 38 mm maior na distância entre eixos e as vias dianteira e traseira eram, respetivamente, 110 mm e 138 mm mais largas. À imagem dos verdadeiros supercarros, o Clio V6 tinha pneus diferentes à frente e atrás: 205/50 ZR17” na dianteira e 235/45 ZR17” na traseira. As generosas e elegantes jantes OZ “Superturismo” de 17” também permitiram montar discos dianteiros ventilados de 330 mm que, pela primeira vez num automóvel de produção, eram mordidos por pinças AP Racing de 4 pistões.

Para reforçar a exclusividade do Clio V6 “Phase 1”, todas as unidades foram construídas manualmente nas instalações da Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) em Uddevalla na Suécia ao ritmo de, aproximadamente, 12 por dia. Assim, até ao lançamento do Clio V6 Phase 2, em agosto de 2003, a TWR produziu 1631 exemplares da primeira série, 256 destas com volante à direita.

O Artur Cintra acredita que além de ser um “verdadeiro head-turner, o Clio V6 Sport nasceu como um futuro clássico e é, seguramente, um bom investimento. Para além destas três qualidades, este Renault tem um design que acho lindo”.

Aliás, devido à raridade, ao extravagante aspeto exterior e ao motor em posição central traseira, este feliz proprietário conta com evidente bom-humor duas das várias situações engraçadas pelas quais já passou com o seu Clio V6. “O carro como é de 2001 vai sempre, em setembro, à inspeção perto de minha casa e quando existe um colaborador novo fazem uma praxe pedindo-lhe que abra o capot para ver o motor. Como tem motor central e o mesmo se situa no espaço que seria ocupado pelos lugares traseiros o acesso é efetuado pela mala, apanhando desprevenidos os rookies. De uma outra vez, estava numa bomba a atestar o carro, vem um senhor na minha direção e dá-me os parabéns pelo trabalho que efetuei nas alterações deste Clio. Digo-lhe que é original e explico que é um Clio 3.0 V6 Sport de motor central, até lhe mostrei o carro ao pormenor, mas nem assim consegui convencer o senhor de que o carro era original.

O reconhecimento do Artur Cintra pelo privilégio de ter em sua posse um automóvel tão “exótico” e especial é evidente na forma como se despede, fazendo questão de “agradecer à Renault por ter tido a coragem de produzir este automóvel, porque se não o tivesse feito eu não teria tido a oportunidade de usufruir das várias experiências e situações que já passei ao volante deste magnífico desportivo”.

[wrooom]

Clio V6 Renault Sport 

"Swiss Classic & Supercar, The Renault Clio V6 Renault Sport is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout hot hatch based on the Renault Clio launched in 2001. Designed by French automaker Renault the Phase 1 models were built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) in Uddevalla, Sweden and Phase 2 were designed and hand built by Renault Sport in Dieppe, France. Both variants were developed by TWR. The mid-engined, wide-body concept of the Clio V6 was very reminiscent of the 1980s Renault 5 Turbo.[1] Both road going models were low volume production making them very rare cars. Alongside the road car, a circuit only version was produced, known as the Clio V6 Trophy. This was a full competition car, with sequential Sadev gearbox, full roll cage, magnesium wheels and engine output upped to 285 PS (210 kW; 281 bhp)."

By Aguswiss1

[transformers-valiant-keepers]

I haven't been active much or involve with og fan cont lately for personal reasons. Writimg for TF gets really overwhelming for me and my cont wasn't all that interesting, which is true I'm afraid.

So, I'm going to post and reveal major spoilers I had for this cont as chances of writing are unlikely:

1. The Thirteen Primes are different with my own interpretations for this cont rather than the canon version. Vector Stigma is not a Prime but more of architect to create the Vaults for the Primes to hide their secrets and artifacts.

These Prime are:

Lux Prime (warrior of Light), Solus Prime (warrior of Flame), Onyx Prime (Guardian of Beasts), Obscurus Prime (Guardian of Outliers), Zosmius Prime (Alchemist Healer), Clio Prime (Archivist and Storyteller Guardian), Logos Prime (Guardian of Time and Space), Nox Prime (warrior of Night), Arachne Prime (Guardian of Insecticon), Zinta Prime (Guardian of Warlocks), Scientia Prime (Guardian of Science), Froya Prime (guardian of Shieldmaiden), Nexus Prime (Guardian of Titans).

Any talks of the Thirteen Primes are considered as a myth and anyone would get into trouble with the Functionists on questioning the Emperor’s motives or openly discuss about the Thirteen Primes.

2. The Quintessons do appear in this, but they are not squid creatures. They take on heavy inspirations of Reapers from Mass Effect, and while in history there mentions of Quintessons mysteriously wiped out, but the truth is? They were repurposed and reformatted into dangerous sentinet machines served as the fleet with Emperor Zeta Prime as its leader to command.

The Quintessons were responsible for Earth's destruction to an apocalypse state and the extinction of humans. Only 20,000 cyborg humans were left alive and taken refugees on Hedonia. There was supposedly other transport evacuation ships leaving Earth but sadly the ships were caught by the Quintessons.

3. Minerva is actually Quintessa... The Quintesson Empress and sorceresses. Her original body was destroyed and in ruins, leading to Zeta having to rebuild her into a techno-organic. This is the reaspn for why Minerva has a human form due to the dna imprinted into her for appearance. She wears the mask to hide herself.

4. Red Energon exists as the counter to Dark Energon. Red Energon is the sole reason how Roxie survived Dark Energon infection caused by interrogation under Rung's electrocution. Deadlock used his greatsword onto Roxie to save her life.

5. At some point in story when the mask breaks and exposed the Empress' identity, Roxie get the shock of her life and questioned Minerva's deep connection with her. The truth is... Minerva is technically Roxie's mother through human DNA. It occured when she absorbed dna from Minerva's after Deadlock discovered her existence and brought her to life.

6. Deadlock has the matrix of Lux Prime. The matrix was the sole reason on him sired Roxie through spark donor.

7. Roxie is a warlock,like how Minerva is a Sorceress. Her powers were awaken after coming in contact with Zinta Prime's artifact within the vault on Hedonia after Ravage lead her to it. Ravage became her familiar.

8. Windblade will discover who betrayed her and her coven resulting in her being the last cityspeaker and Caminus outlier. Lightbright is her sworn enemy after Lightbright sold the coven out to the Functionists. Windblade wielded the Staff belong to Mistress of Flame. Windblade carried the matrix of Solus Prime.

9. Perceptor had a complicated history and an on/off relationship with Pharma. Perceptor was a professor at the academy knowing to refugee outliers not discovered by the Functionists. Perceptor carried the matrix of Scientia Prime.

10. The main lineup will be separated away from Decepticons to pursue on their main mission to assist Roxie and Deadlock on finding the vaults. They went to infiltrate the Functionists' HQ on Hedonia to steal a ship so they can leave for Earth to resume their mission. Galvatron and his reinforcements helped out by distracting the Functionists to allow the main crew to escape.

Said main lineup were: Roxie, Deadlock, Windblade, Perceptor, Grimlock, Ravage, Shatter, Slipstream, Knockout, Soundwave, Chromia and Elita-One as the crew's leader.

11. Elita and Damus had history together as the famed gladiatorial warriors.

12. Shatter seeked retribution onto Overlord due to the massacre of her own clan by his hands. She was the last surviving member.

13. Slipstream was left to dead after her Seeker crew were killed in an ambush, making her the sole survivor. However, Starscream was missing at that time.

14. Starscream was declared MIA by Galvatron, when in truth... Starscream was shadowplayed and became Jetfire.

15. Deadlock was another victim of Shadowplay.

16. Knockout was a victim of minibot trafficking within her home city. She wanted to pursue her own dream to become a medic but was promised false lies by slavers about helping her achieve dream career. Knockout was rescued by Cyclonus and was trained by Nickel as a medical assistance. She is now the main CMO of Elita's team.

17. Chromia was a former member of the Wreckers, a neutral aligned subgroup at first. Sadly, the Wreckers allied with the Functionists and branded Chromia as a traitor and Kup was forced to retire from the position as the leader due to conflicts.

18. The main crew will find Trypticon or Omega Supreme, who was reformatted, and disguised into a warship on Earth. Trypitcon/Omega Supreme's awakening had ruffled Zeta Prime's feathers. Their power would wipe out the Quintesson fleet.

19. Way later into chapters would see Roxie get captured by the mercenaries: Arcee, Cliffjumper and Tailgate. Tailgate insisted on wanting to keep Roxana as a 'pet' but Arcee favoured the high demand rewards by giving Roxie over to the Functionists for credits and get rich. Damus and the Division arrived to collect Roxie, but discovered that the mercenaries were holding back in the delivery. Mostly because a techno-organic with human dna are so rare, and the mercenaries, after Tailgate's desperate begging and obsession, decided to change their minds and keep Roxie for themselves, they hidden her away. This forced the Division to attack the mercenaries and search the place apart by force. Roxie did escaped from the mercenaries but she was eventually caught by Damus in a cat-and-mouse chase and sang a lullaby to prevent her escape. This would had counted as the most frightening experience for Roxie to endure on her own.

At the same time, Deadlock was in anguish over Roxie gone missing and the crew began to search for her tirelessly, only for Soundwave to successfully tracked her through a tracking device that Perceptor left in her hearing aids.

20. The main crew will discover the truth about the Allspark within Cybertron core locked away by Zeta Prime was a fake and Zeta used the matrixes of the fallen Primes to forge Cybertronians into their own image. The real Allspark was well protected and hidden within a secret vault.

21. The Division members are Warrior Elites, and some are actually Phase Sixers. They are fiercely loyal to Empress Minerva, more than Zeta Prime, to no fault.

22. Grimlock would avenge their Dinobots and Predacons fellow beastformers by seeking retribution onto Scorpnok for experimenting on them.

23. After prologue, Minimus Ambus had crossed the line with Minerva and was revealed as a spy for Zeta Prime after going against her orders. Minerva opted on executing him but instead she had another idea in mind for punishment was domestication.

24. Zeta Prime is Unicron. Unicron is not a planet-eater... they are infact a God deity.

that’s all I have got with major spoilers ideas.

[frenchcurious]

Renault Clio V6 Phase 1 2002. - source Ruote da Sogno.

[smoothshift]

Extremely rare Renault Clio Phase 1 2001 pops up for sale in Quebec City. via /r/Autos

[renaultportugal]

Raro, radical, rápido e... Renault. Tudo o que o André desejava

Com André Alves

Em 2013, o mais eficaz desportivo de tração dianteira do mercado homenageou a equipa campeã do mundo de Fórmula 1 em título - com motores Renault, claro! O resultado deu pelo nome de… Renault Mégane R.S. Red Bull Racing RB8! Os 265 cavalos de potência, a exclusiva cor crepúsculo, mas também as várias assinaturas Red Bull Racing tornam real o sonho de encarnar no então Sebastian Vettel. Oito anos depois, uma das bem exclusivas 500 unidades que foram produzidas continua a ser sinónimo de muita emoção e prazer de condução, como testemunha André Alves. 

A ligação do André Alves ao universo da Renault começou cedo e por influência do pai, proprietário de vários modelos da marca. “Eu sempre gostei de automóveis e quando eu era novo o meu pai teve vários Renault entre Clio e Mégane. Um dos mais marcantes para mim foi o Mégane II, que representou uma evolução tecnológica que nunca tinha visto antes. Curiosamente, embora goste de várias marcas (umas mais do que outras, claro), todos os automóveis que tive até hoje em meu nome foram Renault. É verdade que, pelo meio, existiram outras marcas e modelos que usava regularmente com o meu pai (Lancia Delta, Mitsubishi Colt e até um Dacia Duster), mas a mais marcante foi sempre a Renault.

Sem esconder a “pressa” por atingir a maioridade, o André Alves tirou a carta assim que pôde e adquiriu o seu primeiro automóvel, um Renault como não podia deixar de ser... “Quando fiz os meus 18 anos e chegou a altura de comprar o meu primeiro automóvel, as hipóteses eram as habituais para um jovem recém-encartado e com um orçamento limitado: Clio, Corsa, Punto, Polo, Ibiza, etc... A escolha recaiu sobre um Clio II Phase 2 de 2001, com o motor 1.2 16V de 75cv. A presença desse Clio na minha vida foi efémera e durou cerca de dois ou três meses. Foi quando decidi trocar por outro Clio II Phase 2 de 2002, mas desta vez era um Dynamique, vermelho, com o mais potente e enérgico motor 1.4 16v de 98cv. Por fora até pareciam o mesmo carro, mas eram totalmente diferentes de conduzir”.

Entusiasmado com as boas prestações do 1.4 16V e com o excelente chassis, o André manteve-o na sua posse durante 4 anos. “Em 2016, e como não podia comprar um Mégane R.S., acabei por adquirir um Renault Mégane Coupé GT Line de 2013, com o conhecido 1.5 dCi de 110cv, na Renault da Venda Seca (Vesauto). Era o mais próximo que conseguia do sonho de ter um R.S., e era a opção mais realista e racional tendo em conta a minha situação na altura. Adorava o aspeto e o look desportivo do Mégane Coupé e tinha um motor diesel muito económico que fazia dezenas e dezenas de quilómetros por dia sem se queixar e com consumos recordistas”.

Mas eis que o sonho do André estava prestes a tornar-se realidade. “Em 2019 após uma mudança de trabalho, e já sem a necessidade de ter um automóvel diesel, surgiu-me a ideia de comprar um carro desportivo a gasolina. Percebi que o que me dá mesmo gozo conduzir são desportivos a gasolina e sentia falta de algo para me divertir como o fazia com o Clio (com as devidas diferenças, claro).”

“Comecei então a minha busca e a minha escolha número 1 era o tal sonho que já acalentava há muito: um Mégane III R.S. De entre as várias opções que descobri nos sites de classificados, havia uma que se destacava: um Mégane R.S. Red Bull (RB8).”

“Uma edição limitada e numerada, na cor azul-escuro, com vista a celebrar as vitórias da Red Bull e da Renault na F1. Fiquei a olhar para o anúncio e a pensar se era realmente aquilo que queria. Até que, de tanto pensar, um dia o anúncio desapareceu.... Fiquei mesmo irritado, porque pensava que tinha perdido a hipótese de comprar o carro. Fiquei com aquela sensação desalento, de quem só percebeu o quanto queria este desportivo até o perder.”

Felizmente nem tudo estava perdido e, num golpe de sorte, o André lembrou-se que tinha guardado o número do anunciante uns tempos antes. “Enviei-lhe logo uma mensagem a perguntar se já tinha sido vendido, ao que ele respondeu: "Não". Liguei-lhe nesse dia ainda, ele disse que possivelmente o anúncio tinha só expirado e que tinha de o renovar, falámos um pouco sobre o R.S. RB8 e o rapaz disse que o podia ir ver quando quisesse. A questão é que eu sou de Lisboa e o carro estava em Barcelos. Mas nem isso seria impeditivo... Logo no dia seguinte eu e o meu pai fomos no meu Mégane GT Line até Barcelos, cerca de 400 quilómetros, à confiança, para ver um automóvel que não sabíamos se estava do nosso agrado e, na verdade, poderíamos correr o risco de voltar de mãos a abanar.”

Felizmente, as “estrelas” ou, neste caso, os losangos, alinharam-se e o Renault Mégane R.S. Red Bull Racing RB8 era tudo (e mais ainda) o que o André desejava. “Correu tudo bem, o carro estava conforme o que o dono tinha descrito e ele próprio era extremamente cuidadoso com o R.S.. E eu nem tive coragem de negociar 1€ que fosse o valor, tal era o desgosto e a cara de tristeza do dono ao vender-me o carro. Ficámos horas a falar sobre carros e ainda hoje mantenho o contacto com ele e, sempre que passo pela zona, tento-me encontrar com ele para meter a conversa em dia.”

“Voltámos, eu e o meu pai, então com dois carros para Lisboa, mais 400kms (desta vez, com custos de combustível a dobrar), mas vinha com um sorriso de orelha a orelha e com a sensação de ter, finalmente, concretizado um sonho. Um desportivo que antes apenas podia ver em vídeos na Internet, que se via um na rua ficava de queixo caído e que não imaginava que algum dia viria a ter, ali estava, nas minhas mãos, comigo ao volante, a cumprir os primeiros de muitos quilómetros de prazer...”

Como o André confidencia, ter um automóvel deste tipo não serve apenas para cimentar a paixão por desportivos de exceção ou potenciar o prazer de condução. “Uma das coisas que a paixão pelos automóveis nos traz é a possibilidade de conhecermos pessoas novas nos vários encontros e grupos que existem. Comecei a frequentar o encontro Sintra Clássicos todos os meses e levava o Mégane R.S. e num desses encontros conheci um outro grande fã de Renault desportivos (que tem um Renault 5 GT Turbo e um Clio II R.S.). Em conversa com ele, e depois de andarmos a investigar na internet, descobrimos que o meu Mégane Red Bull (Nº 351) foi o primeiro RB8 a vir para Portugal. Foi o carro de apresentação da Renault, foi usado no Renault Passion Days no Estoril e foi, também, automóvel de parque de imprensa, tendo aparecido, entre outras, na revista Auto-Foco e na revista AutoSport.”

Menos agradável foi ter descoberto que, em determinada altura da sua vida, este Mégane R.S. foi roubado, tendo na altura sido recuperado pela seguradora já sem os bancos da frente. O automóvel terá sido vendido em leilão e quem o comprou terá montado então uns bancos novos. “Um pouco por causa disso, também não sei ao certo quantos donos o meu Mégane R.S. RB8 já teve. Mas no fundo não me faz muita confusão porque sei o que tenho agora, sei que o carro está em excelentes condições, que foi bem tratado e mantido pelo anterior dono e que, nas minhas mãos já fez uma revisão profunda que incluiu, entre outros, a mudança do kit de distribuição, da bomba de água, das 4 velas, dos óleos do motor, da caixa e dos travões, as pastilhas e os filtros de ar, óleo, combustível e habitáculo. Isto sem olhar a custos e apenas material de qualidade e oficial da Renault.”

Até pelo estado imaculado em que se encontra e pela paixão que sempre despertou, a ideia do André é manter o automóvel no seu estado original, “devido a ser uma edição limitada e numerada, para tentar manter o seu valor e identidade. Se alguma vez o irei vender? Talvez, tudo depende do valor e das voltas que a vida poderá dar. Se me vai custar quando o vender? Sim, imenso. É o melhor carro que já tive até hoje, adoro-o, cada vez que o conduzo fico com um sorriso de orelha e orelha e ajuda a aliviar o stress da semana. O imenso poderio dos seus 265 cv, o chassis incrível em curva, a suspensão dura que dói, mas espetacular para brincadeiras... É um desportivo muito especial e raro, só foram feitas 500 unidades, e é dos automóveis de tração dianteira mais eficientes que alguma vez foram produzidos. No entanto, sei que as coisas não duram para sempre e, eventualmente, até posso ter de o trocar por um automóvel mais prático e económico. Mas, do que depender de mim, se o puder manter, nem que seja como carro de fim de semana, vou mantê-lo. Disso não tenho dúvidas nenhumas...”

[frenchcurious]

Renault Clio V6 Phase 1 (2000 - 03). - source Rétro Passion Automobiles.

[renaultportugal]

Renault Clio II Phase 1 R.S., o primogénito

Com Tiago Jorge

O Clio II foi o primeiro a receber a designação R.S. e o primeiro Renault verdadeiramente desportivo do Tiago Jorge. Um fã assumido da marca e que assume, sem preconceitos, o sonho e a “missão” de salvar Renault e devolvê-los à estrada.

O primeiro Renault Clio II do Tiago foi adquirido em 2003 e não podia estar mais “afastado”, em termos de posicionamento, do R.S. que, orgulhosamente, hoje possui. “O meu primeiro Clio 2 foi um 1.9D comercial de 1999 que estava praticamente novo quando o comprei e que ainda hoje o tenho por ser tão económico como prático”, reconhece. 

Apesar do indestrutível 1.9D cumprir com brio e fiabilidade absoluta o seu papel, a verdade é que o Tiago Jorge há muito que sonhava com algo que lhe fizesse “ferver” o sangue. Que lhe desse a adrenalina e o prazer de condução que só um verdadeiro “pocket rocket” oferece. “Depois de anos a observar o mercado, a pesquisar na net e a procurar entre os usados, em 2018, avancei, finalmente, com a aquisição de um Clio R.S. Entretanto, já tinha tido outros Clio II mais “despachados”, incluindo um 1.6 16V, sempre da primeira fase, mas o R.S. não me saía da cabeça.”

A unidade que acabou por virar parar às suas mãos foi, como confidencia, “amor à primeira vista. Estava arrecadado numa oficina, coberto de pó. Foi uma semana penosa até conseguir ir, finalmente, buscá-lo, mas a sensação que tive a primeira vez que me sentei ao volante e o conduzir é algo que não consigo exprimir por palavras e que nunca irei esquecer. Saber que, ao fim tanto tempo a sonhar e de tantos anos a apreciar os R.S. de outras pessoas, finalmente tinha o meu Clio R.S.. É algo difícil de explicar...”

Não é caso para menos. Apresentado em 1999, o Clio II Phase 1 R.S. foi o herdeiro espiritual do Clio 16V e do mítico Williams. Baseado na variante de 3 portas, o primeiro Clio a ostentar a designação R.S. (Renault Sport) distinguia-se facilmente pelo alargamento das cavas das rodas, para-choques específicos, saias laterais e pelas bonitas jantes OZ F1 de 15” com pneus 195/50.

O coração deste pequeno desportivo era o mesmo 2.0 (F4R730) que podíamos encontrar nas gamas Laguna e Espace, mas aqui com variador de fase (VVT), 172 cv de potência e 200 Nm de binário. Estes eram transmitidos às rodas dianteiras através de uma caixa manual de cinco velocidades.

Com pouco mais de 1100 kg de peso em ordem de marcha, o Clio R.S. atingia uns anunciados 220 km/h de velocidade máxima e cumpria os 0 a 100 km/h em apenas 7,3 segundos, cifras de respeito para um “pequeno” utilitário.

Se a estes argumentos associarmos um comportamento verdadeiramente excecional, que ainda hoje é alvo de incontáveis elogios, é fácil perceber o entusiasmo que rodeou o seu lançamento e o estatuto de ícone que, rapidamente, atingiu.

Até por reconhecer a importância “histórica” do seu Clio II Phase 1 R.S., o Tiago Jorge é o primeiro a assegurar a originalidade da sua unidade. “De momento está o mais original possível, gosto de o ver assim e assim o manterei. Se tudo correr bem, o meu R.S. vai ficar para, mais tarde, o meu filho poder desfrutar. Até porque ele já adora passear com o pai e ir aos encontros de clássicos.

O Tiago Jorge despede-se neste testemunho com um “sentido abraço para a família de fãs da Renault”, a sua marca de eleição, e reforça a promessa de tentar recuperar e devolver à estrada todos os modelos que puder: “afinal, quem nos conhece, sabe que bem gostamos de os salvar e de os voltar a ver nas estradas. Foi para isso que foram concebidos e é aí que sobressaem face a outras marcas e modelos!”

[sepiadice]

Tales of Genius Ch. 2: Follow the Light

(9/16/18)

And so, for possibly the first time ever, I got a session two in a campaign! New high score! Woo-hoo!

Also, got to redo an adventure I ran for the old High School crew. Updated it slightly, added a puzzle, changed the final encounter, added a pair of magic items.

Don’t think I have any sort of RPG Life updates. Working on various other projects off and on. Started watching a new Netflix original series that redoubles a plot point later in this campaign.

Added a fourth party member. Which I think I’m going to lock down on. The games I’ve been involved with always had a problem of having a large number of players, so I think I want to try for the classic four-person ensemble.

Hope they’re having fun. Doubt plagues me, but they’re not whining to me, so it’s probably fine? It’s still clear I need to continue practicing GMing, and I’ve noticed I’ve been stuttering and having difficulty pronouncing words. That will all need to be improved before we move on to the podcast phase.

Now, for the second part of Tales of Genius![1]

CAST

Eli Roberts: (Played by Lyons) Child of Clio. Doctor, travelling to write a medical text akin to Gray’s Anatomy. He’s an Intellect! Olivia Grayson: (Played by Maddie) Child of Thalia. Apprentice to Eli. Believes her Squirrel-raccoon companion is her boyfriend reincarnated. Fromthe: (Played by Jose) Child of Calliope. Military veteran and current mercenary. Also has some mercantile ambitions.

Jean De Ferrero: (Played by Anthony) Child of Terpsichore. Travelling con artist.

Quick exposition:

So, that whole “Child of…” thing is part of my world’s lore. About nineteen hundred years ago, nine sisters travelled the world and founded nine schools of philosophy and nine separate cultures that populate the world. The only solid marker for the tribes is eye color. White/Light grey for Clio. Yellow for Thalia. Orange for Calliope. Green for Terpsichore. Others for the other tribes as they’re introduced.

The sisters are named after the Greek Muses.

And, so, onto our tale.

DATE: Late Winter 1911

PLACE: THE TINES (Mountain border of Astree and Hervar)

We open back up on North Fort. Food supplies are running even lower, especially since a good chunk of it has been poisoned. The mayor has decided to send those clever adventurers to try and find an alternate path out of town,[2] plus this nice Jean fellow who speaks highly of his own conquests.[3]

After some brainstorming while I was busy making curry,[4] the mayor mentioned the town crypts, which are a small network of caves some distance from town. There’s an iron door there which no one has explored past, because there’s a bunch of warning symbols on it, so better just stick the dead in there until claimed. But, well, it’s something?

The party heads to the crypt, as I couldn’t be bothered to force any scene work in the town. Would’ve been nice to establish the mixed critters of the setting, but I’m bad at following even my own notes, and I didn’t really have any cause to delay them.

In the crypts, they discovered a small band of Saber-toothed foxes.

Olivia tried to befriend the foxes using the cheese from the rations North Fort gave her, but the foxes weren’t satisfied, and unhappy with the intrusion. So combat despite Olivia’s protests!

I still am far from getting a handle of combat narrative, but after a few rounds, they’ve killed two foxes and scared off three.[5]

Then Olivia used a magic spell to cave in the entrance. Which… I should probably take a moment to taunt the party over.

And now I have. What nerds.

The party moved towards the iron door. It’s magic proof,[6] locked, and barred. So the group needs to figure out how to get in.

Unbarring it was easy enough, but it’s still locked.

But, hey, the party has a new Scoundrel Character! Maybe he can pick the lock!

The dice say no. This is dire, as the back up plan I had is sitting in North Fort,[7] and that’s not an available path anymore.

Okay, okay. Let’s reason this out. Is the door there to keep people out, or something in? Both, but which is important?

Which is to say: this door opens out, so the door hinges are on our players’ side! Which the fair doctor thinks up, then teases the con artist for not coming up with.

Said scoundrel (Jean) uses skullduggery to get the pins out. (Because it’s heavy iron, hasn’t been moved in a while, and would require finesse. Probably some heat to remove frost). I then have them do another check to get the door open since the lock is still engaged and needs to be worked out of the wall. Which they do.

Momentary inside baseball thing that might ruin the magic: I didn’t have a firm solution. I just placed the door down and waited until I heard a solution I liked. I recommend fellow GMs do this, but also try and prepare an alternate solution if the party can’t get past it for some reason. (See footnote 7 for my release valve).

On to the next room! A massive cavern, with many tunnels shooting off, and crystalline protrusions here and there. Then there’s a wooden lean-to slash shack near the door.

In side is a desk with a chess game mid-progress, and notebook tracking the game next to it, a glass jar of mythril dust, and a mummified corpse sitting in a chair[8] holding a bullseye lantern.

Eli Roberts examines the board, makes a move, notates it in the notebook(!), pockets the mythril dust, then investigates the mummy.

(A spent story point later also says he took the notebook.)

Eli fails to find anything notable on the corpse, so he turns to figure out what path to take.

Olivia, who we are learning this session has no regard for her fellow humans, uses her magic to puppeteer the mummy.

This jostles a rolled up scrap of paper out of its beard.

Time for the puzzle! Also pop quiz for my world building lore, because screw you, at least learn the muses you picked for your character’s heritage![9]

I wrote a poem (not a great poem, because I lack rhythm) that referenced the Muses in a certain order.

Now, this puzzle needs workshopping, because once the party figured out to use the mummy’s lantern[10] to shoot a beam of light into a large crystal to refract it into colored beams, and that they needed to follow the beam that corresponded with each Muse’s assigned eye colors in the order listed on the poem, there wasn’t much else to do until the final twist.

I probably could’ve done something with the crystals. Finding them, getting them in position,[11] just some complexity for the successive rooms.

Needs workshopping. But we also had a time limit, so maybe simple wasn’t bad for this rendition.

Now, this refracted light thing was an expansion on a moment that wowed the last time I did my North Fort session, which I mimicked halfway down the mine: the first obvious crystal sent the light bouncing all over the chamber, hitting other crystals, and illuminating the entire chamber, revealing a mural![12]

The mural told the mine’s story: they were mining it normally, then thought ‘hey, let’s try magic!’. Magic resonated with the mythril they were mining, heating the cave and waking up a giant snake that started gobbling people up. They got some adventurers in to deal with the snake and stopped using magic.

What I wish I added was the snake’s giant skull in this room. Instead, I had it in another room, looming over the exit tunnels. Oops.[13]

So that’s neat.

The party continued the prescribed solution and moved on, seeing the ribs of the snake were repurposed into support beams.

Another element I failed to convey is that the mining shafts were actually expanded from the snake’s tunnels throughout the mountain.

Anyways, the final room was the cool twist. Because the final mentioned Muse is Urania. Who I assigned black/dark grey eyes.

Black light’s not a thing. What could be the…

They killed their light. Eventually, mythril dust started to glow, a thick vein going down the final correct tunnel. (The poem also mentioned Urania using the stars in her line. This fit with the mythril dust but also her role as the Muse of Astronomy.)[14]

And they exit into another large chamber like the one at the top. Including wood office shack and an iron door. Inside the shack is another mummy, chessboard, and a notebook with matching move notations to the one earlier.

Including the move Eli noted and wrote down.[15] Huh.

Eli’s player spent a Genesys Story Point to say he nabbed the first notebook earlier so he wouldn’t have to hike back up.[16]

For those curious, there’s another poem on this end for going the other way. The colors don’t even have to be the same since they’d be approaching the crystals from a different angle, so the first step doesn’t have to be Urania![17]

Anyways, the spent story point ruined how I’d hoped to bring in the boss fight, so instead a Masked Snake slithers in.

Smaller than the one slain long ago, but still pretty big. Also way too young to listen to reason.

Again, three party members work to kill it as Olivia uses nonlethal magic. The snake iced the floor, making footing difficult.

I allowed the fight to drag on a while because, despite putting in my session plans to come back to make stats and having more than a month to, I never did.

Really should sit down and just make a series of notecards for easy, normal, and hard enemies. Get too distracted with narrative.

Anyways, combat rages, half the party gets upset with Olivia’s efforts not to kill the snake, when a mysterious figure in fancy robes and snake skull mask arrives and pulls a gun.

Olivia promptly magically murders this man without a word. Then steals his mask. And returns to nonlethal spells against the snake.

After realizing the snake can’t fit through the door, Eli and Jean attempt to flee, but Olivia refuses to leave, instead standing on the human corpse she created to avoid the disadvantage of the ice floors.

Eli goes in and finishes off the snake.

Grumpy after the encounter, they exit the caves, which leads out to a point on the path below the avalanche. There’s a way to connect North Fort and Soldier’s Rest.

They go to Soldier’s Rest (named such because it’s where the military men went to rest when not on duty at the mountain fort). Turn in a letter of introduction to Soldier’s Rest’s mayor, and step outside.

Where they encounter a Jackalope. They’re giant creatures ridden by the mail carriers of His Majesty’s Courier service![19]  The courier has a letter for Eli Roberts: The Queen and Heir Apparent are ill with a mysterious disease, and Dr. Roberts comes highly recommended by his peers to help.

Whether this is because his peers genuinely believe he can do it, or because not healing the royal family could have dire consequences and they’d rather gamble Eli’s career over their own is a question I intend to play with.

End session two.

Admittedly, it was a railroading session that hinged on two combats that I didn’t prepare properly and a puzzle that need a few more facets, but I set some Campaign Plot up and actually got players to the table, so I say sufficient success! Always a learning experience! And Anthony seemed to prefer the system vastly over GURPS, so I think it’s good.

Just need to cement running combat and the Advantage and Disadvantage system. It’s a new thing that takes getting used to. Plus the question of what to do when you get a nothing roll.

Also need to get firmer control over what magic can and cannot do. And also that GM trumps rulebook everytime.

I have an outline for the next session. Just need to add some meat and work in elements the players enjoy. Maybe try and have it be less of an Eli Roberts focused story.[20]

Until next time, may the dice make things interesting!

[1] Pompous sounding name? Perhaps! But it’s a grab from the Tales JRPG series, and a TED Talk I saw once. [2] Had the party asked, the Mayor was avoiding asking South Fort for help because that crosses a border and could cause a lot of diplomatic tensions. The party didn’t ask, so I’m noting it here for my own gratification. [3] Because we needed to fit a new party member in some how. [4] Which I forgot to put potatoes and apples in. I’m disappointed in myself. [5] Unless it was the other way around. There was confusion! [6] Iron is magic proof in the setting! Because I’m taking inspiration from my vague knowledge of fair folk mythology. [7] Her name is Debra. I didn’t have the exact details (improv!), but if needed, she’d have the key for the door for… reasons? [8] I keep trying a Douglas Addams thing where I save the most glaringly obvious and distressing fact for last. It’s never worked because I keep getting interrupted or the players overlook I mentioned a monster. Might be a sign to stop, but why would I? [9] I casually left a prose-y cheat sheet on the table before we started. So it’s open notes. [10] Always provide the required tools if you can’t be sure the party has the needed supplies. [11] My much coveted block puzzle! I’ll figure it out someday! [12] In the pathfinder version, it instead revealed a sleeping dragon. I should’ve worked in a similar element on top of what I put in the chamber. [13] Maybe if I ask nicely, my players will pretend this is what I did. [14] Why do the muses include two with dominion over Astronomy and History? Who knows! They just do! [15] I was hoping someone would mess with one of the notebooks for this exact reveal. They played right into my hands. [16] I’ll leave it to the players to retcon why they stole the first notebook. [17] Maybe Urania should’ve been the mural room. You light the crystal for the story, then have to darken it to move on.[18] [18] Take three on this dungeon’s going to be epic! [19] A pay off when, long, long ago, when I was very young looking through a borrowed copy of GURPS 3rd Edition, I saw a picture of cowboys riding giant rabbits with saddlebags reading ‘Bunny Express’. Finally did it. [20] He took the reigns on the session one mystery, and the letter plot hook only works with him. I’ll try to do hooks working off the other three before returning to him, if at all.

[joiedevivrevehicles]

What’s Coming In 2022 From Renault South Africa As Told By MD

Renault South Africa's managing director, Jaco Oosthuizen, spoke to the Wheels24 team about all things Renault SA, the automotive industry in today’s times and what consumers can look forward to in 2022.

Here is a Wheels24 exclusive interview with Renault South Africa managing director Jaco Oosthuizen. 

1. Would you mind sharing insights on Renault's recent business operations from a global and local perspective and how 2021 has treated the local market in terms of new car sales?

"2021 saw the implementation of the global repositioning of the Renault brand with the launch of the 'Renaulution' introduced by the Renault Groupe Global CEO Luca de Meo late in 2020, centred on building brand value over time and driving the company to be a technology-forward organisation. 

"Our new corporate identity and the brand shift has brought a fresh look and feel to the Renault brand, in a bid to create a more iconic brand. 2021 presented several challenges further to the pandemic, such as the semiconductor shortages and supply chain challenges. Despite the issues faced, we forecast the overall local passenger and light commercial vehicle market to end between 435 000 to 445 000 units this year. A strong recovery from 2020, exceeding most initial forecasts. 

"At Renault SA, we are targeting a market share of 5 per cent up 0.4 per cent from 2020 but still 0.3 per cent down from 2019, our best year ever. The launch of the all-new Renault Kiger in September has served to reinvigorate sales, enabling record sales months over both September and October. We were limited to retailing five models only for the first eight months of 2021, with one in the run-out phase. The biggest challenge for us was to ensure dealer viability and to keep customers loyal to the brand. Our marketing and sales teams did a great job, and we managed to sell 1400 units per month up until August."

2. You've introduced some exciting new models during the lockdown, such as the Kiger; however, many of your new models were delayed. Can you tell us why?

"Renault SA should have launched both the new Clio and Captur models towards the end of 2020. Initially, the delay was due to a pricing issue because of the unfavourable exchange rate, followed by the global semiconductor shortages. 

"But I am happy to announce that we will launch the new Clio V in February 2022, followed shortly by Captur in May 2022. New Trafic models will join the local line-up later on in 2022, and there are some model enhancements in the planning phase for both the Kwid and Triber models."

3. Renault has been teasing South Africans with the idea of a pick-up (bakkie) for some years. Is this going to happen in 2022?

"Accurate prediction of the arrival of Oroch has proved challenging. Since joining the brand in 2017, our forecast has always been "next year", but in all honestly, Oroch is manufactured as a left-hand drive vehicle in Brazil and will have to be converted to a right-hand drive vehicle and homologated for the SA market."

4. As RS Performance cars are now part of Renault's Alpine division, is it true that we won't be able to buy the next-generation Clio RS?

"The Clio RS F1 limited edition that we launched in 2019 was the last of the Clio RS models. Fortunately for our RS customers, there are plans in play to source Megane RS within our market. Timing for this yet to be confirmed."

5. Megane has moved into the all-electric space, and Renault is no newcomer in this electric car race. Can we expect a more significant push into hybrids and EVs with the new Megane in 2022?

"Yes, but not yet in 2022. As you know, Renault has been number one in Europe for electric vehicle (EV) sales throughout 2021. Globally, the brand has a strong EV line-up, ready for import if we can achieve the correct value proposition for both our clients and dealer network."

6. What are some of the critical areas you plan to address in the Renault SA business in the coming year? 

"We have developed an established and strong dealer network, with continued expansion planned to increase our footprint, coupled with a strong focus on customer retention and growth.

"We will continue to focus on nurturing our relationships with our current corporate fleet clients to retain the existing contracts that we hold and ensure that these are extended into new replacement cycles.

"Furthermore, we will be focusing on expanding our business with the government. We have worked hard on improving our after-sales proposition to our clients over the last five years, and this will remain a strong business priority as we advance. The success of our ongoing efforts is evident in the "Inaugural AA Spare Parts Pricing Guide" released in September and the last Kinsey report. 'Fixing cars the first time' when things go wrong is a critical strategic drive. We still have our brand challenges but have made great strides in countering these."

7. Finally, what's been your greatest challenge and opportunity as the managing director at Renault SA in 2021 and what have you learned from this experience to make you a more robust business responder?

"As I'm sure is the case with all managing directors, managing a brand through the three Covid-19 waves to date has been the most formidable challenge of my entire career, especially with the onset of the 1st wave, with no previous experience or understanding on how to manage an ongoing business within pandemic times. 

"Maintaining positive staff morale has remained my top priority, and as much as we have strived to keep all staff healthy and safe, we, unfortunately, lost two Renault Dealer Network staff to Covid-19, with 12 staff in total have lost their lives to Covid-19 within our independent and multi-franchise network. It's been a challenging time, and we learn new things every day. I'm looking forward to 2022 and the challenges and opportunities it brings."

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Info sourced from https://www.news24.com/