The British weekly spoke with Renaultsport chief Patrice Ratti, who say that the French automaker's performance division – best known for its hot hatches – is considering tuning the Renault Captur and Kadjar. The inspiration comes from the other half of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, specifically from the success of the Nissan Juke Nismo.
As it is Renault is relatively new to the crossover market. It launched the Koleos in 2007, but that was principally based on Nissan technology and built by Renault Samsung Motors in South Korea for sale in Asia. The budget-oriented Duster is sold in some markets as a Renault, but is principally a Dacia model – although one which Renaultsport's competition department helped prepare for Dakar. The brand's first real foray into crossover territory came with the launch of the Captur in 2013, followed by the larger Kadjar unveiled in Geneva earlier this month.
Transforming either into a performance model would open up new markets for Renaultsport, which reportedly turns a tidy profit on every Clio and Mégane it tunes. But with the proliferation of models Renaultsport risks diluting its hard-core image, as it did with the Clio RS 200 Turbo and the warmed-over Twingo RS city car.
