This '98 Renault Spider Is About as Raw as Sports Cars Come, and It's For Sale
When you think of Renault, odds are you picture a small, dinky hatchback with a sub-100-horsepower engine. The first-generation Twingo, perhaps, or the Renault 4 that was sold for over 30 years. Performance is a big part of the French company's DNA, however, and the Renault Sport Spider illustrates that point well. It sounds like a Lotus on paper, it looks like a concept car, and there's one currently listed on Cars & Bids.
Let's set our time machine to the early 1990s. Williams was absolutely killing it in Formula 1; the team won the constructors' championship in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997. Benetton won the title in 1995, but Renault's image got a boost regardless because the company provided engines to both crews. Renault released the Clio Williams to test if 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday' applied to the French market, and the hot hatch generated such a positive response that executives began sketching the outline of a standalone, Renault Sport-branded model. Cars & Bids
The enthusiast community went wild when Renault unveiled the Spider at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show, and the excitement grew when the specifications were announced. The roadster tipped the scale at approximately 2,050 pounds thanks to the widespread use of aluminum, and it was powered by a mid-mounted, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 150 horsepower. This was the same basic 16-valve engine that powered the aforementioned Clio Williams and the Mégane Coupé 16V (which, by the way, is one hell of a bargain if you want an obscure hot hatch). The original Spider wasn't offered with a windshield, but Renault made one available shortly after the launch due to high demand.
In hindsight, adding a windshield to the list of options was Renault's only concession in the name of comfort. The Spider wasn't fitted with ABS brakes, and it wasn't equipped with a heater—not in the conventional sense of the term. Renault positioned the radiator directly behind the seats, so it provided a little bit of warmth as the coolant temperature increased. The problem, or quirk, is that there was no way to turn it on or off. Having a hot radiator right behind your ass was a real boon in the winter, and a real hassle in the middle of July. Cars & Bids
Renault built the Spider in the Dieppe, France, factory that had historically built Alpine models. This choice was both a lifeline and a punch in the face for Alpine. On one hand, the factory had been idle since it made the last A610 in 1995; Building the Spider saved quite a few jobs. On the other hand, the new roadster confirmed that the Alpine brand was dead. From that point on, sporty Renault models would land under the Renault Sport banner. Renault unexpectedly resurrected Alpine over 20 years later when it launched the second-gen A110, of course.
Precisely 1,726 units of the Spider were built between 1995 and 1999, including 80 Spider Trophy models built for a Europe-wide one-make series. The model was never sold in the United States, but the entire production run is now old enough to import. That doesn't mean that the Spider is common: Cars & Bids has only listed one other example, which sold for $62,500 in October 2024. Bring a Trailer has listed three in the past nine years, including two that didn't meet reserve and a Trophy-spec model that sold for $20,000 in September 2022. Cars & Bids
Located and titled in Florida, the 1998 Spider that Cars & Bids is selling was reportedly imported from Japan, though it's left-hand drive. It hasn't been modified, and its odometer shows a little over 28,000 miles. It looks like it's in excellent shape for a 27-year-old sports car.
As of writing, bidding stands at $15,805 with about three days left in the auction. There's plenty of time for that number to increase, and nothing suggests that it won't. Even in France, where most were sold, the Spider has become sought-after and correspondingly expensive.
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Otherwise, it's as sporty a wagon as you can buy short of an Audi S6 Avant for close to $60,000. By adding a muffler that approximates an exhaust note more often produced by aftermarket systems, the Matrix XRS's 1.8L/180-hp TLEV-spec engine sounds more aggressive than the other two. With an eyebrow-raising 9000-rpm redline, it's a car ready for the pages of Super Street magazine. Driving it around town, we find ourselves looking less at the tach for shift points and more to the momentum we feel in our seats and the tone reaching our ears. Occasional glances reveal we've been driving it comfortably in the 3000-6000-rpm range, which comes as a bit of a surprise. Sure, it sounds a little buzzy, but that's where it likes to perform. If we want to awaken the angry nest of wasps under the XRS' hood, we simply keep the pedal matted past the magical 6000-rpm VVTL-i changeover to its high-lift long-duration cam timing. There's plenty of wheelspin on tap if you want it, and moderating this tendency with a sensitive foot on the accelerator nets an SVT Focus-beating 7.26-sec 0-60-mph time (MT, April, 2002). This alone would enthuse us because the low-volume high-tech 170-hp SVT is one of the most impressive front-drivers around. However, the Matrix XRS went on to nearly tie the same Focus with a truly fast 66.9-mph average speed in the 600-ft slalom. Finally, as if to add insult to injury, the pretentious, non-conformist Matrix stopped 4 ft shorter from 60 mph than the Focus in a world-class 114 ft. On those rare occasions when the upgraded stereo isn't being evaluated—we recommend the Propellerheads for full effect—we found the droning exhaust note a bit objectionable, especially at freeway speeds where its pitch changes little. Then again, attitude is part of this wagon's package. We learned a great deal living with and driving these three wagons. First and foremost, the words 'wagon' and 'fun' can be used in the same sentence. Wagons are easier to park than SUVs, more fuel-efficient, better suited to carving up a curvy road, and, to some, better looking. Turbochargers are your friends, and performance tires are worth the money, especially if mud and snow aren't semi-present in your local climate. Don't trust government supplied measurements, and don't presume a Japanese wagon with the chrome letters 'WRX' on the rear hatch is a pushover. Specifically, we learned to appreciate Mazda's Protegé5 for its bargain price of entry, the styling of a Lexus IS 300 SportCross (almost), and its extremely well-engineered suspension package that runs with the best of them yet doesn't beat occupants to a frothy foam. Bonus points for a clean engine plus good fuel mileage. What it lacks is the seat-up cargo space befitting a wagon, about 30 hp, and a 17-in. wheel package. Just the 10 horses and other goodies that already appear on the MP3 sedan would greatly increase its appeal. We still, and absolutely, love our Subaru WRX Wagon. In the car's confidential logbook is written, 'Things I like: WRC Blue paint, sport seats, and slaying Mustangs. Things I'll forgive: All-season tires, lack of sound-attenuating materials, and self-inflicted poor fuel mileage.' The fact that WRX sales were off the charts last year indicates that it's truly caught on. Now, if it weren't for this darned hard-to-classify, do-almost everything-well, priced-to-fly-off-dealer lots Toyota Matrix, the mighty WRX would've been our first choice. At the test track, the Matrix beats most of the best front-drivers out there, it swallows cargo like a moving van, and even the sportiest, most expensive example costs less than $20,000. Because the edgy look might not be for everybody, you can also buy a Pontiac version called the Vibe. While Chrysler may have hummed the right tune last year with the revolutionary PT Cruiser, leave it to Toyota to get the performance right, and design a new type of Bandwagon—then price it sensibly. 2002 Mazda Protegé5 Pros Lexus looks, Mazda price Poised in the slalom Runs on regular gas Cons Needs 20-50-hp bump Little cargo room for wagon Look-at-me yellow 2002 Subaru WRX Wagon Pros 227 hp + AWD = fun Quirky good looks Racing front seats Cons Pricey wheel upgrade Lively highway ride We'd welcome a six-speed 2003 Toyota Matrix XRS
