Youngtimers magazine is taking part in the Rétromobile for the tenth year in a row. This time, the spotlight is on sports cars from the nineties. Each "important" nation has its own representative: Renault Clio Williams (France), BMW M3 GT E36 (Germany), Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0 24V V6 Cup (Italy), Lotus Elise S1 (Great Britain), Honda Integra Type R (Japan) and a Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (USA).
BMW M3 GT E36 (1995)
Presented at the 1992 Paris Motor Show, the M3 of the E36 series began its career with a 2990 cc engine producing 286 hp. Its performance made a decent impression, as it came very close to the Porsches and Ferraris of the time in terms of driving performance. At the same time, it was significantly more versatile than the super sports cars of the time. In 1995, the M3's highly bred brother was introduced: The GT, of which just 356 units were produced. Its power climbed to 295 hp and its temperament became even more explosive.
Renault Clio Williams (1993-96)
The first title won by the Williams-Renault stable at the end of 1992 with Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese gave Renault the opportunity to attract a lot of attention. In April 1993, the Clio Williams was presented. On the one hand, this model was designed to achieve commercial success in racing and, on the other hand, it was also intended to homologate this vehicle in Group A. 2500 vehicles were to be built for the road. The vehicles were fitted with a 1998 cc FR7 engine, which produced around 150 hp. A total of 12,100 units were built.
Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0 V6 24V Cup (2001-02)
In the late nineties, or rather at the beginning of the new millennium, every Alfa Romeo customer was given the opportunity to take part in motorsport competitions: All they had to do was walk into an Alfa Romeo dealer, cross their fingers and then hope to be one of 160 amateurs who were allowed to take a seat in a GTV Cup specially designed for "gentleman drivers". The cars didn't get much media attention. This could have been the end of the series if British Alfa Romeo enthusiasts had not ordered a small series from the parent company. As a result, the series was saved from the end and customers were made happy with special editions.
Lotus Elise S1 (1996-2000)
When the Lotus Elise was presented at the IAA 1995, one detail immediately caused a sensation: The weight was just 690kg. Even the final prototype for the first model series weighed just 720 kg! The 118 hp of the Rover K-Series engine took the Elise to a speed of around 200 km/h. The Elise needed just 6.2 seconds to sprint from 0 to 100. These figures made the competition green with envy. A total of 8613 units were built.
Honda Integra Type R (1998-2000)
This coupé is not particularly well known, but is nevertheless popular with owners and passengers. The Integra Type was a comet that was sold in France for less than three years. It was produced exclusively in white and the spoiler was also painted in this color. Under the hood was a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with an output of 108 hp per liter, without a turbo! The rev limit was an astronomical 8400 revolutions per minute. In France, only 430 units were able to find a buyer ...
Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (1990-95)
In 1986, GM acquired the Lotus brand and decided to entrust the engineers with the design of a new engine. The Corvette ZR-1, in which the LT-5 is installed, was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1989. During the six-year production period (1990-95), 6939 Corvette ZR-1s were produced. This included 84 pre-production models that were not sold. Twelve of these were used for tests by car magazines. The last ZR-1 left the factory on April 24, 1995.
