Renault's involvement in one-make racing in the United Kingdom began in 1974 with drivers competing in Renault 5 TL machinery. The series evolved through successive Renault 5 variants, including the Renault 5 TS between approximately 1978 and 1979 and the Renault 5 GT Turbo from roughly 1987 to 1990. When Renault replaced the 5 with the Clio, the championship followed suit, adopting the Mark I Clio between 1991 and 1995.
The mid-1990s brought a brief departure from the Clio nameplate: between 1996 and 1999 the series used the Renault Sport Spider roadster before returning to the Clio. The Clio Renaultsport 172 powered the championship in 2000 and 2001, followed by the 182 from 2002 to 2006 and the 197 from 2007 into 2009. The Clio Renaultsport 200 was introduced partway through the 2009 season and carried the series forward, with a turbocharged version of the 200 race car introduced for the 2014 British championship season.
Tyres were historically supplied by Michelin, but from 2013 Dunlop took over supply, aligning the Clio Cup with other championships on the TOCA support package including the British Touring Car Championship.
For much of its modern history, the series ran sixteen races across eight double-header rounds at circuits throughout England, supporting the British Touring Car Championship. A thirty-minute qualifying session determined the grid for each race weekend: fastest times set the grid for race one, while second-fastest times ordered race two. Races were run over a minimum of thirty miles.
Promotion of the series passed through several hands. The British Automobile Racing Club organised the championship from 1974 to 2011, SRO took over in 2012, and the BARC returned thereafter. The series also formed part of the support package for British rounds of the World Series by Renault at various points.
The Clio Cup has produced a remarkable number of drivers who went on to distinguished careers. Andy Priaulx became a multiple World Touring Car Championship champion after competing in the series, and Jason Plato became a multiple British Touring Car Championship champion. Tom Onslow-Cole is another past champion who progressed to top-level touring car competition.
Beyond professional motorsport, the series attracted Andrew Ridgeley of the pop group Wham!, who raced in 1985. Actor Rowan Atkinson also raced in the championship seldom between 1984 and 1990, an experience documented in his one-off television programme Driven Man.
The UK Clio Cup was discontinued after the 2019 season when it was dropped as a British Touring Car Championship support series, with the MINI Challenge replacing it in that role. The hiatus lasted until 2024, when Clio Cup Great Britain was revived under MotorSport Vision as a standalone independent championship. The 2024 champion was Nicky Taylor.
Alongside the main championship, a junior edition for drivers aged fourteen to seventeen was announced for introduction from 2017. The British Automobile Racing Club also established the Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre from 2013, an entry-level amateur and track day orientated series using the existing Clio Renaultsport 200 alongside the outgoing 197, designed to lower the barrier to participation in Renault one-make competition.
Few British single-marque series can claim a continuous lineage approaching fifty years. The Clio Cup's longevity reflects Renault's sustained commitment to grassroots motorsport in the United Kingdom and the commercial appeal of an affordable, competitive formula. Its alumni list, spanning professional champions and celebrity participants alike, underscores the series' broad cultural footprint within British motorsport.