There’s a new king in the hot hatch world and it
speaks French -again. This is the new Renault Megane RS Trophy-R, the fastest
front-driven vehicle to lap the Nurburgring and one of the purest driver’s cars
available today.
Renault Sport’s way of extracting more speed out of
the latest Megane RS hasn’t changed over the years; the new Trophy-R has been
subjected to a strict diet, making it lighter by 130 kg thanks to
things like thinner glass on the rear doors, a carbon fiber bonnet, no rear
seats combined with lighter front ones, a titanium exhaust and even deleting
the rear wiper, among other.
The chassis has also been suitably modified, gaining
a set of adjustable Ohlins dual-flow valve dampers, lightweight springs, a
lighter rear torsion beam, more front camber and a different aero pack. A set
of carbon wheels can be fitted as an option.
However, one of the biggest differences of the
Trophy-R compared to the standard Megane RS is the deletion of the active rear
steering system; Renault Sport’s engineers did so in order to make the hardcore
Megane more consistent under fast driving on a track.
Power still comes from a turbocharged 1.8-liter
four-cylinder engine that produces the same 296 hp and 400 Nm of torque with the standard Trophy model. There’s no dual-clutch transmission
option here, just a six-speed manual. Renault claims that the new
Megane RS Trophy-R is capable of a 0-100 km/h in 5.4 seconds and of a 262 km/h top speed.
The new Renault Megane RS Trophy-R will be produced
in just 500 examples for selected markets, including France, Germany, UK,
Switzerland and Japan. Prices in France start from 55,000 euros.
