Even if the first reviews of the new generation Renault Megane RS haven’t arrived yet, based on past experience of what Renault Sport can do with the French brand’s hot hatches, it’s safe to assume that it should be quite a formidable contender in the segment.
This is reinforced by a few videos that have hit the web over these past few days, including one posted by L’Argus, which was taken during the international media test drive of the car in Spain last week.
The clip allows us to experience the fourth-gen Megane RS from the front passenger seat, while it’s lapping the Jerez circuit.
The 4.4km (2.7 miles) long track is located some 90 km (56 miles) south of Seville, and used to host the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix, before the latter moved to Barcelona. So, it’s the perfect location to put the compact hot hatch through its paces.
The 2018 Megane RS has 280PS (276hp) and 390Nm (288lb-ft) of torque at its disposal, but the 1.8-liter turbo’d four-cylinder engine will receive more power close to the end of this year, when the Trophy version is expected.
The more hardcore version of the Megane will probably slash a few tens of a second from the 5.8sec needed by the new Megane RS for the 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint and boast a number of changes that will make it more driver-oriented. Until it appears, though, we’ll have to make do with the “regular” RS, which you can check out being driven in anger in the following video.