Renault Details Megane RS Trophy-R, The Purest Hot Hatch Of Them All

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 130kg (286lbs) 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.

Also Read: New Renault Megane RS Trophy-R Breaks Cover And Nordschleife’s FWD Lap Record

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 296hp (300PS) and 295lb-ft (400Nm) 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 0-62mph (100km/h) in 5.4 seconds and of a 163mph (262km/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 (around $62k in current exchange rates).