Future Classics? Renault Megane Trophy R vs R26.R

I finally get the chance to experience a car I've obsessed over for 12 years, the Renault Megane R26.R ... in my mind a true hot hatch modern classic. These days, Renault are still making crazy track focussed hatchbacks just like the R26.R, so I get behind the wheel of their latest, the Trophy-R to see if it also might one day be a modern classic.

The Mégane Renaultsport 230 F1 Team R26 was launched in November 2006 and enjoyed a great success. Using this base, Renaultsport launched an extreme version, the Mégane Renaultsport R26.R.

The limited edition Mégane Renaultsport R26.R made its worldwide debut at the British International Motor Show, 22 July, 2008
Developed from the Mégane Renaultsport 230 F1 Team R26, the R26.R retains the same engine, gearbox and limited slip differential but with a significant weight reduction of 123kg. Achieves new lap record of the Nürburgring of 8m 17s, the fastest for a front-wheel-drive production car.
Features from the world of racing with a carbon bonnet, polycarbonate windows, Sabelt race seats and six-point harnesses. Optional roll cage and titanium exhaust. Priced at £22,990. Limited to 450 examples worldwide, 230 of which came to the UK.

The new MEGANE R.S. TROPHY-R has the same exceptionally efficient 1.8 L 300 bhp engine as the Trophy version (167 bhp/l). So the Renault Sport wizards did not focus on power to enhance performance, they looked elsewhere in three main spheres of development. Drastic reductions in mass. The quest to reduce weight looked at every detail, from the absence of a rear seat to the adoption of (optional) carbon wheel rims, not forgetting the Akrapovič titanium exhaust line. Verdict on the scales: -130 kg lighter than the Mégane R.S. Trophy without options. Completely redesigned suspension, for a more radical result. Front axle with increased
negative camber, lighter rear H axle, specific adjustable Öhlins shock-absorbers, Bridgestone Potenza S007 tyres exclusive to Renault Sport, and high performance braking with optional Brembo carbon-ceramic discs, etc. Aerodynamics improved even further for better support and better circulation of flows (specific underbody fairings and carbon diffuser) and additionally optimised thermal control (NACA air intake, brake scoops, etc.). This expert work has been validated by the stopwatch: a new absolute record for a front-wheel drive production car was achieved on 5th April 2019 by the New MÉGANE R.S. TROPHY-R on the 20.6 km of the Nordschleife at the Nürburgring in 07:40.100. It also clocked up a reference
time of 07:45.389 on the official full lap of the circuit. This is an extreme performance bearing in mind the margin of progress is increasingly narrow at such a level. New Mégane R.S. Trophy-R, an exceptional car, will be on sale by the end of 2019 in the form of a limited series of 500 numbered vehicles.

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