Renault has already proven it’s capable of producing extremely fast hot hatches, with the Clio RS and its faster relative the Megane RS. I recently raved about the Renaultsport Clio Gordini, because it deserves respect. The combination of a powerful naturally aspirated engine, with a small but finely balanced chassis, results in a truly exciting and involving drive. For their latest instalment the Renaultsport engineers have fettled with the current Megane RS 250 to produce this, the Megane RS Trophy. It’s going to be exclusive, with just 500 examples being produced, needless to say I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to test the sole one in Ireland.
There’s no mistaking the RS Trophy with its additional styling tweaks and Trophy decals on the doors. In addition to these it sits low on metallic black 19” Speedline alloys, whilst inside the main addition over the standard RS model are two figure-hugging Recaro race seats. With 265hp at its disposal, the RS Trophy can hit 100 km/h from a standstill in just six seconds flat and will go to achieve a top speed of 255 km/h. It’s recently stamped its authority on the competition by breaking the front-wheel drive lap record aroundGermany’s infamous 20 km Nurburgring race track. Regrettably I didn’t have time to travel toGermany, but I did complete a few laps aroundMondelloPark’s National Circuit where it duly posted the fastest laptime of 2011, beating off stiff competition from Seat, Alfa Romeo, Volkswagen and Skoda.
Despite pushing 265hp through only its front wheels, there’s little torque steer evident. The 2.0l turbocharged petrol engine utilises a six-speed manual gearbox. The Megane RS Trophy is a focused hot hatch, which some may find a bit harsh for daily use, for those who’ll take it on track, they’ll reap the rewards on offer.
