The Renaultsport line of Twingos, Clios and Méganes have always been held in high regard by enthusiasts, but the engineers from the in-house performance division at Renault are not resting on heir laurels just yet and have launched an even hotter version of the range-topping Mégane RS.
“The Mégane Renaultsport has earned numerous accolades the world over for its superior sporting credentials, and the exciting new Mégane RS Trophy takes this to even greater heights. It confidently takes over the mantle as the most aspirational member of the Renaultsport range to date, and will certainly appeal to enthusiast drivers that demand the very best, ” says Fabien Payzan, marketing vice-president of Renault South Africa.
Of course, as a halo model the Mégane Trophy 265 has to portray that very status. Its visual appeal has been bumped up thanks to new decals on the doors, red detailing on the bodywork and 19-inch gloss black alloys, and a new rear lip spoiler. The finer details are a numbered plaque to commemorate the model, RS valve caps and LED daytime running lights in the F1-style aerodynamic blade in the front grille.
Inside, the racy theme is continued with contrasting stitching throughout the cabin and leather-trimmed Recaro bucket seats. The Trophy 265 also features the RS monitor from the RS Cup – a data-logging system that records performance and displays vehicle data such as turbo pressure and oil temperature, real time engine data like power and torque used, longitudinal and transverse acceleration, as well as a stopwatch and lap timer.
The Mégane Trophy 265 boasts the same turbocharged 2,0-litre 16-valve four-cylinder engine as the rest of the Mégane RS models, but now boasts new peak outputs of 195 kW at 5 500 r/min and 360 N.m of torque at 3 000 r/min – up from 184 kW and 340 N.m. Despite the increase in power, Renault claims that the Trophy 265 boasts slightly lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
One of the key aspects of the Trophy 265’s claim to the hot-hatch throne is the RS Cup chassis, which features a limited-slip differential, Brembo brakes, and specific suspension damping to optimise handling characteristics.
Renaultsport Mégane pricing:
Mégane RS Sport R359 900
Mégane RS Cup R399 900
Mégane RS Trophy R409 900
