Hardcore Renault Megane RS Trophy rivals the Honda Civic Type R and VW Golf GTi hot hatches, priced from £31,810
Renault has confirmed prices for the new Megane RS Trophy – the most extreme version of its Honda Civic Type R rival.
The Trophy gains a series of styling, engine and chassis upgrades over the standard car. The 1.8-litre turbocharged engine, the same unit used by the Alpine A110, gains upgrades centred around the turbocharger: an F1-inspired ceramic ball bearing system reduces internal friction, allowing the turbine to spin faster than before.
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A revised exhaust system, gains a mechanical valve. Installed in the rear silencer, the valve opens under hard throttle modes to improve flow – therefore increasing power – and delivers a more aggressive exhaust note. The point at which the valve open varies from each of the five driving modes: Comfort, Normal, Sport, Race and Perso. These are accessed via the Megane’s digital display, and also tailor the car’s steering, throttle and transmission setups accordingly. An RS Drive button provides a shortcut to Sport and Race modes.
The changes lift the standard car’s 276bhp by 20bhp, to 296bhp. Torque in manual equipped cars rises by 10Nm to 400Nm, while revised engine mapping extracts a further 20Nm to auto-equipped cars.
The changes reduce the Megane’s 0-62mph time to 5.7 seconds – one tenth lower than the existing RS. Top speed rises by 3mph in the auto and 4mph in the manual, to 158mph and 162mph respectively.
The Cup chassis, an optional extra on the regular RS, is standard on the Trophy. This adds tweaked dampers, springs and anti-roll bars stiffened by 25, 30 and 10 per cent respectively; and a mechanical limited-slip differential. As before, the Trophy features a four-wheel steer system: designed to boost agility at low speed and stability at high-speed, the system is fitted to every model as standard.
A set of unique 19-inch wheels are standard, and a new lighter wheel of the same diameter, available in 2019, drops unsprung mass by 2kg per corner. Uprated front brake discs reduce unsprung weight by a further 3.6kg combined, and are claimed to be more resistant to fade.
Beyond the performance changes, the Trophy features a series of mild cosmetic changes: on the outside there’s a mildly revised front spoiler, while inside, a set of Recaro sports seats, trimmed in alcantara, allow the driver to sit 20mm lower in the car than the standard items.
Standard creature comforts include Adaptive Cruise Control, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors plus a hands-free parking function.
The Megane RS Trophy is available to order now, priced from £31,810. That’s £285 more than the Honda Civic Type R, but £2715 less than the top spec Type R GT. The regular Megane RS is still available, priced at £27,495.
Read our review of the Renault Megane RS …
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