A standard Renault Mégane R.S. is not a cowardly car, a Trophy goes a step further. Apparently they thought in Dieppe that it can always be even more intense and so there is now also a Trophy-R.
What will they have laughed at the approval authority when the Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy-R was rolled in. The car has a diffuser that gives a racing car an inferiority complex and semi-slicks that are not yet able to drain sneeze of moisture. Furthermore, it is stripped of everything except the essentials, including the back seat. Surely there would be no license plate on this? Well, so. And so today we come face to face with one of the heaviest street cars of all time. Everywhere he has special and amazing details. From a titanium Akrapovic exhaust to Bridgestone Potenza S007 tires and from a carbon fiber bonnet with NACA ducts (air scoops) to manually adjustable Öhlins mufflers, the Mégane Trophy-R has extremely serious hardware. In addition, the Frenchman has a fairly profound obsession with his weight, which cannot be low enough for him. That is why he has seats that are seven kilos lighter each, barely sound insulation, no rear wiper and no back seat. Even the navigation screen had to believe it and became 1.7 inches smaller. Still saves 250 grams. You almost feel burdened to sit behind the wheel with clothes on. And believe it or not: it can be even more extreme. The carbon fiber wheels and ceramic brakes take another 16 pounds off the weight. The test car does not have them, but that does not matter; it is by far the most extreme car under the ton. This must be special driving.
Rear axle
What is immediately noticeable on the first ride is how the steering rear axle in the Mégane Trophy-R shines through absence! This not only makes the car a whopping 38 kg lighter (about 30 percent of the total savings), but also many times more predictable. Finally he gives the confidence that the chassis deserves. At least once the tires are at the right temperature. The second thing that is striking is that the braking distance is initially quite disappointing: we note over 40 meters during the first measurement. A few attempts later, the counter is already at 36 meters; the rubber then feels lukewarm rather than warm. But as soon as the Potenza’s reach their operating temperature, the tear fluid flies almost against the windshield with powerful braking! The ABS does not even have to do anything, while the rear wheels already feel almost detached from the asphalt. It turns completely crazy when the rubber is hot. Due to the strong negative wheel flight on the front wheels, understeer simply no longer exists. You send in, and the front axle gasps like a starving wolf. No doubt, no role, immediate response. Because the rear feels relatively light, it also likes to turn around the front axle. The control overflows with feel by modern standards, and also works predictably and directly, making the latter neither scary nor cunning. Very quickly you push the nose in like a hooligan, let the back set itself and then ram the gas back on. The mechanical limited slip differential sends the right amount of power to each front wheel, and the Trophy-R shoots out of the corner in a twisting and pulling manner. In fast corners, it fits like a rock thanks to the adapted aerodynamics and inspires as much confidence as in a tight hairpin. When it comes to pure, unadulterated driving sensations, the Trophy-R can teach even cars that cost twice as much.
€ 76,490
In the Mégane, the seating is not so good. Certainly, the racing fairings offer even more lateral support and are wonderful in themselves, but the lever is just too far away from you and the pedals hardly allow you to brake simultaneously and accelerate when downshifting. That kind of detail should really add up in a $ 76,490 car. Certainly because we do not have to waste words on the Frenchman’s lack of practical employability. We would like to forgive the Trophy-R based on its purpose, as much as the rest would be correct. But it does not.
The Renault poker not only appears to be in a somewhat difficult to reach place, it also does not work very well. There is quite a lot of resistance in the mechanism, and although the strokes are short, the transmission sometimes struggles against fast shifting. The 1.8-liter turbo engine is also not without reproach. The figures are fine, because 300 hp and 400 Nm in combination with the low car weight are more than sufficient for spectacular performance. However, it is not all so obvious. At the bottom, little happens, in the middle area the four-cylinder crashes everything on the wheels, after which it “collapses” at 6,000 rpm. You instinctively switch up regularly before the car itself gives a signal that the rev limiter is approaching, because you feel that the engine is already over its peak. As said, that does not affect the effectiveness of the drivetrain itself. Anyone who can handle the gas in a controlled manner is less than six seconds out of 100. We have no doubt that the specified time of 5.4 seconds is possible under ideal conditions. It doesn’t get much faster for a car with only front-wheel drive. And although the crackling and blowing that the titanium Akrapovic exhaust produces may not be called a symphony, it does increase the spectacle.
Potency
The Trophy-R has a chassis with a lot of potential, which makes it perform very well on the parts “driving” and “track factor”. For a track day you can’t buy a better weapon than the Renault, especially for what it costs. But all circumstances must be exactly right for the Trophy-R to come into its own. That makes this Mégane too expensive and one-dimensional. Yet he deliberately etches into our memory. We can only show deep respect for Renault, which dares to put such an extreme model on the road.
The R.S.division from Dieppe gives with the Mégane R.S. Trophy-R an impressive calling card. Once in its element, the Trophy-R crushes everything that has front-wheel drive, and even many rear- or four-wheel drive cars. And we have no doubt that the Frenchman will continue to do that lap after lap, without sacrificing grip, traction or braking. The Trophy-R proves that it can always be more intense.