Renault’s new Mégane RS Trophy-R is poised for launch – and it’s one serious bit of kit
IGNITION
TheLightStuff
Above:steering wheel is now trimmed in Alcantara all
the way round, rather than being leather on each side
won’t want to damage thison highkerbs andother
obstacles, so thecamera remains,addinga few
extra gramsto save you many more pounds.
Thepowertrain – 1.8-litre, 296bhpfour-pot, six-
speed manualtransmission,limited-slipdifferential
andall – is as perthestandard Trophy. Butin the
Trophy-R it gets a lift froma chassis taken well
beyond thatof thestandard car. Outgoes therear-
wheel steering,designed to maximise low-speed
agility andhigh-speed stability, andin comes a
lighter new beamaxlethat, paired withnew front
suspensiongeometry (there’s two degrees of
camberon thefrontwheels), is said to enhance
agility andresponse at all speeds, at theexpense of
somefriendliness for less experienced drivers.
O DETAIL HAS BEENOVERLOOKEDON
thenew RenaultMégane RS Trophy-R, and
nothingillustrates thisbetter thanthe
badges you’ll findat each endof thecar.
At thefrontis a smooth,simpleiterationof
Renault’s diamondlogo, usuallypacked with
active cruise control sensors buthere shornof its
electronics to make it lighter andmore aerodynamic
thana standard Renaultbadge.
At theback, nestled in theotherdiamond,is a
reversing camera. An oversighton a car where every
gramhasbeen considered? Perhaps not, because
also residingat therear, on someexamples, is an
incrediblyintricate andexpensive carbonfibre
diffuser element. Renaultfigures you probably
N