Hard Core

IT MIGHT BE A BIT PRICEY, BUT THE LIGHTWEIGHT TROPHY-R GIVES THE MEGANE RS THE ZEST IT’S BEEN LACKING

- Scott Newman

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WHAT THE ‘R’ IN RENAULT Sport Trophy-R actually stands for has never been totally clear. Given the model’s hardcore track focus, presumably, it represents racing, but for this latest version, it could equally stand for redemption.

The third-generation Megane RS has had a somewhat mixed reception; by any standard, it’s an exceptionally capable car, but some of the magic that made its predecessor one of the finest front-drivers ever to hit the road has been lost. Whether intentional or not, in broadening the Megane RS’s appeal Renault has sacrificed a little desirability in the eyes of the hardcore enthusiasts who made Australia the second-biggest Renault Sport market per capita behind only its French homeland.

The Trophy-R is Renault’s response. Its engineers have thrown everything they can at this hardcore, limited-edition hot hatch, in the process wrestling back the front-wheel-drive Nurburgring lap record from the Honda Civic Type R with a remarkable 7min40.1sec lap, a solitary second behind the likes of the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV and Porsche 997 911 Turbo. Just 500 will be built, with 20 of those making their way to Australian shores. Thirty of those 500 will be special Record Editions, equipped to the same standard as the Nurburgring hot-lapper with carbon-ceramic brakes and carbon-fiber wheels from Geelong’s Carbon Revolution, but just one example will come to Australia, to be sold at auction.