TURN UP THE HEAT

This rorty Renault is one of the best-ever hardcore hatches, argues Oliver Young

- Oliver Young

The hot hatchback hall of fame is sure to have a fair few Renaults in it, one of them being the Mk2 Mégane RS (confusingly based on the Mk3 Mégane).

This fast and fun three-door arrived on UK shores in 2010 and spawned a plethora of variants, to the point that you can easily get in a muddle trying to differentiate them.

At the beginning, there was the RS 250, which packs a 247bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. This was joined by a Cup version that gained some go-faster goodies, including a limited-slip differential and the stiffer, lighter Cup chassis (which was also available as an optional extra on the standard model).

But like a fussy Hollywood director, Renault wanted to do many more takes. In 2011, it came out with the RS 265 Trophy. This has 261bhp and unsurprisingly even more track-focused bits and bobs, including special Bridgestone Potenza tyres. Only 50 ever came to the UK after it had broken the front-wheel-drive lap record at the Nürburgring. Its time of 8min 7.97sec put it ahead of the Ferrari 360 Modena and V8-engined Audi RS4.