The new #Renault Megane RS Trophy-R has lapped the #Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 40 seconds, beating the FWD lap record previously held by Honda's Civic Type R –
Renault Megane RS Trophy R breaks Nurburgring FWD record | Evo
Renault figures you probably won’t want to damage this on high kerbs and other obstacles, so the camera remains, adding a few extra grams to save you many more pounds.Įvo was granted early access to the car at Renault Sport HQ in Les Ulis on the outskirts of Paris to see the car in detail, and quiz those behind it on what makes this Mégane worthy of the Trophy-R badge. An oversight on a car where every gram has been considered? Perhaps not, because also residing at the rear, on some examples, is an incredibly intricate and expensive carbonfibre diffuser element. Usually packed with active cruise control sensors, here it’s shorn of such electronics to make it lighter and more aerodynamic than a standard Renault badge.Īt the back, nestled in the other diamond, is a reversing camera. No detail has been overlooked on the new Renault Mégane RS Trophy-R, and nothing illustrates this better than the badges you’ll find at each end of the car. At the front there is a smooth, simple iteration of Renault’s diamond logo. The work done on the aerodynamic balance takes all its value,’ he said after securing the record. It is very fast and complex and the car is perfect for this configuration. ‘Spa-Francorchamps is one the most exciting circuits in Europe for drivers. It’s a car that Hurgon himself described to evo as needing time to adapt to, with higher limits than the regular Trophy but also requiring higher skill to master, and at Spa, it apparently excelled in the high-speed turns of Raidillon, Pouhon and Blanchimont. It’s around 130kg lighter than the regular Megane Trophy, ditching its rear seats and four-wheel steering, featuring revised suspension, numerous weight-saving and aerodynamic tweaks, and in the case of the record-setter, an option pack with carbonfibre wheels and carbon-ceramic front brakes. Like the ‘Ring record, a time close to three minutes looks unimpressive compared to the cars we’re more used to seeing at Spa, but it still works out as an average speed of just over 150kph over 6.9 kilometeres – for a car driving its front wheels and running on road-legal tyres.Īs we’ve seen recently, the latest Trophy-R does require significant changes even to achieve that. That’s a shade over five seconds quicker than the previous record of 2min53.72sec, set last year by Bertrand Baguette in the current FK8-generation Honda Civic Type-R.
#Renault megane rs trophy driver#
Test driver Laurent Hurgon, who set the 7min40.10sec time at the Nurburgring, was drafted in for Spa too, clearing the line in 2min48.338sec.
#Renault megane rs trophy full#
Just a few weeks after setting a new front-wheel drive lap record at the Nurburgring, Renault has taken its new Megane Trophy-R to Spa-Francorchamps, and knocked a full five seconds off the previous record. We saw it with Porsche’s 919 Evo, and now we’re seeing it with Renault’s latest hot hatchback too. It’s no longer enough just to secure a lap record for your chosen category at the Nurburgring Nordschleife – in 2019, you have to prove you can do it elsewhere, too.