Let’s take a second to remember some legends: the R8 Gordini, 5 GT Turbo, Clio Williams and more recently the R26.R. The latest lump of affection is the Megane RS 265 Trophy that was officially shown. What’s so special? Well, they took the Megane’s chassis and transformed it into the fastest production-specification front-wheel drive car at the Nürburgring’s infamous Nordschleife circuit. Yes, the RS 265 Trophy beat the R26.R’s time!
With a time of 8 minutes and 8 seconds, the Megane also beat the times set by much more powerful rear-wheel drive cars. The record run is due to some careful fiddling with the suspension setup and the extra 15 hp that the Trophy has over the regular RS 250.
“The Nordschleife is a legendary course. Its length and layout, which is very different to that of a conventional circuit, make it a unique and technically demanding challenge. Its difficulties are extremely varied, ranging from fast and even very fast in places to much twistier and slower portions. Turns like ‘Karusell’ and ‘Pflanzgarten’, for example, make huge demands of the car and driver alike, yet Mégane Renaultsport Trophy is very much in its element here and feels particularly reassuring despite the uncompromising nature of the terrain,” said Laurent Hurgon, development driver, Renault Sport.
“The limited slip differential allowed me to accelerate hard out of the countless turns without understeer. The carefully-tuned Cup chassis, the dampers, the fade-resistant brakes, the Recaro seats, the power of the 265hp engine, the ready availability of torque between 2,500 and 5,000rpm and the car’s Bridgestone RE 050A (235/35 R19) tyres allowed me to make the most of the car’s enormous potential, especially into and out of the corners. It is this package which enabled me to post such a quick time round this circuit which you must always approach with a certain degree of humility,” Hurgon added.
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