TROPHY HUNTERS
YES, WE KNOW, this looks familiar. It was just over a year ago that we assembled the finest front-drivers going and unleashed them on the fresh, third-generation Renault Megane RS. When all was said and done, the Honda Civic Type R bowled over its opponents, including the plucky Frenchie. So that turns this comparison into a foregone conclusion, right? Not quite.
Dieppe has been slowly turning up the heat on its Megane RS and has finally revealed its ultimate forms. One take is the no-holds-barred, Nurburgring record-chaser (and holder) RS Trophy-R that we had along at Performance Car of The Year 2020. We would have loved to see the lightweight, carbonfibre-clad warrior take on Honda after dethroning it as the fastest front-drive car at the ’Ring, but the Trophy-R’s astronomical price ($74,990) unbalances the match-up.
That’s fine because that mega-Megane shares some DNA with the less potent RS Trophy 300 EDC we have here. Sure, it looks as if it has only gained some new alloys, but under the bulging bodywork, Renault Sport’s crew has tweaked its arsenal for a more involving, heart-thumping drive. That 1.8-litre engine, for instance, gets the ceramic ball-bearing turbocharger from the Trophy-R, so it’s good for 221kW. And that six-speed dual-clutch transmission, or Efficient Dual Clutch (EDC), isn’t held back by the manual’s torque limit, so you get the full 420Nm, or 20Nm more than any other Megane.
RENAULT HAS BEEN SLOWLY TURNING UP THE HEAT ON THE RS
