Renault Megane RS Trophy unveiled, to challenge Honda Civic Type R

MANILA: We all went gaga over how brilliantly Honda used the platform for its bread-and-butter Civic to make an even more desirable and much sportier Civic Type R. Witnessing the end result turning out to be lip-smacking good, it looks like other mass-market manufacturers too have started taking notice of it. This is why Renault has come up with a sportier avatar of its regular Megane – say hello to the all-new Megane RS Trophy.

Renault did come up with the hot Megane RS  last year, however, the Megane RS Trophy takes up the game to an altogether new level. Talking about the aesthetics first, the Megane RS Trophy retains the body shell as well as basic design and silhouette of the standard Megane RS, with Renault claiming major changes done in the departments of chassis and engine. The only visual change here happens to be the addition of gorgeous looking 19-inch sporty machined alloy wheels, wrapped around by Bridgestone S001 tyres. On the inside, the interiors too are exactly the same as that of the Megane RS, with the buyers having the option of going for Alcantara covered Recaro seats.

Coming to the major point of concern, Renault has managed to pump up the 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the Megane RS for this new Megane RS Trophy. The end result turns out to be a maximum power output of 300 PS, i.e 20 PS more than that of the Megane RS. The torque output figure too has seen a substantial increase from 390 Nm of Megane RS to 400 Nm for the manual gearbox version and 420 Nm for the dual clutch automatic gearbox. The performance boost figures don’t end here, for the Megane RS Trophy, in its manual gearbox version, covers up the sprint of 0-100 kmph in just 5.7 seconds. Also, the top speed is now rated at 260 kmph, which is almost 5 kmph more than that of the Megane RS.

To handle this extra boost in performance, Renault has made a couple of changes and additions to the chassis of the car as well. Apart from the new larger and lighter-in-weight alloy wheels, the Megane RS Trophy comes with a cup chassis, with the front and rear suspension being stiffened up and a Torsen limited-slip differential being a welcoming addition on board here. The front disc brakes too are new units, which are lighter than those on the Megane RS.

All these minor developments for the Renault Megane RS Trophy have been executed with the inputs from Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg. Renault claims that the Megane RS Trophy provides best-in-class performance. One tough battle for the Honda Civic Type R to fight ahead? Only time will tell!