RACY RENAULTS

Megane R26.R vs Megane Trophy-R: same brief, very different results

THESE LOOK PRETTY HARDCORE

Hot hatches don’t get much hotter or more hardcore than these two. And, to all intents and purposes, the RenaultSport Megane R26.R is the watermark for stripped-out, race-ready shopping trolleys – one that will now probably never be bettered. WHY DO YOU SAY THAT?

The R26.R engineers were told they weren’t allowed to squeeze more power or torque from the 227bhp, 2.0-litre turbo, so they went down the next best route to make a car fast: lightness. Everything that could be stripped out was. Any part that didn’t contribute to performance was thrown in the bin – 123kg of the stuff. That means no rear seats, no radio, no sound insulation and only one airbag. Then expensive exotic materials were used to add more lightness: Plexiglas (rumoured to be eight times as expensive as glass), carbon shell bucket seats, a carbon bonnet (a segment first) and a titanium exhaust. HASN’T THE TROPHY-R HAD THE SAME TREATMENT?

Yes. And technically the Trophy-R has lost more weight from the standard car (130kg), but it was a lot lardier to begin with. But it isn’t as granular in its weight saving. Look closer at the R26.R, there’s no headlamp washers or rear-window wiper – that’s the crazy diet it went on. WASN’T IT THE NURBURGRING RECORD HOLDER?

Yep. The R26.R is arguably the harbinger for the ’Ring king hot lap. Back then, things were different. Its 8:17:54 lap time was 19 secs quicker than the previous record-holder. But Renault hasn’t let that crown slip – the Trophy-R is the current FWD record holder with a slightly unbelievable time of 7:40:01. That’s progress. WHAT’S THE R26.R LIKE TO DRIVE?

A joy: a properly engaging, motorsport-like experience. Though it’s only 10 years old, it’s a totally different experience from its Trophy-R grandson. Where the Trophy-R has oodles of torque and is punchy in a straight line, the R26.R gets lost on the straights so you have to thrash it to get to the juicy power and make it up in the corners. You constantly stir the shorter-throw gearbox to stay in the powerband then pitch it in and let it cling on to those sticky Toyo R888 tyres. Because it’s so light, the R26.R actually has softer suspension than the standard car on which it’s based – providing a better ride and making it incredibly tripod-happy. I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT ONE, SHOULDN’T I?

Thanks to hindsight, yes. Prices now are not far off the £23k Renault charged when the car was new in 2008, and cars with the titanium exhaust, cage and track tyres are way more. Given a new Trophy-R with trimmings is £72k, the old boy looks like an absolute bargain.