You never quite know what you’re going to get with a track hatch. For each surprisingly brilliant Golf GTI Clubsport S, there’s a Mini GP that nobody expected to be so plain. The Civic Type R Limited was great to drive but seriously undermined the usability of a standard one by eliminating the stereo and air-con. While keeping the rear seats. Still, given how the next few years looks for hot hatches, perhaps we should just be glad that such silliness happened at all. It seems very unlikely that there will be any challengers for the current Civic Type R’s Nurburgring crown, when only a few years ago every manufacturer from SEAT to Vauxhall was thinking about making the fastest front-driver around.
Renaultsport could always be relied on for a crazy two-seat hatch. Decades before the most recent phenomenon, there were engines in the middle of 5s and Clios, utterly mad little cars that could only have come from the French. They weren’t necessarily track-focused in the modern context, though they were hot hatches (of a kind) like no other. Which Renault and Renaultsport specifically tend to do better than anyone else.
It was a surprise that we got this Megane Trophy-R in the UK at all. Its predecessor, the Megane R26.R, didn’t sell out, something that’s unheard of in an age of hoarding collectible cars - but, of course, a very believable reality in the days of the late-2000s financial meltdown. There weren’t enough people in the UK out there willing to part with £24k for a two-seat Megane, however sublime it was to drive. The fools.
Undeterred, Renaultsport created this Trophy-R in a very similar vein, albeit with just 30 destined for the UK rather than the 230 of a few years before (of which around 160 sold). The approach was pretty much the same in fact, with no more power from the 2.0-litre turbo (now 275hp instead of 230), the money instead invested in expensive hardware like Ohlins damper, Allevard composite springs, Michelin Cup 2 tyres and an Akrapovic exhaust. Like the R26.R, more than 100kg was taken from the Trophy to create the Trophy-R, and along with it one of the great front-drive experiences. A Nurburgring lap of 7:54.3 only told half the story: it was the Megane’s gritty nature and incredible feel that ensured it legendary status.
With so few allocated to the UK, it’s seldom that a Trophy R comes up for sale. It’s the same case with the later, 300hp, five-door car, as the same number came over and it was even more expensive. But we have one here, and an incredibly low mileage one at that - just 7,800 miles. It’s recently been treated to a fresh cambelt kit and four new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, a useful saving for the next owner. BC Racing coilovers have been fitted, too, which might put off some keen on originality, but the standard Ohlins dampers are included in the sale.
‘This car is truly amazing and in all honesty I battle with myself over selling it as it really is special to me’, reads the ad. That’s the kind of sway these cars can have! To have any of the two-seat Meganes for sale nowadays is a real find, given some were exported and so many are lovingly retained; there never was an experience quite like a Renaultsport hot hatch with a cage instead of rear seats, and there isn’t going to be another one. So buyers might well be reluctant to get rid.
This looks quite the opportunity, then. It’s £35,000, a little less than the new price from 2015 and indicative of both how loved these cars and the condition of this example. There are newer, more powerful Meganes available for less money, but that’s not the point. For the ultimate expression of what Renaultsport could achieve in its pomp, you want as many stickers (and as few seats) as possible.
SPECIFICATION | RENAULT MEGANE RS TROPHY-R
Engine: 1,998cc, four-cyl turbo
Transmission: 6-spd manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 275@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 265@3,000-5,000rpm
MPG: 37.7mpg
CO2: 174g/km
First registered: 2015
Recorded mileage: 7,800
Price new: £36,430
Yours for: £35,000
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