Renault Megane RS 275 TCe Trophy / Ultimate affordable Tracktool?

Is the Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy TCe the ultimate affordable tracktool?

We recently tested the Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy TCe, it is the “small brother” of the Trophy R. The Trophy R is basically the same car but saved 100 Kilograms and comes with  additional Ohlins suspension, lighter seats and some other small modifications. It laped the Nordschleife in 7:54,36 so it was 4 seconds faster than the upcoming BMW M2. We wanted to find out how much of the Trophy R’s racing DNA can be found in the normal Trophy.

Engine:

 

The 2,0 litre 4-cylinder engine develops 273 PS at 5500 RPM and 360 NM at 3000 RPM. The maximum RPM was raised for the first two gears to 6800. Renault missed to notice that the second gear is only capable of 99,4 km/h so you have to shift again to reach the 100 km/h which leads to a tested 0-100 km/h time of 6,0 seconds. The acceleration in the first two gears feels really fast and until 160 km/h this feeling continues. Although the Renault has a theoretical topspeed of 255 km/h we were only able to reach around 245 km/h, due to heavy traffic.

Handling:

 

The Megane RS 275 Trophy we tested had the Bridgestone Potenza tires, optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires are available and would be the right choice for track use. The pilot sport Cup 2 can also be found on the Porsche 918 Spyder and the Porsche 991 GT3. Nevertheless the Megane gives you so much confidence when you push it hard around the corners. There is no sign of the typical Torque steer during cornering. I never experienced a FWD car which made me feel so secure especially in corners. Instead of understeering it tends to oversteer when you throw it around a corner and it’s easily predictable. What really supports the driver here is the cup chassis and the standard mechanical limited-slip differential.

Exterior:

 

The overall exterior package looks good and clearly shows everyone that this is not a regular Renault Megane. It features many spoilers, 19-inch wheels, bigger red brake pads and a rear diffuser with integrated Akrapovic exhaust. The only thing we didn’t like are the halogen lamps which make the car look a bit outdated and there are no other options available. Most of the parts have a specific function, for example if you are on a race track you can remove a part from the front bumper to get better brake cooling.

 

 

Interior:

 

All parts of the interior go very well together and the guys from Renault Sport did a great job putting this car together. The recaro bucket seats provide the driver with perfect security and hold you in place no matter how fast you take a corner.  The seats also provide good comfort for longer trips. Steering wheel comfort is great it really feels close to a highend Alcantara wheel only the stitching and the plastic carbon fake don’t feel worthy enough. The shift knob would be better if it was a short shifter, it would fit the cars appearance. It’s clear that you can’t expect a perfect navigation or entertainment system for this low priced package, but the navigation is usable and provides a touch screen, a RS-Monitor and features most of the modern functions e.g. syncing your smartphone.

 

 

RS Monitor:

 

The RS Monitor has many different functions you can set so many things, for example you can choose different Pedal maps for track and everyday use:

 

Watch our video below to experience the different RS Monitor functions.

 

Sound:

 

When you put the car in RS-Mode the full titanium Akrapovic exhaust develops such a perfect sound with small cracks and pops as you lift off the throttle or hit the rev limiter. We have driven most of the modern 4 cylinders as the A45 AMG, Golf R, Golf GTI but none of them had a sound that was emotional as this. It sounds like a 4 cylinder version of the Jaguar F-Type R.

 

If you are looking for a 4-cylinder track car at a reasonable price tag (starting from 35.990€) as well as a good mix between handling, performance and sound the Renault Megane R.S. 275 Trophy TCe would be our recommendation.

Please watch our video below and follow us on Facebook and Youtube

Text, Video and Photos

by

Pierre Petkov

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