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The Megane RS is a hot hatch. We know this; you know this. But today it just became a hotter hot hatch. A hot hot hatch.
Meet the Megane Trophy, a slightly more powerful and torquey version of the RS. Power jumps from 250 to 265bhp, and torque rises to 265lb ft from 251. So it's also quicker, with the 0-62mph sprint falling to exactly six seconds from 6.1, while top speed edges to 158mph from 156.
The engineers stopped there, so there aren't any suspension or other mechanical changes. Though there are some new Bridgestone tyres to help it stick better to Planet Earth.
See more pics of the Megane Trophy
Inside the Trophy are Recaro seats with yellow seatbelts, and at each corner you'll find 19in alloys in gloss black with a red stripe around the rim. But the best bit is a ‘Renaultsport Monitor' that shows live engine performance, acceleration, lap time and g-force stats.
Just 50 will be sold in the UK, at £27,820 - that's £3,800 more than an entry-level 250 Cup and includes access to all Renaultsport track days, worth around 650 quid. Orders open at the end of June, so form an orderly queue now. Or a shambolic one. With much pushing.
Open Car Bar
What do you think?
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djSomeGuy commented on this article
at 04:04 pm on 10 June 2011
I can't understand why top gear seemingly ignores the Mazdaspeed 3 (Mazda 3 MPS in the UK I guess?). It is 263hp, 280lb-ft of torque in the NA spec, dirt cheap, lots of "kit" and a great car overall that EVERYONE says outperforms the Golf GTi (Top Gear's hot hatch fave) short of the GTi's better refinement. Boggles the mind.
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Beefstallion commented on this article
at 04:43 pm on 10 June 2011
Agree with djSomeGuy. What gives TG?
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granturismo1106 commented on this article
at 04:43 pm on 10 June 2011
djSomeGuy: I can sort of see where you're coming from, the Mazda3 MPS offers Golf R performance for less than Golf GTI money, but, the engine is derived from an old Ford unit that's been around since the 90s, and there's hardly any torque until you rev it to about 5000rpm, hence the poor fuel economy. I'm very annoyed about these EU regulations for CO2 emissions. All the hot hot hatches used to have bigger and more characterful engines which sounded great (Focus ST, Golf R32, etc.), but now they're all the same dreary four-pots that you find in the more affordable models, just with a turbo, usually. The Golf R is just a GTI with the boost turned up, which makes both seem more feeble.
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djSomeGuy commented on this article
at 06:04 pm on 10 June 2011
granturismo1106: I actually own a 2010 MS3 but check the specs, you get the full 280lb-ft from 3000rpm and up. I actually found that stock the most useful power band was 3000-5000rpm and above that it fell off. With a CAI and TIH it now pulls to about 6000rpm...but either way, they have TONS of torque down low. I will admit though, the fuel economy, especially into boost is horrible. If they took it on the top gear test track I'd expect no more than 10mpg (I get about 17-18mpg around the city in mine).
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Takk commented on this article
at 06:41 pm on 10 June 2011
I haven't driven it, but I read that the Mazda has a rather wooden steering, due to the diff trying to cope with all that power. A good power/buck ratio but the looks of it don't exactly make me drivel. That's it, really. It's an it, not a she.
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