Renault Megane RS Trophy-R 2020 dethrones Honda Civic Type R at the Nurburgring

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Renault Megane Trophy-R needed to measure twice, but it's officially the Green Hell king.
Tom White
Deputy News Editor
22 May 2019
2 min read

The latest iteration of Renault’s wild Trophy-R Megane – the most powerful and race-ready road-going variant offered by the brand – has again conquered rivals at Germany’s hallowed Nurburgring circuit.

The Megane RS Trophy-R set a lap time of 7:40.100 – a full three-and-a-bit-seconds faster than previous front-wheel drive title holder, the Civic Type R.

Renault notes that since the Type R’s lap there has been a new standard introduced at the ‘Green Hell’ which makes an official lap 20.8km instead of the previously-measured 20.6km, but previous standards compared, the Megane Trophy-R is the new hot-hatch champ.

Under the new standards, the hottest-ever Megane set a time of 7:45.389.

What makes it so hot?

Renault has taken the Euro-spec Megane RS Trophy with 223kW/420Nm from its 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbo engine and applied a 130kg weight reduction, improved aerodynamics, chassis improvements, an Akropovic exhaust system, Brembo brakes, and Ohlins shock absorbers.

The Euro-grade Trophy-R is 18kW/30Nm more powerful than the top-spec Megane RS 280 currently available in Australia, although it still has 12kW less and 20Nm more than the Honda Civic Type R.

The 2020 Trophy-R is a full 14.2 seconds faster round the hallowed racetrack than the previous generation Trophy-R, which launched in 2014.

The all-new hot-hatch, of which there will only be a few hundred sold globally, will launch on the 24th of May in Monaco, followed by a late 2019 international launch. And because Australia loves its go-fast cars, it has been confirmed for Australia with a late 2019 arrival. Expect extremely limited numbers.

Would you prefer a Trophy R over the Type R? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Tom White
Deputy News Editor
Despite studying ancient history and law at university, it makes sense Tom ended up writing about cars, as he spent the majority of his waking hours finding ways to drive as many as possible. His fascination with automobiles was also accompanied by an affinity for technology growing up, and he is just as comfortable tinkering with gadgets as he is behind the wheel. His time at CarsGuide has given him a nose for industry news and developments at the forefront of car technology.
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