Renault’s upcoming hot RS version of the fourth-generation Megane is now well into development, with expectations strong coming off the previous RenaultSport interpretation of the French medium hatch. It bodes well, then, that the new base car is a much better looking object and an inherently talented car through the bends.
Spotters at the Nurburgring have spied a particularly fast Megane with some key giveaways that suggest it is merely masking its RS identity through the veneer of a GT variant body. As this new version inches closer to an unveil, new information that surfaced about the car’s purported specifications are met with a mixed reaction.
There’s isn’t much to speak about on the subject of the prototype test mule’s appearance. It looked like a Megane GT but crucially had more pronounced wheel arches, lightweight alloys, and central twin-exhausts that’s become something of a staple for RenaultSport models (although the current Megane RS’ dual exhausts are merged at the tip).
Due to its larger size inherited by the new base car’s platform, Renault will have to work harder to keep the weight at bay. This would contribute to the need to have a more powerful engine to compensate for the heft. An output of over 224kW has been speculated for a long time, and corroborated by sources such as Autocar UK, but that extra thrust will be paired with a four-wheel steering system like the Ford Focus RS and the inclusion of an EDC dual-clutch automatic transmission option as well.
A few years ago, Renault pretty much had the high-performance track-munching hatch market all to itself. Other cars with similar outputs just couldn’t match it for sheer fun and dynamic response. It translated to it being crowned the fastest front-driven car around the Nurburgring despite being less powerful and perhaps technically more old school.
Renault got a bloody nose after the new Honda Civic Type R swiped its Nordschleife lap record, which was subsequently usurped by the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S, the current record holder at this time writing. Clearly, they’d very much like to get that title back, and the EDC transmission’s quick shift times could be the exactly the puzzle piece it needs to unseat the Golf.
The inclusion of the automatic transmission option suggests that Renault might want to have the new Megane RS appeal to a broader audience in much the same way it did with the Clio RS200 EDC - a rapid and exhilarating hot hatch but with more than adequate amounts of creature comforts to work as a daily runabout. That’s something that, prior to the current Clio RS, wasn’t something that the car could execute and isn’t quite possible in the outgoing Megane RS.
Perhaps, then, there will be tiers of to the new Megane RS that would appeal to either the average but occasional driving enthusiast or the track rat. On one end of the scale, the Megane RS could be offered with a plush interior, sophisticated cabin technology, and extra safety features.
The other would be a light and focused version that’s engineered to shine best when pushed hard on the track or winding road at the expense of slow-speed everyday driving. Could Renault create a much wider gulf between the standard version of the next Megane RS and the RS Cup?
Possibly.
We’re still some ways away until Renault is due to unveil their next flagship hot hatch. An official premiere could arrive as early as late 2017, but that would still mean buyers won’t be able to get their hands on it until early 2018.
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