Renault makes a hot hatch for every taste. Some burn gas, some burn diesel. Some are track-biased, some are great for hauling around the family. Some are flyweights, and some are luxurious. The latest version is the latter, upgrading the Clio Renaulsport 197 with a host of luxury amenities for those who want it all.
Called the Lux, the new package is being offered to British customers from the beginning of the new year, packed with £2,000 of equipement for only £1,000 over the standard price. Included among those amenities are leather upholstery, automatic lights and wipers, cornering lamps, black tinted rear windows, an upgraded 60W MP3/CD sound system, brushed alloys and satin-chrome trim touches. Electric folding mirrors, electric panorama sunroof, xenon headlamps, Speedline rims in white or black and tightened-up Cup suspension are also available as optional extras. But if this is all sounding a little familiar, you're not experiencing deja vu: Renault introduced a similar package, called "Luxe" (the extra is for "Europe") to continental customers a year and a half ago.
We've said it before but it warrants repeating: Renault makes some of the meanest hot hatches in the business. The (very) outgoing Megane RS has been a favorite among the track day crowd and really any European customer looking for a fast ride with sharp handling that can still serve on the daily grind. With the new Megane now out in the open, the big question on the minds of Renaultsport fans is what manner of fire-breathing demon will follow the established favorite they know and love? Clearly this isn't the answer, but if the production Megane III RS comes even remotely close to this concept car, we'll have yet another European machine to lust after. The Renault Megane Trophy concept features a Nissan-sourced 3.5-liter V6 mounted amidship like in the old Renaultsport Clio V6, but producing a prodigious 360hp driving through a six-speed sequential gearbox, all wrapped in a competition-grade body with more wing than the Concorde and more louvers than a Parisian museum tour. Currently the car is just a concept, but could end up going into limited production for a spec racing series.
This image has been circulating the French motoring sites, showing what could be the new Renaultsport version of the automaker's new Megane which is set to debut next week at the Paris Motor Show. Although indications are that this is a Photoshop-manipulated image, it could give a fairly accurate preview of what the new hot hatch could look like. Renault has gone to great lengths to differentiate the different body-styles in the Megane range, and the RS version would of course be based on the three-door hatch variant. The image shows a single exhaust exiting from the center of the rear diffuser, with jumbo 18-inch anthracite multi-spoke wheels and some extra aerodynamic body elements. We'll all want to know what will reside under the hood, likely to be a derivation of the current model's 2.0-liter four. The most recent evolution of the engine produces some 230 horsepower in the latest Megane R26.R track-hatch, but only time (and assuredly plenty of speculation) will tell how much power the first performance version of the Megane III will be putting down on European roads.
After its initial unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show this past March, Renault has finally released full details – including pricing, equipment, and a whole $h!tload of new photos – of the new Twingo Renault Sport. Following the great line of eminently chuckable sport hatches from the French automaker – including the current Clio and Megane Renault Sport models – the Twingo Renault Sport upgrades the existing range-topping Twingo GT with a host of performance-oriented equipment inside, outside and underneath. Power comes from a 133-hp 1.6-liter 16-valve four-banger, and the Twingo RS comes right out of the gate with a choice of two chassis set-ups: Sport and Cup. The latter tightens up the suspension, cuts out 17 kg of weight and offers 17-inch dark anthracite wheels. You'll recall that while its on-track rivals like Ferrari and McLaren turn their F1 know-how into six-figure supercars, Renault transfers its into sport hatches like this one. Renault Sport's latest offering will sell for just €15,601 in its home market, but includes a special bonus usually reserved for cars ten times its price. For a nominal fee of €1, Renault Sport Technologies is throwing in tutelage in its advanced driving course to show each new owner how to get the most out of their finely-tuned little chassis.
While most of our recent hot hatch affection has been aimed at the Ford Focus RS, Renault brought its own racy three-door to the London Motor Show party, and now we're torn. Admittedly, the Focus RS is easily the more suitable day-to-day driver – it's got a full interior and air conditioning -- but the Renaultsport Megane R26.R has all the kit for a serious track-day assault. Hell, it even has two Rs in its name.
With the new Megane slated to appear at this year's Paris Motor Show, Renault wanted to give the current model a fitting send off. To that end, it took the existing Megane F1 Team R26, left the engine, gearbox and limited slip differential intact, modified the suspension and hacked off 271 pounds from its curb weight. The diet included the removal of the rear seats, passenger side airbag, climate control, fog lamps, headlight washers, rear windscreen wiper and the majority of the soundproofing material. In exchange, the R26.R received a carbon fiber hood, polycarbonate quarter and rear windows and a titanium exhaust.
Inside, the Renaultsport hatch makes the RS look positively pedestrian, with a set of carbon fiber Sabelt seats, six-point harnesses, leather and suede swathed steering wheel and gear knob, and an optional four-point roll cage. While output remains the same, at 230 hp and 229 lb.-ft. of torque, the stripped R26.R lapped the Nurburgring in 8:17 – a new lap record for a front wheel drive production car.
Only 450 examples will be made available when sales begin in the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain this October. And unlike the Chevy Camaro, Renault released a video of the R.26R doing it's thing around the 'Ring... three seconds faster. Check it, along with the press release, below the fold.
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The Renault Megane, with its "iconic" (read: quirky) styling, is on its way out, but that's not about to stop the speed demons at Renaultsport from having some fun with the hatchback before it's replaced. Sources indicate that the French automaker is preparing to take the wraps off a new hardcore hot hatch at the British Motor Show opening tomorrow.
Dubbed the R26.R, the vehicle is based on the existing Renaulsport Megane R26, only more track-focused with a full roll cage, carbon fiber seats and an aggressive weight-saving regimen that includes some carbon body panels and polycarbonate windows. The surfacing of these shadowed-out teasers seems like strange timing, considering that full images have already shown up on the radar a month and a half ago. However, a Nordschleiffe track decal suggests that the R26.R may have set a new Nurburgring record for a front-drive production vehicle.
This is another in a long line of European cars we just can't buy in the States, but that we'd give our left lug nuts to drive on a daily basis. The recently unveiled Twingo Renault Sport joins a group of euro cars that combine economy and fun, with an emphasis on sporty looks and handling to match. If this sounds like your kind of thing, you'll be upset to know that it still isn't coming here. For masochists, you can read more about the Twingo Sport in the press release after the jump, but the short version is that this third Renault Sport model is based on the new Twingo that was unveiled here in Geneva last year. Checking the Renault Sport box on the order form adds a 133-hp 1.6L motor to the tiny hatch. Add in Renault's expert chassis tuning and the whole package should guarantee an exciting ride... for Europeans.
Renault F1 fell off their form last year. After winning two back-to-back world titles, they finished third in the constructors' championship, behind erstwhile perennial mid-fielder BMW Sauber – and that was after McLaren was disqualified. Now they've got their golden boy Fernando Alonso back, joined by Nelson Piquet Jr., the heir and namesake of the 80's-era three-time world champion. This is the year in which Renault hopes to return to the top step of the podium (or to the podium altogether – they only got there once last season). And this is the car in which they hope to pull it off.
The new R28 was unveiled in Paris today (together with the new Twingo Renaultsport) after four days and 1500km of testing in Valencia, Spain. Like all of its competitors, Renault's engineers had to incorporate the latest technical regulations that mandate a standardized engine control unit, without traction control, and a transmission that now has to last several races, while engine development remains frozen. So the bulk of the development rests on aerodynamics and suspension. Renault says the new R28 was a more complete redesign from last year's model, which evolved from the one before that. They've incorporated a zero-keel suspension mounting, and a set-up designed to take better advantage of the standardized Bridgestone tires introduced last year.
Citing improved sales figures for their road cars in Western Europe, Renault reiterated the value which it feels the enormous investment of operating a competitive Formula One team presents to its marketing efforts.
As Bob Lutz likes to often remind us, Americans don't want to pay big money for premium small cars. But oh, if we did, the just unveiled Twingo Renault Sport might be what we get. Unveiled today along with Renault new R28 F1 car (more on that later), the Twingo Renault Sport joins the larger Clio and Megane Renault Sport in the automaker's lineup of hotted up forms of basic transportation.
Based on the new Twingo that was unveiled last year at the Geneva Motor Show, the Renault Sport model adds a 133-hp 1.6L motor to the small three-door hatchback. Coupled with Renault's expert chassis tuning and an inherently slim figure, the Twingo Renault Sport should make for one fun ride. For Europeans, that is, because Renault doesn't sell cars in the US. For shame, we say, as this little guy looks like fun. We'll see the Twingo Renault Sport up close and personal in March at the Geneva Motor Show, as well as bring you more details, specs and live photos. Until then, Renault's provided some high-res pics over which we can ogle.
The Brookes of England are dedicated Renault fans. Family patriarch Steve woks at a Renault dealer, son James drives a previous-generation Clio 172 Cup, and his brother Will drove a Clio, too. The family was planning to buy a name-stretching but route-shortening Renault Clio Renaultsport 197 F1 Team R27 until Will unfortunately succumbed to injuries incurred in a road accident last September and sadly passed. A family friend contacted Renault, which has arranged for a special version of the car that will be delivered to the family in Will's memory.
The car will be the last of 500 R27 edition Clios built, and will be finished in a unique Glacier White paint job instead of the standard yellow. The F1 Team R27 edition, which is now finishing its production run, was the first to feature the tightened Cup suspension on the new Renaultsport Clio 197 that is now available on the standard Clio RS.
