Christmas presents don't get much better than a Megane R26.R

Christmas Day 2023 is one that Dan Baines will never forget. "Ever since seeing one at Silverstone years ago, I'd always wanted a Mégane R26.R," he says.

"Last December, I found a 2009-reg with 44,000 miles for sale. It was being offered by a friend in the trade. I trusted him. I never saw the car and never drove it but we negotiated the price on Christmas Eve by WhatsApp and on Christmas Day I bought it."

The Mégane R26.R is the track-focused version of the regular Mégane R26 and was launched in 2008 costing - are you sitting down?-just £24,000. The 2.0-litre turbo engine was unchanged and produces the same 227bhp.

The gear ratios were unchanged too, but the lever has a shorter throw. Despite this, at the end of our first drive of the model we concluded: "As a genuine driver's car the Mégane R26.R has few rivals, and not just in the world of hot hatchbacks but at any level, at any budget."

Dan, whose day job for the past 20 years has been selling some of the world's most expensive supercars, agrees : "My daily driver is a BMW M140i with a Birds suspension conversion and a Stage 2 upgrade. I didn't think you could beat it at the money but the Mégane is on another level.

The BMW's suspension set-up is road car but the Mégane's is road and track. With its front limited-slip diff, you can point it at a corner with the throttle planted and it just drags you around without drama."

"I gave my boss, who has driven pretty much every model of supercar launched, the keys to it and told him to take it on our customer test route. He was sceptical but returned saying he never thought a Renault could drive like that. At social events among other supercars, it's the car their owners want to talk about."

Aside from its front diff, which the regular R26 also possesses, the secret of the R26.R is its light weight. By deleting the back seats, passenger airbag, front foglights, rear wash-wipe, headlight washers, heated rear window, radio and much of the soundproofing and fitting lighter polycarbonate rear side windows and hatch lid and a carbonfibre bonnet, the car has shed 123kg or the equivalent of a very heavy passenger.

Meanwhile, the suspension dampers are uprated but, thanks to the car being lighter, the spring rates are reduced, which explains why the R26.R actually rides better than the R26. "The Mégane obeys Colin Chapman's mantra regarding the benefits of lightness," says Dan.

"Despite the removal of much of the soundproofing, it's not that noisy. In any case, it means you can hear the optional titanium exhaust better. Above 4000rpm, it makes a lovely whoooosh!"

Despite buying it two years ago in December, Dan didn't take delivery of his R26.R until February 2024. "I'm quite fussy and had my friend change the lightweight wheels to red and the mirrors to black in common with most versions," he says.

"He also refurbished the carbonfibre seatbacks. I've since had K-Tec Racing, the Renault specialists, give it a thorough service and refreshed the suspension with polyurethane bushes."

Looking ahead, Dan plans to try it out on a track and really put it through its paces. "I doubt it'll disappoint," he says, confidently.