Used Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy-R 2014-2016 review

Out of the box, the Mégane comes on what the manufacturer describes as its standard road set-up, which, with the dampers set to ‘5’ at the nose and ‘10’ at the back, provides the impressive compromise that we describe above. To fine-tune this further, you’ll need to jack the car up and whip the wheels off, then it’s just a matter of twisting the lower portion of the damper to adjust.

Ground clearance may also be lowered by as much as 8mm at the front, although you’ll probably be needing to make full use of your top speed at somewhere like the Nürburgring to make it worth it. Otherwise, just a single click on each damper — to ‘4’ and ‘9’ — will provide you with what Hurgon considers to be the ideal ‘quick dry track’ setting, not to mention the one that saw him into the record books.

Moreover, in what Renault claims as a first for a production car, the model gets Allevard composite front springs. These alone save 4kg from the car’s kerb weight and it’s the weight-saving theme that – again – defines the quickest Mégane. Much has been jettisoned to deliver the 80kg decrease that the engineers were after. About 18kg of soundproofing has been shed, alongside 20kg of rear seating, whose place is taken by a strut brace and a very large, spare-tyre-accommodating boot.

The kit list has been trimmed even more aggressively than that of the R26.R, with the loss of air-con, stereo, multimedia system, rear wiper and automatic headlights. This saves 10kg and there’s reputedly a 5kg saving in the 19-inch Speedline Turini wheels, which come with high-end Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.

As standard, the diet stops there. However, if you’re the kind of buyer who feels they might be looking to trouble the car’s lap record potential, you can spec the Nürburgring Record Pack, a £1995 optional extra that includes a lightweight lithium ion battery, driver’s six-point harness, upgraded brakes (with wider 350mm discs at the front) and – tellingly – four spare wheel covers. Our test car came so equipped.

The car is typically balanced, directionally responsive and adjustable as you begin to approach the edge of its hold on the asphalt and permits more slip angle than anything front-drive has a right to. It’s stable, too, but to put it simply, you probably won’t go faster or have more fun on a circuit in anything save the very finest sports cars and supercars.

In the wet, on the wrong road, in a train of traffic and elsewhere, you’ll pay for that devotion. But, if you’re like us, you’ll very seldom regret it. The crowning achievement of the Trophy-R is how purposeful, rewarding and three-dimensional its handling is on a dry circuit. No driver would ever get out of it and say “it’s a shame that it’s front drive” because the car gives you every option not just to pick your line but also to tweak your cornering attitude.

It takes a while to get used to the sheer tenacity of the car’s adhesion to the asphalt, which is as high as any track special from Lotus or Porsche. In the dry, that is. In the wet, those Cup tyres do struggle for grip, although the fundamental chassis balance and controllability of the car are preserved.

Braking stability is excellent either way, and stopping power is huge in the dry, so you’ll only ever be braking into an apex by choice. You might choose to, though, because there’s wonderful cornering balance in the handling mix that allows you to point the car’s nose at the exit of a corner early, and simply open up the taps to straighten it out. Front-drivers rarely have such poise when driven so hard.