Meet the new front-wheel-drive king of the Nürburgring: The Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy-R. Renault’s hottest new hatchback lapped the infamous 12.8-mile Nordschleife course used for ‘Ring record-keeping in 7:40.10 (that’s three seconds faster than the Honda Civic Type R), and they released the lap video this morning to prove it.
It did the full 12.9-mile-long distance of the entire Nordschleife loop in a mind-blowing 7:45.389. Development driver Laurent Hurgon, who set two previous Mégane R.S. Nürburgring records, was behind the wheel for this record lap on April 5, when the video was taken.
It’s great news for fans of three pedals, too, as the Mégane R.S. Trophy-R set the new front-wheel-drive record at the ‘Ring with a six-speed manual gearbox in spite of all the reasoning constantly thrown out there about how a dual-clutch is faster. Not here, suckers!
The Mégane R.S. Trophy-R is a deeply impressive car in its own right, with a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine sending 300 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels. It’s the same engine in the regular Mégane R.S., but the Trophy-R went on a diet, shedding up to 287 pounds in the search of more speed. It also features aerodynamic and chassis upgrades that give it more grip than ever before.
The Mégane R.S. Trophy-R will debut in public at the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 24, Renault announced today. It will be a limited-run vehicle with only a few hundred units made.
The previous front-wheel-drive record holder was the Honda Civic Type R, which lapped the ‘Ring in 7:43.8. That was set back in 2017 before several significant modifications were made to the Nürburgring itself. Several sections have since been repaved and in some cases, reprofiled, resulting in faster lap times, according to the locals at Bridge to Gantry.
As such, AutoEvolution notes that an updated Honda Civic Type R has been spotted back at the Nürburging lately, so the battle to regain that front-wheel-drive record appears to be on.
Hot versions of the Mégane have been claiming the Nürburgring’s front-wheel-drive record since 2008, with the Mégane R.S. R.26R’s 8:17 record lap, followed by two more Mégane hot-hatch records. Even if Honda answers back with a new Type R lap, there’s no way Renault’s going to just let that sit for long.