RE: Spotted: Renault Megane R26R

[LaurasOtherHalf]

UK build numbers

001: pearl white, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti (RUK press cars)
002: pearl white, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate,ti (RUK)
003: pearl white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate,ti (RUK)
004: nimbus, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti (RUK)
005: lunar grey, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti (RUK)
006: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
007: black, black wheels, cage/toyos
008: white, blackwheels, cage/toyos, climate
009: white, red wheels, ti
010: pearl white, red wheels, cage/toyos, ti
011: white, red wheels
012: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
013: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate,
014: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
015: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
016: black, black wheels
017: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, decal deletion
018: lunar grey, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
019: lunar, black wheels
020: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
021: black, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
022: black, black wheels, cage/toyos
023: black, black wheels, cage/toyos (RSR)
024: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate,ti
025: black, black wheels, cage/toyos
026: racing blue, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
027: nimbus, black wheels, cage/toyos
028: lunar grey, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
029: pearl white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate,ti
030: pearl white, red wheels, cage/toyos,ti
031: racing blue, red wheels cage/toyos, ti
032: liquid yellow, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
033: white, red wheels
034: black, red wheels, cage/toyos
035: black, black wheels, cage/toyos
036: black, red wheels, cage/toyos, ti
037: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate,
038: pearl white, black wheels
039: lunar grey, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
040: white, red wheels
041: black, clack wheels, climate
042: lunar grey, red wheels, cage/toyos
043: pearl white, black wheels, cage, climate,ti
044: lunar grey, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
045: pearl white, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
046: white, red wheels, cage/toyos, ti
047: pearl white, black wheels, climate, ti
048: nimbus, red wheels, cage/toyos
049: lunar grey, red wheels, cage/toyos (RS tuning)
050: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
051: white, black wheels, cage/toyos
052: lunar grey, black wheels, cage/toyos
053: lunar grey, black wheels
054: black, black wheels, cage/toyos
055: black, black wheels, cage/toyos
056: white, black wheels, cage/toyos
057: white, black wheels
058: white, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
059: black, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate,
060: white, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
061: white, red wheels, cage/toyos
062: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
063: nimbus, black wheels, climate
064: racing blue, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti, decal deletion
065: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
066: lunar grey, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
067: racing blue, black wheels, cage/toyos
068: black, black wheels
069: liquid yellow, black wheels, climate, ti
070: white, red wheels, ti
071: white, black wheels
072: black, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
073: black, black wheels
074: racing blue, red wheels, cage/toyos
075: black, red wheels, ti
076: black, black wheels, cage/toyos (LHD)
077: racing blue, red wheels, cage/toyos (LHD)
078: pearl white, black wheels, climate
079: black, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
080: pearl white, black wheels
081: white, black wheels, cage
082: pearl white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
083: pearl white, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
084: white, black wheels, cage/toyos (LHD)
085: black, black wheels, cage/toyos
086: racing blue
087: nimbus, black wheels, cage/toyos
088: white, black wheels, cage/toyos
089: pearl white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
090: white, black wheels, cage/toyos
091: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
092: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
093: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate, (LHD)
094: lunar grey, red wheels, cage/toyos (RSR)
095: white, black wheels, cage/toyos
096: white, black wheels, cage, climate
097: white, black wheels, cage/toyos
098: racing blue, cage/toyos
099: lunar grey, black wheels, climate
100: pearl white, black wheels, climate
101: liquid yellow, black wheels, climate
102: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
103: black, black wheels, cage
104: black, black wheels, cage
105: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti, front fog lights
106: black, black wheels, cage
107: black, black wheels, cage
108: black, black wheels, cage
109: black, black wheels, cage
110: white, black wheels, cage, ti
111: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti, cobra imola drivers seat
112: white, black wheels, cage
113: white, black wheels, cage
114: white, black wheels, cage
115: racing blue, red wheels, cage/toyos, ti
116: lunar grey, black wheels, cage, ti
117: lunar grey, black wheels, cage
118: pearl white, black wheels, cage, ti
119: racing blue, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti
120: lunar grey, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
121: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
122: lunar grey, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
123: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
124: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
125: liquid yellow, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
126: liquid yellow, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
127: liquid yellow, red wheels, cage, climate
128: white, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
129: white, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
130: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
131: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
132: black, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
133: black, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
134: black, red wheels, cage/toyos, climate
135: racing blue, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
136: racing blue, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
137: racing blue, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
138: racing blue, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
139: lunar grey, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate, ti, decal deletion (LHD)
140: liquid yellow, black wheels, cage/toyos, climate
141: black, red wheels, cage/toyos
142: white, black wheels, toyos, climate
143: lunar grey, toyos
144: black, cage/toyos
145: pearl white, cage/toyos
146: lunar grey, cage/toyos
147: racing blue, red wheels, cage/toyos, ti (LHD)
148: racing blue, black wheels, cage/toyos
149: black, black wheels, cage/toyos
150: black, red wheels, cage/toyos, ti
151: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
152: white,red wheels, cage/toyos, ti
153: racing blue, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
154: racing blue, red wheels, cage/toyos, ti
155: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti, decal deletion
156: black, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
157: white, black wheels, cage/toyos, ti
158: white, red wheels, cage/toyos, ti
225: lunar grey, cage/toyos, ti


total numbers for each colour:

glacier white: 47
deep black: 43
lunar grey: 21
pearl white: 18
racing blue: 18
liquid yellow: 7
nimbus: 5


total number of cars fitted with titanium exhaust: 57

total number of cars fitted with climate: 63

[don logan]

kambites said:

What happened to the others?

I heard they were sent back to the factory to be LHD!

[LaurasOtherHalf]

kambites said:

What happened to the others?

they simply couldn't sell them, the car quite literally touched down in that exact period when new car sales virtually stopped altogether.

driving mine down to italy i was heading up the st bernards pass & spied one at a renault dealership, stopped & there it was a RHD uk car.

for a more detailed view on my time have a read of my time with it:
http://www.auto-journals.com/journals/Renault?mode...
at the bottom of each page is a link to the next one.

seriously the daftest moment of my life selling that car.

[Uncle John]

The R26r has always struck me as the GT3RS of the hatchback world and for that I applaud Renault.

However, I have never been able to get on with the looks of this model of Megane, to me it's a dogs dinner with not one redeeming feature.

[don logan]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

they simply couldn't sell them, the car quite literally touched down in that exact period when new car sales virtually stopped altogether.

driving mine down to italy i was heading up the st bernards pass & spied one at a renault dealership, stopped & there it was a RHD uk car.

for a more detailed view on my time have a read of my time with it:
http://www.auto-journals.com/journals/Renault?mode...
at the bottom of each page is a link to the next one.

seriously the daftest moment of my life selling that car.

That`s a good read!!!!

You are an ex CSL owner too! :-) I loved so many things about mine but that gearbox......... not for me!

[LaurasOtherHalf]

don logan said:

LaurasOtherHalf said:

they simply couldn't sell them, the car quite literally touched down in that exact period when new car sales virtually stopped altogether.

driving mine down to italy i was heading up the st bernards pass & spied one at a renault dealership, stopped & there it was a RHD uk car.

for a more detailed view on my time have a read of my time with it:
http://www.auto-journals.com/journals/Renault?mode...
at the bottom of each page is a link to the next one.

seriously the daftest moment of my life selling that car.

That`s a good read!!!!

You are an ex CSL owner too! :-) I loved so many things about mine but that gearbox......... not for me!

many thanks i loved the csl but it was the gearbox that did it in for me (& part of the reason i like my Z4M coupe so much more) too. once you'd got over the initial fun part of the auto-blip on downshifts it just left me cold.

i did find it good for learning the 'ring in but you start to miss the heal & toe & challenge of a manual on track after a while. stunning cars though & i suspect we'll regret it when they're featured in classic car mags for hue money in the future!

[don logan]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

many thanks i loved the csl but it was the gearbox that did it in for me (& part of the reason i like my Z4M coupe so much more) too. once you'd got over the initial fun part of the auto-blip on downshifts it just left me cold.

i did find it good for learning the 'ring in but you start to miss the heal & toe & challenge of a manual on track after a while. stunning cars though & i suspect we'll regret it when they're featured in classic car mags for hue money in the future!

I don`t actually regret selling mine and you are spot on about the gearbox, even worse if you drive it in town too!

The experience with the CSL gearbox made me realise that I want to be "busy" and involved more than I want efficiency.

CSL prices havn`t gone down a penny since I sold mine over 2 years ago, you will think that this is MENTAL but I bought my R instead of putting the money and another car towards a 550, they are now £10k more than they were when I was looking!

[R1_NUR]

405dogvan said:

Let's be honest, removing the back seats from a car for no better reason than 'to be hardcore' is a bit daft and it's bitten Renault on this one.

For you maybe. I think lugging around the rear seats which never get used is pointless. So I respect Renault for being so bold.

405dogvan said:

Most owners don't need the harnesses and all that space, just to hold the harnesses and cage, is silly.

Since when is it a case of need? - You don't need more than 50 BHP but we all want more! Agree about the space (which by the way is fine for lots of little things but no good for a DIY shopping trip or the like! However you miss the point entirely the space is there because the seat has been taken out not because they designed it like that!

405dogvan said:

I'm surprised to see one this cheap tho - that said, I think they'll get a lot cheaper before they become in any way collectable - I'd just take a stock Megane and the change tho...

They already are collectable. But go ahead mod your standard Megane. And leave the R26.R to genuine petrol heads.

;-)

[Roma101]

Yes, as Laura's other half has said the UK dealers only managed to sell 159 cars out of an original allocation of 230. I believe that the original UK allocation was the largest of all countries (i.e. France, Germany etc were to have fewer than the UK), although, I would have to double check the history books on this point.

The remainder of those 230 were distributed elsewhere in Europe.

From what I recall, there were a fair few people who were put off by the fact it was two seater only (or at least, those people 'needed' four seats). Add that to the economic events of the time it came on the market, and it is perhaps not surprising that it didn't sell quite as well as Renault hoped. Also, it is worth noting that the R26 did 90% of what the R could but was more practicable and usable everyday.

If they tried to sell the car now, it might be a bit different? But I suppose a lot of the car's appeal is down to how good it is and so it would be the same case as 2008 - people didn't know how good it was until it was too late so didn't buy them when they had the chance.

I am biased (I owned one), but it was a fantastic car. Think of it as the GT3 RS of the hatchback/FWD world more than a rival for so called proper sports cars and that might help. It was just an added bonus that it was as much fun as (in many peoples opinion), as quick as and cheaper than a number of proper sports cars.

Edited by Roma101 on Tuesday 3rd July 16:09

[Roma101]

Um, just noticed from the list of cars reproduced above (for other people's benefit, Renault provided a special owner's pack to each buyer which included a CD with the above data on), my car is quoted as having a cage, which it didn't. Doh!

[don logan]

Roma101 said:

Um, just noticed from the list of cars reproduced above (for other people's benefit, Renault provided a special owner's pack to each buyer which included a CD with the above data on), my car is quoted as having a cage, which it didn't. Doh!

And mine came with red wheels not black ones as it says in the list (though I have since painted them black)

[Roma101]

don logan said:

Roma101 said:

Um, just noticed from the list of cars reproduced above (for other people's benefit, Renault provided a special owner's pack to each buyer which included a CD with the above data on), my car is quoted as having a cage, which it didn't. Doh!

And mine came with red wheels not black ones as it says in the list (though I have since painted them black)

Good man. Personally, I was never taken by the red wheels, but each to their own.

P.S. as to why we have lost so many of the UK Rs, a lot have been exported, in particular to Japan. Apparently they cannot get enough of them over there. A fair few would have gone to mainland Europe as well.

[Luca Brasi]

Why are these cars so cheap in the UK? Absolutely incredible.

[don logan]

Roma101 said:

don logan said:

Roma101 said:

Um, just noticed from the list of cars reproduced above (for other people's benefit, Renault provided a special owner's pack to each buyer which included a CD with the above data on), my car is quoted as having a cage, which it didn't. Doh!

And mine came with red wheels not black ones as it says in the list (though I have since painted them black)

Good man. Personally, I was never taken by the red wheels, but each to their own.

P.S. as to why we have lost so many of the UK Rs, a lot have been exported, in particular to Japan. Apparently they cannot get enough of them over there. A fair few would have gone to mainland Europe as well.

I did them matte black too, the gloss black seemed a bit "pretty" for the kind of car it is, also removed ALL of the decals apart from the very small R26.R ones that are on the bumpers.

[keith2.2]

kambites said:

I buy my sports cars because they're fun, not because they're fast. Obviously that's a deeply personal thing, though.

I was largely with you(great car BUT if you want something with two seats then it is compromised by virtue of it being a 5 seat car with bits removed) until you said this...at what point is an R26.R anything other than "fun"?

If it were my only day-to-day car, there's no way I'd pick an elise over something like this - although I grant I'd probably go for something a bit more sanitary anyway. I spent 18mths driving a stripped out hatchback and whilst it was ALWAYS enjoyable - sometimes it was inconvenient and i'd have liked to have a couple of additional seats.

[kambites]

keith2.2 said:

I was largely with you(great car BUT if you want something with two seats then it is compromised by virtue of it being a 5 seat car with bits removed) until you said this...at what point is an R26.R anything other than "fun"?

That comment was aimed at the Cayman not the R26.R, really. It's a remarkably capable car, but not a particularly fun one, for me.

I'm sure the R25.R is fantastic fun, especially for a FWD hatchback, but is it as much fun as, say, an Elise or a Caterham, one of which is about the same price and damned near as practical a road car, and the other of which is cheaper and probably a vastly better track car.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 3rd July 18:06

[jfryatt]

Radio on the options list? Don't think so...

[soad]

gionascm2 said:

nice car! i like it very much.

Ditto.

[SidewaysSi]

kambites said:

I don't really see the point in a two-seater hatchback. I know it's very, very good for what it is, but can it really compete with the best sports cars in its price bracket as a drivers' car? I'd love to have a go in one, but I can't see it being the drivers' car that my Elise is, and it doesn't seem like it's that much more practical either.

Totally agree with this. I love French cars and the R26-R is a grat machine but for the money, I think the Elise is its closest rival and I would have thought most would go for the Lotus. Heck, even a Caterham is not much less practical!

[LaurasOtherHalf]

SidewaysSi said:

Heck, even a Caterham is not much less practical!

huh? You are aware of what a caterham is aren't you?