RE: Spotted: Renaultsport Megane R26.R

[epom]

Was just going to say also, it is what it is, trying to compare it to totally different layouts and cars makes no sense. You can like it for what it is (I do) or dont.

[tommy vercetti]

tomoleeds said:

would be a focus st for me

+1. The noise is just too awesome

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Just as a word of practicality, my best road trip in the r26.r involved 3 days at the ring, followed by the drive to northern Italy for 4 days skiing, followed by a blast through the mont blanc tunnel & back into France for a couple of track days at Le mans.

Then back to Carlisle, two lads & all the associated track day stuff like tools & helmets plus our skiing tackle. Over 3k miles iirc?

Doubt it would have been as easy in an Elise or a 7?

We did resort to plugging one of those little speakers into an iPhone & hanging it off the rear view mirror for done tunes though.

That was my last eurohoon in the car, the new owners picked it up the following week. What a machine.....

[graeme172]

some people dont like it, some people do, i reckon the 'point' was or is that it was a bit of a silly thing for them to do, just because silly is some times good. it all depends on your point of view, much like the fwd vs rwd debate, and the stable chassis vs the twichy ( one mans dangerous lift off over steer is anothers sharp turn in) some like it some dont.
what drives the price i suppose is that it was a great iteration of a widely liked car and its rare. if some one chooses to dismiss it because it dosnt suit them thats ok maybe they need something it dosnt offer, me id like one, but them im a front wheel drive child. that dont mean that i wouldnt also like an m3 too.

[roystinho]

Darren61 said:

Back to original topic. It's a car that would be bought by someone who doesn't need 100% practicality. It can though (as others have stated) take the weekly shopping etc.

Something a Vee or Caterham etc cannot!

I use my Vee everyday. Job - football coach. Yep, get balls, bibs and cones under the bonnet (ok only 7 balls but that's all I need)

[RobCrezz]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Just as a word of practicality, my best road trip in the r26.r involved 3 days at the ring, followed by the drive to northern Italy for 4 days skiing, followed by a blast through the mont blanc tunnel & back into France for a couple of track days at Le mans.

Then back to Carlisle, two lads & all the associated track day stuff like tools & helmets plus our skiing tackle. Over 3k miles iirc?

Doubt it would have been as easy in an Elise or a 7?

We did resort to plugging one of those little speakers into an iPhone & hanging it off the rear view mirror for done tunes though.

That was my last eurohoon in the car, the new owners picked it up the following week. What a machine.....

Would it have been less fun in a regular R26 Megane though?

[clarki]

RobCrezz said:

Would it have been less fun in a regular R26 Megane though?

That's just a topgearism that you could apply to any car though.

I did it in my M3 - Yeah, but it would be just as much fun in a 330, etc, etc...

[urquattroGus]

Interesting.... Also drove on at Nurburgring with RSR nurburg, great fun!

Can the engine be tuned much, to say 270bhp? just to give it a little more fire?

[braddo]

I had also thought the lack of back seats makes the car a bit odd, but all R26.Rs came with the buckets and harnesses, didn't they? Buckets/harnesses and back seats are mutually exclusive (especially if not aftermarket).

So, if you want the full fat experience of buckets and harnesses in a hot hatch, say goodbye to back seats. If you need the latter, say goodbye to harnesses at a minimum (and buy a R26).

Also, any DIY version of a R26.R would compare poorly, whether it's a more noisy cabin, hacked-about interior, not as much weight removed or unresolved handling. Not to mention resale value

[kambites]

braddo said:

Buckets/harnesses and back seats are mutually exclusive (especially if not aftermarket).

They don't have to be, but it does make it a bit harder.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

RobCrezz said:

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Just as a word of practicality, my best road trip in the r26.r involved 3 days at the ring, followed by the drive to northern Italy for 4 days skiing, followed by a blast through the mont blanc tunnel & back into France for a couple of track days at Le mans.

Then back to Carlisle, two lads & all the associated track day stuff like tools & helmets plus our skiing tackle. Over 3k miles iirc?

Doubt it would have been as easy in an Elise or a 7?

We did resort to plugging one of those little speakers into an iPhone & hanging it off the rear view mirror for done tunes though.

That was my last eurohoon in the car, the new owners picked it up the following week. What a machine.....

Would it have been less fun in a regular R26 Megane though?

Actually yes I think it would have been, it's just such a capable track machine & there's nothing like passing a car three times the price of yours, strapped into the carbon seats tight, 888's howling in protest

Then there's the sheer bonkers-ness of taking your semi slick road racer up to the foot of the Matterhorn to carry on the party.

Fantastic days....

[kambites]

Given how good the R26.R is based on a hatchback, it would be fascinating to see what manufacturers could do if they started with a clean sheet of paper and tried to design the best FWD drivers' car possible. I suppose Lotus were the last people to do anything even remotely like that, but differential technology has moved on a long way since then, if nothing else.

I guess the sales figures of the R26.R show why that's never going to happen, though.

[Derek Chevalier]

trickymex said:

An awful lot of great cars in this price bracket, a very nice e46 m3 would cost less and is arguably better in every aspect including handling but you don't have to suffer all the impractical-ness

Better in handling? Rly? Also, what about brakes, track day running costs etc.

[Derek Chevalier]

dapearson said:

How much!!!?!? £15k for a 2nd hand FWD Renault?

I'd rather buy a Clio Cup for £3k, or spend £15k on an Elise/Caterham!

I wanted something with a warranty, that I could drive to a track day (including ring), and wouldn't be embarrassingly slow in my amateur hands. I think that rules all of the above out.

[kambites]

Derek Chevalier said:

I wanted something with a warranty, that I could drive to a track day (including ring), and wouldn't be embarrassingly slow in my amateur hands. I think that rules all of the above out.

How long is the warranty on these things then? I'd assumed it was three years.

[Derek Chevalier]

kambites said:

Derek Chevalier said:

I wanted something with a warranty, that I could drive to a track day (including ring), and wouldn't be embarrassingly slow in my amateur hands. I think that rules all of the above out.

How long is the warranty on these things then? I'd assumed it was three years.

Yes, bought mine when 18 months old, year extension was ~£400 IIRC.

[kambites]

Derek Chevalier said:

Yes, bought mine when 18 months old, year extension was ~£400 IIRC.

In that case that one in the OP is out of warranty. Can you extend it once it's already ended?

[artdealer]

Anecdotally the R26.R cost Renault over £50000 each to produce. (Carbon Sabelts about £7000 a set?) The 25 or so Honda Civic Mugen cost about £120000 per car. When Renault pitched the car at launch prices mentioned in an earlier post they probably had one eye on the production costs. Unfortunately, the real price point was £23000 with the Ti exhaust. If that had been the case they could easily have sold 1000 of them. I bought 6 on a punt at £18000 each std cars with Roll Cage and Toyo 888s, and £20000 with Titanium Exhaust added and sold them all in about a week, I wish I could have bought more, most generated an interesting p/x. Of those six, four have been back through the business. So, as an overall opportunity Renault Dealers missed a trick. I've sold about 20 in total. The minimum spec is as above. They are now getting thin on the ground and the typical resale value is about £16500 for a Cage/Titanium Exhaust spec'ed car with lower mileage. I doubt they will drop much, unless they are lower spec, or high miles cars. Like my dabbling with JDM Honda Type-R Imports, the R26.R has pros and cons buying and selling, but you learn by your mistakes. They are about as bullet proof a contemporary hot hatch as you will ever get now in our nanny state world.

[Derek Chevalier]

kambites said:

Derek Chevalier said:

Yes, bought mine when 18 months old, year extension was ~£400 IIRC.

In that case that one in the OP is out of warranty. Can you extend it once it's already ended?

Good question - not sure.

[Derek Chevalier]

artdealer said:

Anecdotally the R26.R cost Renault over £50000 each to produce. (Carbon Sabelts about £7000 a set?) The 25 or so Honda Civic Mugen cost about £120000 per car.

My friend had the Mugen. I drove it at the launch and later overheated the brakes in my NSX when attempting to keep up! Love the engine - not as convinced by the chassis when compared to the Renault.