Last Renaultsport Megane 275 on sale in the UK
The chance to buy a piece of hot hatch history gives us the opportunity to celebrate a legend
From original 250...
The other options fitted to this car are the 19-inch wheels (needed for the Cup 2 tyres, adding another £1,000), some interior Alcantara (£300), a keycard (£250), plus the R-Link touchscreen with TomTom subscription and Renaultsport Monitor (three separate options, totalling £845). Combined the overall price is £31,930, with the car on sale right now at Arnold Clark Renault Dundee. Might we suggest a Scottish road trip on the way home?
So that's it for this Renaultsport Megane - the last one has been made and is up for sale. Well, hopefully not for too long. Anyway, such an occasion deserves a proper send-off, so here's the PH best bits in the Megane III story. Are you sitting comfortably?
Our tale begins way back in October 2009, when PistonHeads first drove the new Megane 250 and concluded that the Cup was "a terrific driver's car". Response to the standard 250 was less complimentary, but hasn't that always been the way when there's been a Cup option too?
... to 275 Cup-S, it's been some journey!
Now while the Megane has never raced as prolifically as the Clio, Renault saw it fit to bestow some motorsport kudos on it in 2013 with the RB8 special edition. Limited to just 30 in the UK, it was essentially a 265 Cup with the Recaro seats, 19-inch wheels and rather fetching Twilight Blue paint. We rated it highly enough to pitch against the more expensive BMW M135i, a comparison it did very well in.
Still with us? Still interested? Good, because now it gets properly goof. 2014 was the year of the Megane Trophy-R, the car that took on the R26.R's mantle, smashed the Nurburgring front-wheel drive record and secured a place in our favourite cars of that year too. It was - and remains - one of the finest driver's cars you'll find anywhere. At the same time the range was refreshed to include the 275 Trophy also, a car that continued where the 265 left off with a twin test victory against the then-new Leon Cupra.
In fact the Megane has done rather well in tests on these pages, the Civic Type R recently suffering a double defeat against both a 275 Trophy on road and a 275 Cup-S on track. The margins were slender in both instances, but there's no doubting the old stager has proved its worth against a lot of more modern competition.
It's some final spec, that's for sure
So it's done fairly well on PH over the past seven years, this Renaultsport Megane. And yet still it remains a niche choice, the Megane's track focus clearly not appealing to as many buying customers as it does Internet commentators. Whatever, it has established a fantastic reputation amongst a small group of enthusiasts for its focus, its ability and its sense of fun too. If the fourth generation car can combine those attributes with the additional layer of maturity required to capture further sales, we could have another legend on our hands.
Previously on PH... Renaultsport Megane timeline
Renaultsport Megane 250 Cup first drive (October 2009)
Renaultsport Megane 265 Cup first drive (May 2012)
Renaultsport Megane 265 Cup Fleet farewell (May 2013)
Renaultsport Megane RB8 price announced (July 2013)
BMW M135i vs. Renaultsport Megane RB8 (September 2013)
Renaultsport Megane 275 Trophy-R 'ring record (June 2014)
Renaultsport Megane 275 Trophy driven (June 2014)
Megane 275 Trophy vs. Leon Cupra 280 (July 2014)
Renaultsport Megane 275 Trophy-R review (December 2014)
Honda Civic Type R vs. Megane 275 Trophy (June 2015)
Renaultsport Megane 275 Cup-S and Nav announced (September 2015)
Civic Type R vs. Renaultsport Megane 275 Cup-S (July 2016)
Civic Type R vs. Megane 275 Cup-S video (August 2016)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
250 non-Cup - not as sharp to drive as (but has more luxuries than)...
250 Cup - lower ride height, LSD, stiffer suspension, coloured brake calipers
265 Trophy - basically a 250 Cup with more power and torque, 19 inch wheels with Bridgestone tyres, a couple of other options as standard (Recaros and RS monitor), yellow or black only, limited to 50 UK cars
265 non-Cup - see 250 non-Cup but more power and torque
265 Cup - see 250 Cup but more power and torque
Confusingly, at this stage the car had a facelift, so you can, I believe get a 265 with two different front ends. Either that or the facelift came in as the standard 265s came in (i.e. the non-Cup and the Cup) after the 265 Trophy finished. Can't remember.
Red Bull special edition - 265 with special paint, stickers and free options. Can't remember if Cup pack was standard. Probably.
275 Trophy - 265 Cup with more power and torque, stickers, extra kit (including Akra exhaust) and optional kit like Ohlins, Cup2s, choice of wheels
275 Trophy R - 275 Trophy but stripped out (e.g. no rear seats), one-piece racing front seats, Cup option, Ohlins and Cup2s standard, lithium battery, bigger brakes and harnesses optional extras
275 Nav - basically a 265 non-Cup with more power and torque, all the goodies from the 275 Trophy range are optional
275 Cup-S - basically a 265 Cup with more torque and power, all the goodies from the 275 Trophy are optional.
And to confuse things further, you could spec. non-Cup cars with the Cup pack so that you could have the extra luxuries and the sharper handling.
Simples
My perfect car with this in mind would have a cup chassis with some toys as options. Are 18's better for road use whilst we're at it?
I'm over 25, and have mine in yellow, with the stickers (though at least they're silver so a bit more subtle than on the Trophy-R), and have been really surprised by the number of positive comments I've had on the car (mostly from random strangers). I'd assumed that no-one other than proper petrolheads would bat an eyelid, but it seems that having a car in a bright colour means lots of people like it.
But then people like that aren't really enthusiasts are they?
One of these or a CTR for me next and i'm 47. Go smoke that neighbour................
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff