RE: Megane Trophy-R = £72k

[Chestrockwell]

cidered77 said:

Nigel_O said:

Am I getting old, or is the use of "rims" instead of "wheels", REALLY irritating?

Regardless, lets have a comparison...

A brand new Renault 5-door hatch with some very attractive bolt-on bits, within a couple of grand either way of some near-new stuff (all 2018 or later and from the PH classifieds):-

a 500 mile RS4 Avant
a 5,600 mile 2018 M5
a 100 mile AMG E63
a 200 mile F-Pace SVR
a 65 mile Arial Nomad
a 2000 mile Maserati Gransport
a 1350 mile Nissan GT-R
a 3000 mile BMW M850i X drive
a 5(!!) mile Exige 410 Sport
a 10(!) mile Exige 350 Sport
a 2000 mile Cayman GTS
a delivery-mileage M4 CS
a new Chevy Corvette Stingray

I can almost see how a heavily tweaked hot hatch could have a price starting with a 5, but by the time the price is into the 70's it's mixing with vastly superior machinery

ahh, the old "new car costs more than old car" Pistonheads scoop. Who'd have though it....

And even ignoring that point - over 3 years factoring in next to zero depreciation, the Megane would cost you significantly less - as in 10-20k less in some cases - than everything other than the Nomad.

True, every car in that list apart from the GTR, Lotus’s, Cayman and Ariel will lose half if not more in value after 3 years driving.

I doubt the Renault will.

[anonymous-user]

JLC25 said:

PPPMAT said:

So to beat the Civic Type R they had to make a car that costs the price of 2 and a bit Civic Type R’s.

Makes the previous Honda record more impressive.

Except you couldn't buy the Honda that done the Ring record. This is the exact same spec as the Ring record car AFAIK.

Indeed that car was a "prototype" with many non standard parts. Nobody has ever managed to get anywhere close to that time in a production version.

[trails]

Sum of parts is greater than retail cost, what a cool car...glad Renault have the cojones to still build things like these

[anonymous-user]

Chestrockwell said:

Correct me if I’m wrong, surely this Megane should have beaten the ring time by a considerable margin that will remain the record holder for more than a year to command that price?

4 seconds isn’t a lot and I’m sure Honda or VW will be back with something quicker and beat that time within the year!

If this beat the lap time by 10 seconds and held the record for a long time, maybe it will be worth that money and be seen as something like an icon in years to come.

See 2 posts above. Nobody has got anywhere near that time in a production FK8. It was a total fallacy.

[nickfrog]

Good old law of diminishing marginal returns had already hit hard with the Trophy so the price is no surprise when you also think of the fixed costs only amortised on 500 cars. It's probably sold at a loss indeed. Cars are never sold at cost plus anyway, they're priced based on demand / price elasticity. I am so glad a mainstream manufacturer still makes silly cars like these, it's refreshing from a car enthusiast POV but obviously it's only PH, so probably not many of those around.

Edited by nickfrog on Wednesday 31st July 15:59

[Gandahar]

I think most peoples jaws dropped with the price of the full monty version, the parts are good though and we have yet to really see how it drives. Rare too and that may stop a massive depreciation kit.

However, the wheels only save 2kg per corner, and you'd be forever worried they would be kerbed or stolen. The carbon brakes probably overkill as well, so the "cheap" version seems the best bet, will be good to see the reviews. It's got a 400bhp AMG A45 to compete with though which is getting good reviews.

At least they have done it, and kept up the tradition.

[Gandahar]

Nigel_O said:

Am I getting old, or is the use of "rims" instead of "wheels", REALLY irritating?

Regardless, lets have a comparison...

A brand new Renault 5-door hatch with some very attractive bolt-on bits, within a couple of grand either way of some near-new stuff (all 2018 or later and from the PH classifieds):-

a 500 mile RS4 Avant
a 5,600 mile 2018 M5
a 100 mile AMG E63
a 200 mile F-Pace SVR
a 65 mile Arial Nomad
a 2000 mile Maserati Gransport
a 1350 mile Nissan GT-R
a 3000 mile BMW M850i X drive
a 5(!!) mile Exige 410 Sport
a 10(!) mile Exige 350 Sport
a 2000 mile Cayman GTS
a delivery-mileage M4 CS
a new Chevy Corvette Stingray

I can almost see how a heavily tweaked hot hatch could have a price starting with a 5, but by the time the price is into the 70's it's mixing with vastly superior machinery

But those are all 2nd hand.

How about this new car instead costing similar

https://www.porsche.com/uk/models/718/718-spyder/


would have saved you some time also !

[Dave Hedgehog]

sideshowfred said:

They didn't struggle to shift the fir Trophy-R. They only brought 30 of those into the country anyway. The R26.R was unfortunate in it's timing and yes they struggled to shift them but look at values now.

yep the timings defiantly better with the pound collapsing as we crash out of the EU and GDP about to crash 30%

there will be lots of people wanting to buy one

[Jon_S_Rally]

cidered77 said:

Plus the R&D costs - these i have zero doubt are being sold at a loss, as part of a marketing business case. Completely agree this price is not at all crazy in this context.

I genuinely do not get badge snobbery for anyone who claims to be a car fan. It's about the car, not the image- surely. This is a hell of a car. "only" 5 seconds quicker around Spa than a modified Honda maybe - but 5 seconds is a lot, and then Honda was not at all showroom.

and in any case, Renaultsport have a long and proven track record of being the kings in this field over the long term .A few blips here and there, but generally - they get it right. The only car i've ever owned more than 2 years wan an R26 Megane - what an absolutely wonderful machine that was, especially on track.

i did register interest in this with Renault... 52k though... 10k too much to even convince my own manmaths. Good luck to the 30 people who take the plunge - am already envious.

At least one person gets it

[9k rpm]

Makes that A45 look cheap.

[WCZ]

cidered77 said:

ahh, the old "new car costs more than old car" Pistonheads scoop. Who'd have though it....

And even ignoring that point - over 3 years factoring in next to zero depreciation, the Megane would cost you significantly less - as in 10-20k less in some cases - than everything other than the Nomad.

next to zero depreciation? good luck with that, they'll be worth £50k within a year and settle at around high 30's to early 40's imo

[Ian974]

cidered77 said:

Plus the R&D costs - these i have zero doubt are being sold at a loss, as part of a marketing business case. Completely agree this price is not at all crazy in this context.

I genuinely do not get badge snobbery for anyone who claims to be a car fan. It's about the car, not the image- surely. This is a hell of a car. "only" 5 seconds quicker around Spa than a modified Honda maybe - but 5 seconds is a lot, and then Honda was not at all showroom.

I don't think it's badge snobbery though.

The USP of this car is that it's the fastest FWD car you can get, but it'll still be slower than comparably priced RWD/ AWD cars. I can't see why you'd be after something like this when a cayman/ boxster, Exige and numerous other options are available for the same or less.

As a car fan if you were looking for fast/ fun/ bang for buck, adding a £20,000 set of wheels to a £50,000 car just doesn't compute.

[xjay1337]

Nice car but, £72k ridiculous irrespective of what it is.

It will not be bought by track driving enthusiasts it will be bought by collectors.

Huge waste.

[Jon_S_Rally]

Ian974 said:

I don't think it's badge snobbery though.

The USP of this car is that it's the fastest FWD car you can get, but it'll still be slower than comparably priced RWD/ AWD cars. I can't see why you'd be after something like this when a cayman/ boxster, Exige and numerous other options are available for the same or less.

As a car fan if you were looking for fast/ fun/ bang for buck, adding a £20,000 set of wheels to a £50,000 car just doesn't compute.

But does it's objective performance next to such cars actually matter? It's not a series production car, it's a limited-run special. They are only making 500 globally and only 32 are coming to the UK. Yes, a Porsche or Lotus may be faster but, if you don't want a Porsche or a Lotus (or have them already) but do want the wildest, fastest hot hatch out there, then this will still appeal to some.

But again, it doesn't actually matter. The purpose of this car is marketing, not sales.

[TIGA84]

fking hell, this used to be a place for petrolheads, now its a miserable sea of millenial fking complainers that are pleased by nothing.

A Factory Renault Hatchback with Carbon Wheel, Carbon Seats and virtually everything in the highest grade spec they can produce, including the millions of Eur in R&D, and all people focus on is the price. Who fking cares?

You aren't going to buy one, but I guarantee they'll be gone in minutes.

Fair fking play to Renault to building it. After all, when they bring out the next Megane RS all you'll hear from the whinging pricks on here is "I bet a Golf GTi is quicker round the Ring", "They should put carbon wheels on it", "Why can't you have Carbon seats in it" etc etc.

Can you imagine the response if they brought out the V6 or the Turbo 2 again? Its just depressing..........

[the_hood]

Makes the Type R time look even more amazing if you need a £70k plus Megane to beat it!

[Robmarriott]

ghost83 said:

Makes the golf club sport S a surprising bargain at 30 odd grand stick some carbon wheels on it rs3 ceramics and probably beat it whilst still been cheaper than the Megane

£30k for a 3 year old Clubsport S on eBay
Wheels are £4500 each (and I don't know if that's plus VAT)
Tyres are £1500
and the brakes, new, from Audi, are £9000

So before you've paid someone to fit it all (and bought any other bits like bolts, brake hoses etc) you're at either £58500 or £62100 (if the wheels are pre VAT)

Buy a decent, low mileage Clubsport S and you're almost on the money for the Megane!

[RumbleOfThunder]

Or some lightweight alloy wheels and steel brakes easily specced for the job. 5-7k?

[Leins]

TIGA84 said:

fking hell, this used to be a place for petrolheads, now its a miserable sea of millenial fking complainers that are pleased by nothing.

A Factory Renault Hatchback with Carbon Wheel, Carbon Seats and virtually everything in the highest grade spec they can produce, including the millions of Eur in R&D, and all people focus on is the price. Who fking cares?

You aren't going to buy one, but I guarantee they'll be gone in minutes.

Fair fking play to Renault to building it. After all, when they bring out the next Megane RS all you'll hear from the whinging pricks on here is "I bet a Golf GTi is quicker round the Ring", "They should put carbon wheels on it", "Why can't you have Carbon seats in it" etc etc.

Can you imagine the response if they brought out the V6 or the Turbo 2 again? Its just depressing..........

The V6 would lack torque and the Turbo 2 throttle adjustability! And both would be more expensive than some secondhand cars

[nickfrog]

Ian974 said:

As a car fan if you were looking for fast/ fun/ bang for buck, adding a £20,000 set of wheels to a £50,000 car just doesn't compute.

Perhaps it's not about bang for buck. The wheels are optional anyway.