RE: Megane Trophy-R unveiled with record 'ring time

[hondafanatic]

DoubleD said:

moonigan said:

Another video publish by Renault @ Monaco which shows the inside and it definitely looks like the rear seats are gone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm3OWPMDRds

A hatch doesnt have to have rear seats.

Pfffft...What you two are missing is the fact that they’ve folded the rear seats down to lower the centre of gravity to make it go faster. ‘Cause race car. Innit.

[moonigan]

DoubleD said:

A hatch doesnt have to have rear seats.

A 3 door hatch doesn't but a 5 door does.

[DoubleD]

moonigan said:

DoubleD said:

A hatch doesnt have to have rear seats.

A 3 door hatch doesn't but a 5 door does.

Why?

[Tickle]

hondafanatic said:

DoubleD said:

moonigan said:

Another video publish by Renault @ Monaco which shows the inside and it definitely looks like the rear seats are gone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm3OWPMDRds

A hatch doesnt have to have rear seats.

Pfffft...What you two are missing is the fact that they’ve folded the rear seats down to lower the centre of gravity to make it go faster. ‘Cause race car. Innit.

I thought lowering the rear seats was outlawed from Motorsport in the late 80's due to the unfair advantage it gave the big teams.

[anonymous-user]

DoubleD said:

moonigan said:

DoubleD said:

A hatch doesnt have to have rear seats.

A 3 door hatch doesn't but a 5 door does.

Why?

Um, what’s the point of having a five door hatch to not be able to seat 4/5? I thought hatchbacks were purchased because they were practical.

[DoubleD]

sleepera6 said:

DoubleD said:

moonigan said:

DoubleD said:

A hatch doesnt have to have rear seats.

A 3 door hatch doesn't but a 5 door does.

Why?

Um, what’s the point of having a five door hatch to not be able to seat 4/5? I thought hatchbacks were purchased because they were practical.

They dont make a 3 door.

Why does a hatch have to be practical? What if someone wants a track focused car? Also not everyone needs to carry passengers, so this might fit their needs nicely.

[moonigan]

DoubleD said:

Why?

Because it has doors and isn't a racecar. Remove the doors and its acceptable put doors on and the doors need to open onto seats rather than an empty void. Would you be bothered if there wasn't a passenger seat? This could have the same impact that the decision not to put standard seat belts in the R26.R had as that was the primary reason it flopped. People didn't want to be fastening the harness every time they went to the shops, not to mention not being able to see at junctions without having to unclip the harness.

[DoubleD]

moonigan said:

DoubleD said:

Why?

Because it has doors and isn't a racecar. Remove the doors and its acceptable put doors on and the doors need to open onto seats rather than an empty void. Would you be bothered if there wasn't a passenger seat? This could have the same impact that the decision not to put standard seat belts in the R26.R had as that was the primary reason it flopped. People didn't want to be fastening the harness every time they went to the shops, not to mention not being able to see at junctions without having to unclip the harness.

What if someone isnt bothered about having back seats?

[Pommy]

The problem with a 5 door with 2 seats it ends up being appealing to none of its potential market. It’ll be revered in road tests but no one will buy it.

[anonymous-user]

DoubleD said:

What if someone isnt bothered about having back seats?

Then they can take them out themselves? Lack of rear seats saves weight, but they should have the option to refit the rear seats as a no cost option instead of the cage. That would suit both Joe Average and Joe Trackday as well as Joe Purist.
Renault’s mistake here is precisely why nobody bought the R26.R (as well as the fact there was a credit crunch) and the previous Megane Trophy-R (when there wasn’t a credit crunch). And this time round the “normal” Trophy is an undercooked mess apparently like the current Renaultsport Clio, so nobody will buy those either. The last Renaultsport Megane was the sweetest driving hatch when it was around.

However I can see a few people buying these regardless. But not as much as if it had the option for rear seats. Not that I have £48,000 to spend on a fast Renault anyway.

IIRC the last Trophy-R was a mass production model? I’ve only ever seen one around. Them and the R26.R make a stonking deal right now at £25k, tried and tested legend.

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 26th May 12:54

[Norbury90]

sleepera6 said:

DoubleD said:

moonigan said:

DoubleD said:

A hatch doesnt have to have rear seats.

A 3 door hatch doesn't but a 5 door does.

Why?

Um, what’s the point of having a five door hatch to not be able to seat 4/5? I thought hatchbacks were purchased because they were practical.

If my mum went into a Renault dealership and asked for a practical 5-door hatchback, I would be quite surprised to see her coming out with a 40k track record-breaking machine.

This is a focused car for a very niche group of people. You could say the same for the Jaguar Project 8 in terms of 5 doors and the option of no rear seats and a rollcage instead.

I'm just glad that Renault are still putting time and effort into making these reasonably old school cars. Other manufacturers are starting to move away, like Vauxhall ditching VXR models.

[DoubleD]

sleepera6 said:

DoubleD said:

What if someone isnt bothered about having back seats?

Then they can take them out themselves? Lack of rear seats saves weight, but they should have the option to refit the rear seats as a no cost option instead of the cage. That would suit both Joe Average and Joe Trackday as well as Joe Purist.
Renault’s mistake here is precisely why nobody bought the R26.R (as well as the fact there was a credit crunch) and the previous Megane Trophy-R (when there wasn’t a credit crunch). And this time round the “normal” Trophy is an undercooked mess apparently like the current Renaultsport Clio, so nobody will buy those either. The last Renaultsport Megane was the sweetest driving hatch when it was around.

However I can see a few people buying these regardless. But not as much as if it had the option for rear seats. Not that I have £48,000 to spend on a fast Renault anyway.

IIRC the last Trophy-R was a mass production model? I’ve only ever seen one around. Them and the R26.R make a stonking deal right now at £25k, tried and tested legend.

Edited by sleepera6 on Sunday 26th May 12:54

It doesnt sound like this car is for you then ha ha

[anonymous-user]

DoubleD said:

It doesnt sound like this car is for you then ha ha

Why not? I’d love a Trophy-R, I thought about buying a toy and a used Megane Trophy is affordable and safe.

I’m just seeing it from the average person’s view.

[DoubleD]

sleepera6 said:

DoubleD said:

It doesnt sound like this car is for you then ha ha

Why not? I’d love a Trophy-R, I thought about buying a toy and a used Megane Trophy is affordable and safe.

I’m just seeing it from the average person’s view.

No, its not a car for the average person, they already have lots of choice.

[luigisayshello]

Does anyone know anything about the carbon fiber wheels and the carbon ceramic brembo brakes? Will it be an extra?

[cidered77]

luigisayshello said:

Does anyone know anything about the carbon fiber wheels and the carbon ceramic brembo brakes? Will it be an extra?

Read on another forum they would be a "carbon pack" - and also read 20k extra!

I wouldn't be surprised - it would be a halo product and something as powerful as a marketing tool as a profit making enterprise in its own right (the R26.R flopped in sales terms - re some of the chat above - but it's still talked about a lot today, so worked for brand promotion!). 40k for the standard car with options up to 60k for them wheels i wouldn't be surprised to see at all. And for not many to be sold with it.

Ferrari could charge that for a carbon ashtray note, before anyone flips out about massive options on a Renault. Carbon wheels and brakes cost a fortune no matter what the brand.

[ZX10R NIN]

You're not kidding when you say Carbon costs it's over 3k just for a set of Motorbike wheels that don't have to carry a quarter of the weight of a car.

[smarty156]

That video really highlights to me how much faster the current ZF8HP auto is at changing gears over a manual.

[Frimley111R]

moonigan said:

Another video publish by Renault @ Monaco which shows the inside and it definitely looks like the rear seats are gone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm3OWPMDRds

VERY hard to tell from that but I am sure you could put some back in.

[cidered77]

Frimley111R said:

moonigan said:

Another video publish by Renault @ Monaco which shows the inside and it definitely looks like the rear seats are gone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm3OWPMDRds

VERY hard to tell from that but I am sure you could put some back in.

It's not got rear seats, and unless you mod yourself it's not going to be an option. Wasnt for the past two extreme Meganes - and would miss the point. You can get a regular Trophy if a conventional hot hatch is what you're after.

You don't save that of weight without some hard core sacrifices...