Renaultsport Megane Trophy R, 2020, 18k, £44,995
The appeal of a front wheel drive hot hatch, all the way back 50 years to the first Golf GTI, was the best of both worlds duality: great fun to drive as well as useful. Suitable for school runs and Sunday Services, tip trips and road trips, a great hot hatch can do it all. Removing the rear seats, on the face of it, is anathema to the hot hatch’s remit; and yet the few that have been brave enough to embark on such madness have created some unforgettable drivers cars. Forget the origins: these have been as special as many a sports car. Renault gave us three such Meganes, and the modifications were drastic enough for this final 300hp version to ditch the standard car’s four-wheel steering. And fit a carbon bonnet. If not quite as loved as precious ones, this Trophy R was a deliciously focused five-door two-seater (not often you say that). This one doesn’t have the carbon wheels but it does have a fantastic-looking CAE shifter; B roads will never quite be the same again.
Mini JCW GP, 2013, 36k, £22,888
While the Megane R26.R is lauded as the original crazy hot hatch, Mini actually got their first. The supercharged 2006 GP might not have been quite so extreme as the Renault, but it too ditched the rear seats and ramped up the attitude. It was followed by the turbocharged 2012 GP, very similar in concept and even more thrilling to drive, hacking away at the Nurburgring lap time by 30 seconds. The third-gen car, despite more power, was never so loved. The affection has kept used values strong: this 2013 car is still more than £20k. But with such mad Minis now consigned to the history books, the following for GPs is going nowhere.
Toyota Yaris GRMN, 2023, 2k, PH Auctions
Tell you who hasn’t given up on the silly stuff yet: Toyota. Both GR Yaris and GR Corolla have enjoyed the GRMN - Gazoo Racing: Masters of Nurburgring - treatment, stripping out weight and further upgrading two of the great modern hot hatch experiences. Sadly, nor have they made it to the UK, the extremely limited number (think hundreds rather than thousands) produced having been sold exclusively in Japan. But like the good old days of RS Evos and Spec C Subraus, the dedicated few have imported GRMNs from their homeland. And now there’s one to be auctioned off on PH tomorrow: three years old and with just 3,000 miles, it’s damn near as good as new. And GRMN meant rather more than just two seats, with shorter gears, improved rigidity and new diffs. This is a Circuit Package, too, one of just 50 with adjustable Bilsteins, forged wheels and the forged BBS. A special, special car then - expect bidding to be fast and furious.
Abarth 695 Biposto Record, 2016, 6k, £26,995
Here’s a curveball. This could have been a Golf GTI Clubsport S, but we’ve talked plenty about those. The Abarth 695 Biposto Record, not so much. And we probably should have, given this little Fiat is just as extreme as anything else on this list. Launched a decade ago and limited to just 133 units (Abarth claimed it held that many records), here was a two-seat track car that weighed just 997kg. The BR was also equipped with Sabelt carbon shell seats, beefy Brembo brakes, a proper LSD and remote reservoir dampers - it was a real rework, not just yellow paint and smart wheels for all. A riot on track and rough on road, the 695 was nothing if not exciting. At launch, it cost £36,610 - or £52k in today’s money - but such is the love for these cars and the rarity (just 39 were allocated to the UK) that it’s clinging onto its value like a second gear hairpin: £27k for a 10-year-old Fiat 500 is some achievement…
Subaru Impreza STI Spec C, 2009, 77k, £22,990
‘The Impreza hatch we wanted all along’ read one contemporary review of the Spec C STI, in case you thought this was just another yellow version of a hot hatch that never quite hit the spot. Subaru would always struggle to replace the four-door Impreza, but the five-door was a real damp squib. Even as a Prodrive-enhanced WRX and then STI, it simply didn’t capture the imagination like a great Impreza should. Step forward the Spec C, a homologation special to make a Group N rally car, it was a bit lighter (while keeping the rear seats) and featured new springs, new dampers, better brakes, a thicker anti-roll bar, stickier tyres… all the stuff to bring an Impreza to life, basically. The 2.0-litre here was always more exciting than the 2.5 as well. Little wonder the thousand cars made remain in demand: this Subaru is for sale with the specialist that previously supplied it (easy for you to say), approaching 80,000 miles and more than £20,000. The most valuable UK hatch is £10k less…
Ford Focus RS500, 2010, 22k, £100,000
Not a two-seat hot hatch, not drastically different to standard and definitely not yellow, there’s still no way that the Focus RS500 couldn’t feature here. Because 350hp through the front wheels sounds extreme now; in 2010 it sounded like a recipe for disaster, every RS500 getting a 45hp Mountune boost as well as the matt black wrap to mark it out. Resurrecting such an iconic name in fast Ford history was a brave move, and the Focus RS was no homologation special, but the RS500 was such riotously good fun that any concerns about nomenclature were soon brushed aside in a torrent of five-cylinder warble. A superb powertrain allied to a game chassis and moody good looks made the RS500 an instant classic. This one is number 462 of the 500 made, and has covered just 22,000 miles since first registration. The price? It’s currently up for the equivalent of four Spec Cs…
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