SHAKIN’ IT IN style

New limited edition Mégane Renaultsport 225 ‘Trophy’ available to order from 14th March, costing £20,000 on the road

New ‘Cup Chassis’ option to be made available later in the year

The UK has seen a raft of new hot hatches burst onto the scene in the last 12 months, including the latest offerings from Renault’s performance arm, the Clio Renaultsport 182s and the Mégane Renaultsport 225. Now, Renault has combined all its motor sport expertise to produce arguably one of its most focused road cars ever in the form of the Mégane Renaultsport 225 ‘Trophy’.

The latest addition to the Renaultsport stable, officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on 1st March, takes its lead from the awe-inspiring Mégane Trophy race car which is set to grip the motor racing world as part of the 2005 World Series by Renault race meetings, which starts in Zolder, Belgium on 30th April.

Launched in April 2004, the current Mégane Renaultsport 225 on which the Trophy is based, has continued to attract hoards of fans, particularly as it’s as comfortable on long distances as it is on the track. However, much to the delight of driving fans everywhere, the Renaultsport team hasn’t been content with the plaudits flooding in for their latest creations, so they have now taken things once step further by enhancing the car’s brakes, chassis and steering to give the purest driving experience possible for the performance enthusiast and track day driver.

As the largest market by far for Renaultsport products, the UK is to receive the largest allocation in the world of the new flagship Mégane, but as the new Trophy will only be available as part of a limited production run, the UK will take delivery of just a few hundred examples. With demand expected to outstrip supply, the second piece of good news for drivers is that the engineering changes made to the Trophy will be available as a ‘Cup Chassis’ option on the standard Mégane Renaultsport 225 a bit further down the track.

A new attitude for maximum driving pleasure

Engineered to be an even more driver-focused car, including a new sports-tuned chassis and suspension, unique Dunlop tyres and new Brembo brakes, the new Trophy is not a stereotypical ‘limited edition’ model with just a new body colour and more equipment, and will certainly give the recent spate of new hot hatch entrants to the sector much cause for concern.

Powered by the same two-litre turbocharged engine as that found in the current Renaultsport 225, the Trophy will be one of the fastest hot hatches around, with a

0-62mph time which will certainly keep Audi TT and Porsche Boxster owners honest. Mated to a six-speed, close-ratio manual gearbox, this class-leading engine develops 225hp at 5,500rpm and 300Nm of torque at 3,000rpm, with at least 90% of this torque available between 2,000 and 6,000rpm.

New sporting "Cup Chassis"


Independent Pivot front suspension


Uprated front and rear spring rates (25% front, 77% rear)


Front and rear damper rates re-tuned

The chassis of the new Mégane Renaultsport 225 Trophy has been developed entirely for the pleasure of driving and benefits from unique components and settings. Improved body support results in lower roll angles, less pitching during acceleration and also less nosedive under braking. Cornering potential and overall road handling on all types of surface has also been improved thanks to revised front suspension set-up with greater turn authority and significantly reduced understeer.