RenaultSport Megane R.S. 265 lands in Australia

RenaultSport’s fastest Megane, the RS265 has landed in Australia to replace the RS250. With the crowded hot hatch market about to get hotter, with the imminent launch of Ford’s 184kW Focus ST and Volvo’s 187kW V40 T5, Renault has turned up the wick with the new RS265.

As the name suggests, the latest hot Megane is equipped with a 265 horsepower or 195kW 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine, with 360Nm of torque on tap – that’s an extra 11kW of power and 20Nm more torque compared to the RS250. What’s more, it lapped the famous ‘Ring Nordschleife in just 8:08 minutes in June last year with Renault’s development driver, Laurent Hurgon at the helm.

To commemorate this special number, Renault will be bringing in a very limited 100 units of the RS265 Trophy 8:08, priced at $49,990. It comes complete with the same sticky Bridgestone tyres and Recaro sports seats used in the hot lap.

The standard models start with the RS265 Cup at $42,640, followed by the RS265 Trophy costing $47,140 and a newly added top of the range RS265 Trophy+ at $51,640.

The extra power comes courtesy of a 0.2 bar increase in turbo pressure to 2.5 bar, while the air intake has also been modified accordingly. Finally, together with a free-flowing exhaust, the RS265 will sprint from 0-100km/h in 6.0 seconds flat, 0.1 seconds quicker than the superseded RS250.

Full power will only be unleashed when the driver selects sporty modes in the new electronic RS Dynamic Management system. In Standard mode, power is restrained to 184kW – the same as the previous model, while the electronic stability control system (ESC) and engine mapping are fettled for smooth delivery.

In Sport mode, the ESC eases its grip while engine mapping becomes more aggressive to increase throttle response and unleash the engine’s full might. For experienced drivers, the ESC can be switched off fully.

Peak power is delivered at 5,500rpm, whole the meaty 360Nm of torque is available from 1,900rpm to 3,000rpm. Despite the power increase, the new Megane RS265 returns a respectable 8.2L/100km on the official combined test cycle, a 5.7% improvement. Like the RS250, the latest hot Megane is fitted with a 6-speed manual gearbox driving the front wheels.

The new models also get a revised RS Monitor which now allows the driver to scroll through a range of engine and performance data and even change the throttle mapping with a choice of five modes – snow, progressive, linear, sport and extreme.

Aesthetically, minor changes are made to the front facia including larger LED daytime running lights, new wheel designs and new colours.

Equipment wise, the RS265 cup gets fabric seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, Brembo 4-piston front brakes, auto headlights and wipers, LED daytime running lights, rear parking sensors, dual-zone climate control with air-quality sensor, Bluetooth with audio streaming and heated door mirrors.

The mid-range Trophy adds Recaro front bucket seats upholstered in fabric trim, 19-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry and start and tyre pressure monitor.

The range topping Trophy+ comes with electric heated leather seats with memory functions, 7” sat nav screen with reverse camera, adaptive bi-xenon headlights, fixed glass roof with a shade cover and front parking sensors.

The limited-edition RS265 8:08 is equipped with 19-inch wheels, leather Recaro front seats, adaptive bi-xenon and exclusive liquid yellow or pearl white paint.