autocar.tv: Renault Megane R26R - by Autocar.co.uk

[MotorsportMonkey]

Is vader riding shotgun with you for this run steve? Mad induction/turbo noise!!!

[MrBrasilMexico]

Renault megane sport THE BEST

[perakarry2]

Renault's good from the time when R19's entered the market, engines were pretty reliable but the rust was still a problem, the biggest garbage from Europe in those days is probably a Rover and nowadays maybe Fiat.

[jhb972]

They should have at least add a bit more hp... I mean it's the same 220 bhp from the original RS. But oh well still a great car!

[sfcx92]

Great review, fantastic machine, fantastic track. Please, please, please bring them to the US, or at least California. We understand cars like this!

[AudiABTr8]

That engine sounds like a blender or a vacuum cleaner. Ew.

[sanjeev82]

chill out people

[PierreReyesMusic]

Kids aye..

[kungura]

so you'd take this over the Focus RS? because i hear that's quite an amazing car it self (by autocar no less),

[PugMarshall]

Well this is only 230 Bhp, the focus is 300 Bhp and still 9 seconds quicker around the nurburgring. This is now the best handling front wheel drive pruduction car in the world.

[HoeBlogggs]

He loves the rev limiter :D

[iLuvSmartCars]

Why don't we have Renalts in the US???

[smgman13]

I have no clue. It used to be in the US but they stoped selling them here. Renault owns 45% of nissan and somewhere like 10% of GM before the bankruptcy. I cant wait for them to come to the U.S :)

[iLuvSmartCars]

Wow! I did not know that. Thanks for the info! I love Renault!!

[AJL15N]

I think the R26R would tear some tuners up, IMO

[Renceau]

because they are french: americans will never evar buy them.

[mys13isdirty]

@Renceau

I am an American and i would buy one...

[NLbertNL]

@mys13isdirty bad for you

renault is the biggest garbage you can buy from europe.

[felinrheinallt]

@NLbertNL your'e garbage!

[PugMarshall]

Because you only drive in straight lines. And you say it wrong, it's pronounced ren-oh.

[thenoblegeek]

@iLuvSmartCars Renault basically got run out of America along with Fiat due to the extremely poor quality of their cars back in the 1980s. I can speak from experience because I was an automechanic on Renaults back then. It's a shame because there only a few tweaks that Renault had to do to reverse the poor quality that haunted most owners.

[Renceau]

@thenoblegeek I've never heard of an unreliable Renault. Their electrical components may be shit, but other than that they're pretty tough.

[thenoblegeek]

@Renceau Renaults were terrible in the USA and that is saying something considering the garbage that the American manufacturers were producing at the same time. Yes, the Renault electrical systems were crap but they were crappy on a scale that was much worse than the American cars. The cooling systems on Renaults were unbelievably terrible leading to catastrophic engine failures (heads warped beyond saving, scored piston bores and burnt crankshafts). The old Renaults rusted out way too fast.

[Renceau]

@thenoblegeek But why would they change their manufacturing plans so drastically just to enter the US market? It doesn't make much sense. Why did they change from highly reliable cars (in the mid 80s) on the EU market, to horrible PoS on the US market?

[thenoblegeek]

@Renceau I can only guess that if Renault purposely lowered the quality of their cars sold in the USA, it was to increase profits. I don't remember if the monetary exchange rates were favorable to importing cars back then. It's a bummer because I loved my Renault Le Car (a 1229 series R5).

[Renceau]

@thenoblegeek I see, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[adam4trials]

renault are make really good hot hatches now hope they can keep it up!!

[rugratjamin]

I want 1:D

[Skout86]

still a renault. with this hard going wear repairs every 10000 km.

[tradingpilot]

If we hand Renaults in the US I would trade my GTI MkV for that thing in a heart beat!

[Povilas7]

@tradingpilot dumbass

[Rangeroversport12]

@Povilas7 why?

[ryanpitout]

The concept of lightweight cars is the bomb, I love the fact that a caterham (30k) beats a veyron (1million) around the track.

Go lightweight.

[vnonjuice]

Mate they're build for different things....You can't compair a Veyron to a Caterham.....Veyron is about top speed and stability at high speed. Carterham is build for the track. I'd love to see a Caterham hit 400km/h and stay there, with the stablity of a Veyron....

[ryanpitout]

I did say around the track !! And I will buy you a veyron if you can find a place to get it to 400kmh.

[nav1932]

yeah and u can buy more than a couple of caterhams for a the price of a veyron which is much more practical....... and it uses less fuel

[stu22aus]

You could probably fund and host an 8-round championship of caterhams for the price of a Veyron

[gumball3000xp]

Well I can: Ehra Leihsen, Nardo, the 4km straight at the nurburgring...There u go. U ought me a veyron

[logic2reason]

what if you dont like there? What do you do if your the other 6 billion people? I love the bugatti. Its an amazing vehicle. But its more a work of art than an actual car. I would agree with ryan and say the light weight vehicles is where its at. I dont need stitched leather. Give me g's!!

[ryanpitout]

Your name says it all. Whats your perfect garage look like ???

[logic2reason]

all the tools i need and a dyno, frame machine and a paint booth... cars come and go.... the fun doesnt

[barcher23]

i will be buying a r26r sometime late in the summer, just waiting for the price to drop under 20k

[ryanpitout]

i HEARD it beat an M5 around Nordshliefe

[Chunkychucky]

Yeah, it's the track tires and the extreme featherweight. The M5 would murder it down the straights, but the weight of the M5 means it shags its tires and brakes after 10 miles.

[uberdubber]

Another brilliant vid! cheers

[wallaboks]

j"ai une 997 GT3, un boxster RS60, une honda type R, mais j'ai commandé une R26R sans hésiter.C'est avec elle que je vais aller tourner sur circuit pour pas cher..le vrai plaisir, c'est un super chassis et tourner avec des gens simples et surtout passionés.

Je cris que je vais surprendre quelques supercars avecla R265R

[nav1932]

translation, s'il vous plait.

[maaldrift]

Autocar is great!

A real discovery!

[gonedu71]

on peut se faire plaisir avec une belle voiture pour pas cher , en voici la preuve

[brunners16]

This car is great however i dont see the point of paying the extra money. Get a normal r26 and strip it out yourself. Take it to Ktec racing and they will increase the boost to 270bhp. It will then be as quick if not quicker than the R26R for a few grand less. You could even get a spare set of wheels and put some R888's on and it would still be cheaper.

[harrow555555]

Yeah well I should hope that it is cheaper to do it all yourself because if the shit hits the fan and something fucks out in it you're gonna be paying a lot of money paying for new parts without a warranty. Personally if I was gonna be buying a car for the track (as in cars that are constantly being pushed to the limit things can and will go wrong) I'd prefer to pay a few more grand more for a proper warranty

[ryanpitout]

I had the RS Megane, and i had to replace the steering rack, front susp bushes etc etc, I'm convinced they use the same components as the 1.6litre family car.

[stu22aus]

Yeah I dunno...8.15 doesn't seem that quick when compared to the GTR and GT2, which can lap at about 7:40, 7:50 all day long. I would've thought for such a small car it'd fly around there like a lotus or something.

[deckspinner]

You are missing the point,

The R26R fully loaded with titanium exhaust, roll cage & toyo proxies and the rest is going to be around 26000 BGP. Its the fastest FWD car around the ring' todate and is an incredible bargain performance car.

The GT2 is RWD, about 130k with any options its a lot more!

The GTR is 4WD, around 52-55k plus optional extras.

The GT2 & GTR are not in this things class. A better comparison is the Golf, Focus RS (new one) and Astra VXR.

[stu22aus]

I suppose that's true, perhaps it just highlights the unsuitability of FWD in circuit applications. 35 seconds on the ring is a big disparity between 'serious' sports cars, regardless of budget. Perhaps its gearing is a bit short for the ring as well...

[derbigpr500]

You cant really compare a 230hp fwd hatchback to 500-600 AWD sports cars

[samsemtex]

you just made one of the most stupid statements ive ever heard.

[stu22aus]

Don't just throw insults like some stupid troll, how about you inform me of the specifics regarding my stupidity.

[samsemtex]

okay well sorry then but it does sound pretty stupid from where im sitting. The Megane is a 230hp fwd hatchback. Its also very cheap. Considering the nurburgring is a very long track with some very long straights on it where a powerful car will excel 35seconds isnt that huge a difference. On a normal length track the difference would be only about 5-10 seconds. The length of the ring exagerates the speed differential.

[stu22aus]

My point is simple: for a car that would no doubt shake your fillings loose on the road, it is an expensive proposition for the track. Something as small as the Renault with FWD drivetrain should not tip the scales at much over 1000kg, which would render HP all but irrelevant. Given this I think as a track weapon you'd be better off buying a Super 7, Elise or even Elfin. You'd get much more bang for you buck and probably save yourself a few quid to boot.

[harrow555555]

Dude believe it or not some people actually like FWD cars, sure overall RWD or AWD is gonna be faster but FWD can be a lot of fun. The fact is that this car is the fastest FWD car in the world & its not bad value when you consider that fact. Also, I think you'd find that the Renault would take a lot more punishment round a track than an Elise, you'd be able to drive it harder for longer (p.s - Meganes aren't exactly what you'd call 'small' either so getting one under 1000kg would b pretty hard)

[nigel028]

it looks nice

[rafauy]

Ostenta el record de vuelta para autos de tracción delantera en el Nürburgring.

Holds the lap record for front-wheel-drive cars in the Nürburgring.

[andrew88ng]

i so want this car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jamiebridges123]

that's one hell of a car :)