[Cartoday]
Believe it or not, there are people out there who are not satisfied with the searing performance offered by Renault’s Mégane R26…cue the track-ready Mégane R26.R.
This limited run of just 450 cars feature the same 2,0-litre turbocharged engine as Mégane F1 Team R26, which delivers 169 kW and 310 N.m of torque, 90 percent of which is available between 2 000 and 6 000 r/min. The engine is mated with a six-speed manual gearbox, which features shorter linkages to facilitate quicker gearshifts.
Initially, this doesn’t sound all that impressive, but then there’s the R26.R’s party piece – Renault have shaved a whopping 123 kg from R26’s 1 353 kg kerb weight…honestly, who needs rear seats anyway?This means that the R26.R will dash from 0-100 km/h in 6,0 seconds on the way to a 237 km/h top speed and completes the standing-start kilometer in 25,9 seconds. In fact, the R26.R set a new lap record for its category on the Nürburgring with a time of 8 minutes 17 seconds.
The R26.R’s suspension components are specific to the model, with uprated springs front and rear, and a stiffened lower arm and front sub frame. As in the R26 F1 Team, the R26.R features a limited-slip differential, while a set of grooved brake discs (312 mm vented units up front) with four-piston Brembo callipers take care of stopping duties.
Mégane R26.R is sports a number of styling features that distinguish from lesser models, including a varnished carbon-fibre bonnet, red 18-inch wheels, a new spoiler and quarterlights and rear screen made from tinted polycarbonate. The cabin features a leather/suede combo for the steering wheel and gearlever bellows, Sabelt bucket seats and six-point harness belts, as well as a numbered plaque fixed to the center console and an optional four-point roll cage.
The Mégane R26.R is manufactured at the Alpine Renault factory in Dieppe, France and will go on sale from October 2008. Before you hound your local Renault dealer, all 450 units have been earmarked for European markets…spoilsports.