Stripped-out, two-seater hot hatches could be more relevant than ever before in this new electric era. Alpine’s new A290 in GTS guise is one of the most convincing EV hot hatches we’ve yet seen (as is the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, though it’s hardly a pocket rocket given its as big as the Moon), and Mini’s latest Cooper SE does a fine job of mimicking the petrol car’s peppiness. All are over 1,500kg, though. Put them on a crash diet by stripping out the rear bench, reduce needless sound deadening and whack some Recaro Pole Positions in, and you might just have something for even the hardiest EV sceptic.
Anyway, we’re long overdue a track-honed hot hatch. Volkswagen doesn’t seem interested in building a follow-up to the Mk7 Golf GTI Clubsport S, no matter how many times we bug its execs about it on launches, and while BMW has hinted that a new Mini GP could happen, nothing’s been announced yet and there’s been no word on whether it’ll be petrol or electric anyway. Renault, meanwhile, has the hugely exciting 5 Turbo 3E in the works, but we’ve not yet seen the interior, let alone any indicators as to whether it’ll be a lightweight sports car. For now, its most recent, and arguably the most recent stripped-out track hatch, remains the Megane R.S. 300 Trophy-R, like this one here.
We all knew that the R.S. 300 would be the final hot piston-powered Megane, with the family hatch moving to an electric platform in 2022 and Alpine taking over Renaultsport’s role for future models. With the 300 bringing an end to one of the great hot hatch lineages, anticipation was high ahead of its arrival. Little did we know just how much of a storm Dieppe was whipping up. An A110-sourced 1.8-litre four-pot dialled up to 300hp in Trophy spec, four-wheel steering, a Torsen limited-slip differential and torque vectoring.
That, however, was just the ‘normal’ Trophy. A Trophy-R range-topper could also be had and, like R.26 R and Trophy-R that came before it, the 300 only had two seats, was a good deal lighter (the torque vectoring was actually ditched to save weight) and was plastered with graphics that could only have been inspired by a PowerPoint template. What was different, however, is that the final Trophy-R came in several eye-water options. Ticking the box for carbon wheels saved 2kg per corner while inflating the price from £51,140 to £63,140, which rose a further £9k when you added on ceramic brakes. That’s up to £72,140 for a Megane!
Only 500 examples were produced worldwide, and just 32 of them were earmarked for the UK market. Most were ‘standard’ Trophy-Rs, which makes this carbon wheel-clad example very rare. No doubt it’ll be quicker around a track in the right hands, as the Nurburgring car put them to good use for its record run, though they are notoriously delicate if you (god forbid) scraped them down a curb. Shudder. Thankfully, the original red-coloured rims are included in the sale, plus covers for the carbon wheels when they’re not in use. Handily, they fit snugly where the back seats would normally be, so you can bung them on at the start of a track day and whip them off when you’re done.
Unbelievably, it’s covered just 44 miles. How anyone resisted the urge to take one of the great hot hatches of the last decade for a long, spirited drive is unfathomable, but it does mean you’re getting an as-new track special long after it was discontinued. And for a discount, too. The seller’s asking £51,995, meaning you’re essentially getting the carbon wheels (a £12k option originally) thrown in for free. If, however, you don’t fancy running it in, there’s always this 23,000-mile car. It does without the carbon wheels, but it is cheaper. Like, a nearly £20k cheaper. Hmm.
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