Megane R.S. Trophy R Steals back Ring Record

Say what you will about the lengths Renault went to to beat the Type R... that video run was awesome to watch.

It would be interesting to see what time sport-auto will set with this car, they managed close to 8min flat with both the fk8 and the M2. I hope Honda releases a lightweight version with higher power to take back the record!

I don't. The bar has already been set with the FK8 CTR. I'd like to see them go at it again on the 11th gen Civic platform.

I mean, the 'ring record was cool and all but seeing as I live in North America, I dont overly give a shit. So Renault made a purpose built track car that sucks at DDing and is 3 seconds faster around a 16 mile long track. Big whoop.

Honda made a purpose built track car that still shines as a DD vehicle and doesn't suffer any of the torque steer issues the Mégane RS does. I'll take that over shaving 3 seconds off of some random time that was achieved under mixed conditions- let's be honest, no two manufacturers use the same criteria when setting these lap records. It's always an apples to oranges comparison.

Bump the boost on the CTR by 1 or 2 psi and I bet it too would shave three seconds off its lap time. Without deleting the back seat. Without having a factory chassis-stiffening roll cage.

I've never tracked this car, thought I would have...but still haven't.

I don't mind it being #2 now, wasn't a reason I bought the CTR anyway.

kevv_FK8 said:

ouch lol...a lot of butt hurt R owners incoming. Relax guys I'm sure Honda has something up their sleeve with the new R...3 seconds is a lot though.

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3 seconds isnt a lot over a lap time of 7 and a half minutes.
The 'ring has been altered and is apparently faster than since when Honda made their record.

Carbon brakes and wheels would shed 100 lbs of rotating mass from an FK8, add in all the other weight savings for lexan windows, titanium exhaust etc. Honda could get the car down to around 2800 lbs in the same spec. Throw in another 60+ hp just by turning up the boost and I bet they could easily break into the 7:20s

Just contact Hondata and flash the ECU, enable traction control and call it a day. And Honda can jailbreak their own ECU.

Did you guys actually buy CTR because of the Nurburgring record?
Well, I didn't and I do not care because it is still one of the best hot hatches ever created, with or without the lap times.
All records are meant to be broken. Competition is always good and that's how things improve.

Honda changed couple of things including Cup2 tires for the Ring record. It's based on the regular version of CTR but it's not exactly "production spec."
Renault Trophy R (This one and 275R) and VW had to make "track version" of their hot hatches to set the record. But at lease that's exactly how they sell those cars.
Some people call one (or both) of them cheating but I don't think it's that important.
A Record is a record and we should respect the effort behind it.

Honda is probably working on a better version already and will set the new record soon. Then it will be VW and Renault's turn again.
Let's not forget. We were able to get this amazing hot hatch because of this competition at Nurburgring.

Have had some recent discussions about manufacturers bringing "hand selected" cars to press releases and for press cars, particularly in light of the new supra's overachieving press numbers; I wonder to what degree the R that set the lap time differed from stock besides tires. Do they check all of these cars for a tune different than a factory model? Some kind of standards committee at the ring or is it more or less a free for all?

Goes without saying the engineers that set up both cars had plenty of time to find an optimal balance for the particular track

Its probaly been said but that time is not really apples to apples. The type Rs record was set in a production car with no modifications except tires. If the R made the same changes as the "new record holder" then they would easily get crown back. I call this a nothing win. Its not even a mass production car.

CRX said:

3 seconds isnt a lot over a lap time of 7 and a half minutes.
The 'ring has been altered and is apparently faster than since when Honda made their record.

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what Renault ran is the exact same track Honda did...the whole altered track stuff is false information...if you have credible sources claiming so please post up a link. Otherwise 3 seconds is a pretty big gap in terms of lap time. I will say that I am more impressed with what Honda did being its an actual full production car with no where near as much as the Renault needed to run the lap. But hey I'm sure Honda has something up their sleeve with the Yellow CTR and I can't wait to see what that is.

You guys do realize that holding it for 2 years is a pretty damn long time right ?

CW20038TypeR said:

You guys do realize that holding it for 2 years is a pretty damn long time right ?

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a little over 2 years actually....I try to express this point as well. that's a damn long time.

Estoril4 said:

Have had some recent discussions about manufacturers bringing "hand selected" cars to press releases and for press cars, particularly in light of the new supra's overachieving press numbers; I wonder to what degree the R that set the lap time differed from stock besides tires. Do they check all of these cars for a tune different than a factory model? Some kind of standards committee at the ring or is it more or less a free for all?

Goes without saying the engineers that set up both cars had plenty of time to find an optimal balance for the particular track

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Ring times, cars, etc are not verified in any way.

Some press cars being ringers/receiving additional prep work has been a thing since at least the 50's. The Mags themselves were aware and didn't care as it sold magazines.


As for the Megane, it being faster isn't really all that surprising as they are basically street legal race cars.

I am curious what time independent testing gets out of this car as the CTR was significantly slower

Harlaquin said:

Its probaly been said but that time is not really apples to apples. The type Rs record was set in a production car with no modifications except tires. If the R made the same changes as the "new record holder" then they would easily get crown back. I call this a nothing win. Its not even a mass production car.

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This is not true. It was a preproduction car not a production car. I’m sure it was a very close representation of what currently rolls off the assembly line but it had a stripped interior and really none of us can say what other changes the car has as it could have had a tune which is not emissions compliant for all we know. Once they say it’s “preproduction” all bets are off as it only means it’s a close representation and not exactly a stock car that rolls off the assembly line.