Renault Mégane RS 275 Finale signals the end – here’s a brief Mégane RS timeline

Where it began

As Renault quit their bold distinctive perched rear-end from the Mégane II hatch to replace it with a more conservative-looking Mégane III, who would have thought that a trick up its sleeve is the simultaneous release in the return of the Mégane coupé.  

Yes, the original Mégane was offered in hatch, sedan, coupé and convertible body styles, but for round II, the hatch was offered in 5-door and 3-door, so no coupé.  The Mégane RS was born, and magnetised a following for the Renault Sport (RS) enthusiast.  Initially in RS 3-door, a 5-door was also available later.

Knysna 2010 for new Mégane RS

When Renault SA sponsored the Knysna Hillclimb event back in October 2010, the event co-hosted the launch of the new Mégane RS coupé to media and public.  Yes, the hot hatch turned hot coupé, and Renault bravely challenged motoring journalists to compete in its Mégane RS cars up the winding run in the Simola golf estate.

Sport or Cup?

At launch, the Mégane RS came in Sport and Cup models.  

The Sport had the Sport chassis (sport suspension etc.) and leather sports seats,18-inch wheels, and built-in navigation (which the Cup lost in favour of the RS Monitor – see below).

The Cup was the more hardcore car:  taught Cup chassis, limited-slip diff, red brake calipers clamping grooved discs, 19-inch tilt-spoke duotone gloss-black / sheen diamond-cut alloy wheels, form-hugging Recaro bucket seats, Renault Sport Monitor (to check in-car graphs showing your real-time power and torque, “GG” display of transverse and longitudinal acceleration (G-forces), stopwatch, lap timer, automatic memory for recording of best 0-100 km/h sprint, and, of course, quarter-mile and 1km sprint times)… as any yellow&black wearing Renault fanatic would be quick to tell you.

The launch prices were R 359 900 for the Mégane RS Sport, and R 399 900 for the Mégane RS Cup.

The 2.0-litre Renault turbo engine made 184kW at 5500 revs and torque standing at 340Nm at 3800.  It was a proper performance car, with a 0-100km/h sprint in 6.1 seconds, and a top speed of 250km/h.  A slick-solid 6-speed manual is the only gearbox for the RS.

The Renault Mégane RS in coupé form set the tone for competitors like the Volkswagen Scirocco R (kind of a Golf R in a pretty coupé body) and Opel Astra OPC (in its 2nd generation as OPC coupé, having turned on its roots as OPC hatch).

Raspy

This engine, as per its predecessor, has a raspy exhaust note, tuned to sound sporty-edgy… in a 4-cylinder that sounds better than possibly any other, and with a proper audible turbo blow out the back of the centrally-mounted exhaust.

265

In mid 2012, the engine was uprated to 195kW (265 horsepower) and adopted the 265 naming as it is known by in other markets.  Torque output was tweaked to 360Nm across a broader spread of 3000-5000 rpm.  The Renault Mégane RS 265 Sport and Mégane RS 265 Cup were created.

Acceleration improved by a tenth to 6.0 sec, while top-end increased to 255 km/h.

265 Trophy

2012’s 265 upgrade co-incided with the introduction of the 1st limited-edition of the this shape Mégane RS, namely the RS 265 Trophy.  Look out for the red lines in the front air blade (the shaped bar linking the front fog lights) and red along the lower sides, red rim flanges, and the same red line treatment in the rear bumper curves.

Red stylised blocks with TROPHY lettering appeared on the doors, and red TROPHY was applied horizontally on the front air blade.  The door sills had a numbered plaque.

It cost only R5k more than the Cup, and was available for about a year, until mid 2013.

Red Bull Racing RB7

To celebrate Renault F1 world champions 2011, 2012 saw a Red Bull Racing (yes, Red Bull the energy drink, as title team sponsor of the Renault F1 team) special edition, called Mégane RS 265 Red Bull Racing RB7.  

The car had a black body with yellow for the mirror caps and front and rear bumper inserts, and gloss black wheels with a red flang.  The front of the doors wore Red Bull Racing branding.  The interior was black and yellow, too – Renault colours.  Its price was a constant R 419 900 new.

Red Bull Racing RB8

The next year saw more racing champagne, and the RB7 was replaced by the Renault Mégane RS 265 Red Bull Racing RB8 in 2013 – this car was painted in a deep blue, offset with silver-greyish details (like the mirror caps, rear roof spoiler, and bumper inserts).  This time, a colour scheme closer to Red Bull’s blue and silver-grey.  Again, Red Bull Racing branded.  The interior was black with red detailing.

New the RB8 cost R 429 900 in late 2013, increased to R 434 900 in 2014, and the last early-’15 cars retailed at R 439 900.  

Facelift 2015

Early 2015 saw the introduction of a Mégane RS facelift, which changed to new clear-lens headlights and other details.  Not much could be changed without spoiling the great design, so fortunately well was left alone.  

The facelift also saw a line-up change to RS 265 Lux and RS 275 Trophy.

Lux

Not the soap.  At the time of the 2015 facelift the RS Sport model changed into the more subtle, grey-wheeled semi-luxurious Lux model… but RS and Lux was not appealing enough, as RS buyers went for the top spec.  By December the same year the Lux slipped off the price list (was R 389 900).

275

The RS 265 Cup model was dropped from the model mix, as the RS picked up a new Trophy.  The new RS 275 Trophy became a less shouty variant than the 265 Trophy, with trim sans red lines – the RS Trophy 275 is adorned with a silver-grey parallel twin-stripe across its rear quarters, and the previous red TROPHY lettering placed flat on the front air splitter is now in black atop silver-grey.

The name change from 265 to 275 meant power was upped to 201kW.  Partly thanks to a new engine auto stop-start feature, combined fuel consumption and emissions were reduced (even the RS became eco-conscious).

When introduced in June 2015, the new 275 Trophy was listed at R 449 900, and has since increased to R 489 900.

Finale 275

The new Mégane IV has arrived, and at this stage there are only signs of a hatch (and estate for other countries).  Would the Mégane coupé be renewed?  Will the next Mégane RS become a hatch again?

As its finalé, the RS 275 Finale is a fitting farewell limited-edition model.  You’ll spot the badge “275 FINALE” along down on the angled beading on the rear fender, and the stylised chequered-flag blocks appear across the curved rear haunches (Finale race decals, Renault named it).

Equipment includes an Akrapovic performance sports exhaust, RS Monitor and navigation, those 19-inch gloss-black alloy wheels with red rim-flange, and, next to the gear lever, a numbered plaque to indicate No. 1/20 of RS 275 Finale you are the proud owner of.  Yes, only 20 cars are built.

Priced at the same R 489 900 as the 275 Trophy, the Renault Mégane RS 275 Finale is the last of the current Mégane RS.

The last of the breed?  Very hopefully a new RS coupé is being tested for production…