Nurburgring Has a New Front-Wheel Drive Renault Record Setter

As of yesterday the fastest car on Nurburgring in front-wheel drive category is of Renault family.

It took Megane R. S. 275 Trophy-R a little more than 7 minutes 54 seconds to finish a lap. The previous record-holder was Leon Cupra 280 from SEAT. Trophy-R was engineered specially for track and dieted by 220 lbs from a standard version. It became possible due to use of polycarbonate on the seat material and removable battery.

Powertrain of the track car is a carryover and offers turbo V4 with the displacement of 2.0 litres making 275 hp. Gearbox is manual and has six-speed regime. Weight problem was also partially solved due to reinforced brakes which also shorten braking distance. Another element of record success implies wrapping of special race tyres.

Limited edition of 250 Trophy-R cars will appear in dealerships across Europe within a couple of months. However, Renault should not rest on one’s laurels because Honda has all chances to be its closest competitor with its Civic Type-R. Japanese racer also uses a new powertrain, namely, a turbo 2.0-litre motor developing 280 hp. The corresponding concept was showcased at 2014 Geneva event.