Renault Megane RS 250 Cup sets Sepang time: 2:43.02!

Renault importer TC Euro Cars has released a teaser video of its soon to be launched hot hatch, the Renault Megane RS 250 Cup, which was recently caught on camera by our own Harvinder in Langkawi. This is bound to be a cracking car to drive, if Renaultsport has improved on the outgoing Megane RS, which was my most enjoyable drive in 2009. I still occasionally dream of that big bottomed black car, and can’t wait to sample its successor.

The video starts off with glimpses of the car’s juicy bits. Things like a good ol’ six-speed manual gearbox, aluminium pedals with rubber studs, Recaro seats, xenons, Brembo brakes are all standard. The Malaysian spec car will also come with the Cup chassis, LSD and the Renaultsport Monitor – the latter is a system which provides the driver with real-time data accessible via steering wheel controls. The info includes a lap timer with memory function, acceleration timer, transverse and longitudinal g-force, turbo pressure, oil temperature plus torque and power figures.

Renault Megane RS 250 Cup sets Sepang time: 2:43.02!

The clip then shows the yellow Megane taking on Sepang. Driven by Singaporean racer Denis Lian, the stock standard RS lapped the track in 2:43.02 in dry conditions. Very respectable. While a Civic Type R can potentially rival that time, you’d be crushing your guts all the way home in the super focussed Honda as the Renault driver wafts along.

The price? We hear that it won’t be costlier than the outgoing car, which was sold for RM235K. Stay tuned!

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • gymmy on Nov 06, 2010 at 7:23 am

    At rm235k, it would be nice to compare this car with a gti fitted with quaife atb lsd, stage 1 apr, and kw v3s.

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  • The Loner on Nov 06, 2010 at 7:51 am

    Hurrah. The Megane RS 250 Cup, not the Megane RS, which does not have LSD.

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  • Teamsleepnine on Nov 06, 2010 at 8:39 am

    Who the hell on earth is dennis lian??i’m sure is they hired malaysian it can at least clock 2’5sec faster.

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    • Teamsleepnine on Nov 06, 2010 at 8:40 am

      Or what the ….it’s ”if”not ”is”typo”sorry

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    • sukasuki on Nov 06, 2010 at 11:44 am

      dunno who, mayb the pay is cheaper than malaysian pro driver

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    • suresh on Nov 06, 2010 at 3:55 pm

      he’s a very capable racing driver from singapore. the fact that renault or any reputable company chooses him as their driver speaks volume of the recognition of his ability. he’s a nice guy too.

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      • Teamsleepnine on Nov 06, 2010 at 8:10 pm

        Renault didnt choose him,renault distributor choose him..there is other well known singaporean driver,like that half malay-half chinese guy hafiz i think and the other one is racing in super gt gt300 in a mosler(private entry,deep pocket)he also have experience in wtcc.

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      • hantu... on Nov 07, 2010 at 1:58 am

        ability of DNF right? coz as far as I know all the race that he entered normally DNF…

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    • steven on Nov 06, 2010 at 9:59 pm

      for all u so called motorsports buff..denis lian is the former A1 gp driver..and was 1 of the top 5 formula driver in asia…he also ws part of empire momtorsports who raced the 2-11 that were the first team to finish the pretigious dubai 24hr race along karun chandok…..increase la ur knowledge before posting dun embaress ur self!!

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      • hantu... on Nov 07, 2010 at 11:37 pm

        what im trying to say here is.. there is alot of other good Malaysian driver here.. why call Sing driver to drive at Mal track??? Steven.. pls try to recall back Denis is only a finisher at Dubai 24hours.. but i think there is 1 Malaysian driver who finish with a better result at Dubai right??? now who know MORE about motorsport??????

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    • Diablo on Nov 07, 2010 at 1:56 am

      C’mon Teamsleepnine. Just because you’re ignorant of him doesn’t make him 2.5s slower. He is a capable driver who also raced single seaters. You would know this if you’re in the motorsport fraternity. Obviously you’re not.

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      • Steven on Nov 08, 2010 at 8:07 pm

        ur rite diablo…he din fin bcz the car gave way…not bcz he was slower…for ur info his team was leading the clas and he got them ter till the gbox failure….ur so cald msian driver was carried ovr the line by the japs in his team nt bcz he was a great driver….he was a strong contributor for the team hence his seat!!…oni other notable driver who were capable of putin d cars to its limits like u said mr karam, alex n may be fairuz….bt i tink he got it coz it was a car frm wearns n he is a motorsports advisor of sorts for them..

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    • Kambing Gurun on Nov 07, 2010 at 9:50 pm

      Why not hire Alex Yoong?

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  • finally TC Euro decided to bring in newer Renault models…good job

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  • tigertie on Nov 06, 2010 at 9:18 am

    Yummylicious

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  • nonce on Nov 06, 2010 at 9:40 am

    me love hot hatch!

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  • Sean ooi on Nov 06, 2010 at 9:45 am

    So COOL!

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  • great machine !!!!

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  • Megane R26 was your most enjoyable ride of 2009?

    Wow.. that’s saying something eh. This one should be a cracker then.

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  • Does anyone know what’s the music’s name ??? It goes so well with the clip…

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  • Paul Tan on Nov 06, 2010 at 11:58 am

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Lian

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  • anyone knows how fast a stock golf gti mk6 goes around sepang?
    Just for reference =P

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    • peeps on Nov 06, 2010 at 12:56 pm

      this machine cannot compare with the normal golf gti. Maybe a rocco R.. someow on track this car still beat the rocco but for everyday driving, VW rocco still a better car… my vote still go to vw rocco r. unless im a race head everyday sepang..

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    • titanium on Nov 06, 2010 at 3:32 pm

      also wan stock civic type r lap time compare to all…

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    • This car eats Golf GTI / R, Mini JCW, Rocco R, and occassionaly even focus RS for breakfast. This according to lap times noted by various auto magazines ok.

      Honda FD2R prob not apple to apple comparo.. but this car would eat that too… does anyone know its 0-100 times???

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  • junaidi on Nov 06, 2010 at 12:59 pm

    “While a Civic Type R can potentially rival that time, you’d be crushing your guts all the way home in the super focussed Honda as the Renault driver wafts along.”

    I love this bit.

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  • nabill on Nov 06, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    should be compare to the scciroco not the gti….better the scirroce R which is not availble here yet

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    • price wise is comparable…
      but according to internet and magazines, golf gti seems like a better performer (slightly) and handler too.

      The renault is comparable to the golf r (and sirrocco r) in terms of horsepower but according to sources golf r might be priced abt 280k.

      Yes. the renault is a bargain. But then again, its french.

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  • droll on Nov 06, 2010 at 1:38 pm

    oh oh!! the cup chassis!!!

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  • semut on Nov 06, 2010 at 1:38 pm

    107K over here in Lgk……:)

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  • Lim Kopi on Nov 06, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    Sure , performance figures are one thing …

    But to pay this sort of price for a French make….

    Good luck to those…. :)

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    • Anti Proton on Nov 06, 2010 at 9:52 pm

      u people wont even think twice to pay for a japanese or german made in south africa or hungary.

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  • chronozome on Nov 06, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    wait…i have a problem with the cheap video.
    although there’s the GT-esque style of camera work on the first 30 seconds, with just 4 clips of the car on track that shows no sign of how the car behaves on the corner, how are we gonna get excited about the car launch?

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  • Trust me guys, this baby looks even sexier in the flesh!

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  • Wan Assad on Nov 06, 2010 at 6:42 pm

    “While a Civic Type R can potentially rival that time, you’d be crushing your guts all the way home in the super focused Honda as the Renault driver wafts along.”

    Classic!

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  • lchan on Nov 06, 2010 at 8:19 pm

    235k. disappointing price yet again from TC Euro!!!!

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  • New Lotus Concept Production Dream on Nov 06, 2010 at 9:20 pm

    It is faster on Fifth Gear Vs Scirocco R and yet slower than the Scirocco China Cup in Sepang. Perhaps the driver didn’t push hard enough.

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    • Danny Tan (Member) on Nov 07, 2010 at 12:58 pm

      Scirocco Cup China car is a stripped out race car weighing about 200 kg less than stock

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    • Steven on Nov 08, 2010 at 8:09 pm

      buddy do u noe the diff between a cup scrocco n the renault tested here??…standard n cup spec got diff la…tyres for example??…omg!!!

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  • Anti Proton on Nov 06, 2010 at 9:53 pm

    what about normal megane? no news?

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  • chronozome, just search for ‘megane 250 rs’ in youtube. u can stay up all nite watching megane videos. :)

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  • this is interesting. let’s see which of the current hot hatch fraternity will take up this challenge to crack 2:43 in a showroom stock car. :)

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  • megane rs 250 vs mazda 3 mps…. woww

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  • Lim Kopi on Nov 07, 2010 at 2:58 am

    When the VW GOLF R comes to our shores early next year (it is expected) …

    Will surely give this French crossant a run for its money

    FYI , GOLF R estimated to be around RM250 – 260k . which is not far off.

    So good luck TC Euro cars.

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    • don’t talk about vapourware until on the road lah, give due credit, showroom standard can go this fast….

      don’t bet your your lunch you might go hungry….

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  • Leonard Foong on Nov 07, 2010 at 10:03 am

    The Renault Megane RS 250 Cup is set to be launched this coming Thursday, 11/11/10 at Sepang. It will be priced at RM228k.

    This car has gotten much praise from various motor journalists, putting it on par with the hot hatch of all time, the Ford Focus RS. Eg.
    (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zMH1u4QhRU)
    (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3JCO-nutog)

    Seriously considering getting one but Renaults terrible resale value is putting me off…

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    • Froggy on Nov 08, 2010 at 12:08 pm

      If you are worried about resale value then you do not deserve this car. move along.

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      • Leonard Foong on Nov 12, 2010 at 3:39 pm

        I’m sorry for thinking like a businessman but having a family in the car industry, I take these things into consideration automatically. I had a Renault Clio V6 previously and it couldn’t be sold for shit. Before you criticize me and brand me not worthy of the car, you best know who you are talking to…

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  • blo0d on Nov 07, 2010 at 10:31 am

    btw paul, in the vid @0.05 the gearknob shows that reverse in under 1st gear? comparable to our normal 2nd gear there? hoho. quite dangerous izzit if we suddenly reversed to other car. imho only

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    • Citroen fans on Nov 07, 2010 at 11:31 pm

      for your info, in order to engage the reverse gear, you will need to use your finger to pull the knob, then you will feel the gear has entered another phase, only then you can push it to reverse. So there is no safety issue here. 308 GT has the same system

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  • PaulTanToo on Nov 07, 2010 at 11:07 am

    Civic Type R is such a stupid car. Its so stiff and uncomfortable its as compromised as a lotus elise. The 4 drs are just an illusion of practicality as no sane passenger would volunteer for a ride unless the only alternative was to walk 10km.

    Besides, 90% of its speed comes from the ridiculous special compound tyres it comes with. Put those same tyres on the Megane Cup and it would smoke the FD2 around Sepang. As it is, their laptimes are pretty much identical, maybe the FD2 can be a second quicker stock.

    Denis is a competent driver but is not known for being blindingly quick. There are a fair few guys in Malaysia that would have been able to find the 0.03 seconds extra to make the laptime start with a sexier 2m 42….

    Anyway…..who buys a road car on laptimes ? Thats a dumb criteria to evaluate a road car purchase decision!

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    • TaipARGHOwner on Nov 08, 2010 at 1:49 pm

      Apparently, there are some dumb people who evaluate their cars based on lap times, maybe because they do not have enough money to dump into an all out track car? There are also plenty of dumb people that visit the Sunway “Horsepower Road” just to make their cars stiffer with aftermarket coilovers.

      Granted, I’m also one dumb arse to have bought one, but yet I prefer to stay dumb and drive this car, mainly because of its rawness. Apart from the ABS, there is no other fancy computer assisted technologies to take the fun away from the pure driving capabilities of the car. Lotus? I wanted it, but maybe later, after I mod the driver.

      “90% of its speed comes from the ridiculous special compound tyres” you said, erm, can I relate that back to the Nissan GTR? Which uses the same tyres? Or can I relate it to some of the STIs on the road? Which 90% of its speed comes from it? By the way, can a VW Golf GTI perform better with the Bridgestone RE070? Can the suspension take the stiffness of the sidewalls? Can the car stick on the ground without the suspension giving up on the tyres hence flip?

      I don’t know what has the CTR done to you to make you have such a bad impression towards the car, but what I do know is that, you failed to realise that the Megane RS 250 Cup is turbocharged and so is the VW Golf GTI, the CTR, none, only a puny 2.0 litre engine running it albeit being a strong engine imo.

      I did not want to post this up, but after looking at some posts here, I prefer to think, why not I do some justice to those who has very limited money to race but wants to be a racer on occasional weekends?

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  • Seewhye on Nov 07, 2010 at 2:30 pm

    Denis a ‘nice guy’??? Joke of the century…

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  • zaff1984 on Nov 07, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    GTi R your move….

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  • Paultantoo hit the nail on the head. Btw, Autocar just came out with the best driver’s car of 2010. It came in an incredible 5th out of 11 which includes a bunch of much more expensive cars such as the Ferarri 458, Porsche 911GT3,Merc SLS AMG, Audi RS5. As for the comparison with the VW cars, I have not read one review where the VW Golf R or Scirocco R came out better than the Megane 250, and I love VW cars btw. Resale wise, yes that’s a question mark but the Renaultsports are not your run of the mill Renaults so I don’t think you’ll lose that much over the long term since they are well respected. Plus the new Renaults especially with this Megane 250 are built very well.

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  • Volkswagen – Ada brani?! ;)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3o6wlBwLno

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    • Adrian on Nov 08, 2010 at 11:10 am

      All the reviewers kept saying was,

      – The megane is better around corners, but the Scirocco is a more comfortable ride
      – The megane has better brakes, but the Scirocco has great low end torque
      – The megane is faster round a track, but the Scirocco pulls harder…

      If I wanted an uncomfortable, unpractical, reasonably priced car to go on track I’d buy the Elise.

      If I wanted a fast, practical, reasonably priced car, I’d buy the Golf GTI.

      In my eyes, the two cars reviewed reminds me of The Calling, Stacy Orrico, Robyn, Debbie Gibson… All one hit wonders..

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      • mr_3m on Nov 10, 2010 at 10:45 pm

        And then for people who want something in between the Elise and the Golf GTi… there’s always this Megane RS 250 Cup….

        so there you have it, something for everyone on the menu… ain’t it good to have some choice instead? You go to a restaurant surely you would not want to see only one dish served, right?

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  • speedracer on Nov 08, 2010 at 10:09 am

    Video too shortlah..got background music some more…should only allow the engine sound baru real..

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  • R26 owner on Nov 13, 2010 at 10:55 am

    Need more driving time b4 U can appreciate renaultsport models. so it is the same with this 250. Learnt from driving R26 daily.

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