The Renault Sport Megane R26----My Ultimate Megane.

So, the Megane R26, or as it’s Actually called, and no, I genuinely am not making this up, the Renaultsport Megane 230 F1 Team R26, what do you need to know about it? Well, first, its basically a Older Version of today’s RS 265…Cup, whatever, and secondly, was made in commemoration of The Renault F1 Team being the overall champions for the 2006 Season of Formula One, with Alonso taking the Drivers’, and Renault the Constructors. It is worth noting that Renault…Were rather….Over-Excited to win the Championship, as this was announced Before they were totally sure they’d win: That’s how eager and Excited they were.

On with the car.

First, off, those Stickers….Well, someone at Renault has definitely been busy with ‘em, hasn’t he/she? Never fear though, this isn’t just a Megane with a Ultra-Long Name(a la Fiat Stilo Schumacher trim levels,) and some go-faster decals stuck to it, this car built upon the already-rather-potent Renaultsport 225 F1 Team—To the tune of 5 more bhp..And a even better chassis. So, it was the Hottest Megane of the day.

The engine, in case you didn’t know, was a 230 ps(227 bhp) version of the 225’s 4-Pot Turbo, and produced 230 lb-ft of Torque along with it. The R26 bit of the name was meant to reflect the name of the F1 Car Renault fielded for 2006.

Featuring an improved version of the Cup Chassis Package, which included 18-Inch Anthracite wheels shod in Michelin Pilot Sport 2’s(235/40 R18 ones), Brembo front and rear Red(Definitely improves braking Performance) calipers, with the Brakes’ Master Cylinder larger in diameter, and revised, stiffer(Heavier?) steering, it also had a sports Exhaust, Recaro seats, Climate Control(Who needs that in a Hot Hatch?!), a 4x15-watt RDS radio single CD/MP3 CD Player with 6 Speakers, those god-awful Renault F1 Decals, a numbered Plaque, a rear wing……..And a Limited Slip Diff.

The idea of a LSD….Wasn’t the most loved one for the Hot Hatch, especially after Ford’s Mk1 Focus RS had made a rather poor showing of it, but, in the Megane, its action was near-unnoticeable, the only way to do so was to be really aggressive on that Shiny Right Pedal, and as a result, instead of understeering off the road and into a tree, you’d manage to keep yourself on the road, and yourself alive, too. That said, that lack of drama did come down to some suspension changes, which included new dampers and stiffer springs, reduced ‘bump stops’ for greater Suspension Travel, a different front anti-roll-bar, and some more changes to the Rear Suspension.

Hell, there wasn’t much to hate either, it costed the same as the outgoing 225(19570 quid, in case you’re asking), which was a bargain, given that it had all that extra hardware, it’d hit 147 mph, hit 60 in 6.2 Seconds, which in today’s time isn’t the quickest, but back then, was pretty good, had a kerbweight of 1355 kilos, had a Six-Speed Manual, stopped better because of those brakes, and the steering feel was improved(Apparently).

Plus, those gaudy graphics could be deleted. Score.

Of course, when ‘Nando and Fisichella celebrated their victories in Sandton, South Africa…Well, they did it the only way possible.

With a Show Of Burning Tyres!

Renault South Africa had supplied the cars for that particular..Showcase, and, also sold those cars, with one of the cars(or both), signed by one of them(On the Passenger Side Sun Visor) who’d driven it at the Celebration. Renault SA also replaced the Clutches, Driveshafts, and tyres a week after that Showcase.

Around 6-8 thousand quid will bag you one of these now, and thankfully, most of them haven’t got that God-Awful set of decals, and so, you’ll be able to spend your time hunting Mk V Golf GTIs….Or whoever came up with that name. Now, I’ll hand you over to Vicki, who’ll tell you about what to look out for when buying one of these.

But Wait!: Its not over yet, as Renault released a new variant of the R26, called the R26.R in 2008(October, to be exact). Essentially, all it was a R26…But made 123 Kilos Lighter. That weight reduction was achieved via the removal of the rear seats and seat belts, passenger airbag and curtain airbags (the driver’s airbag remained), climate control (air conditioning remained as standard), rear wash/wipe and heated rear window, front fog lamps, headlamp washers, radio/CD player and most of the soundproofing.
Other ways included a carbon fibre bonnet, polycarbonate tailgate and rear side windows, Sabelt seats with carbon fibre shell and aluminium base, 6-point harnesses, a rear spoiler, an optional roll cage and an optional titanium exhaust.

New parts also included new front springs (14 mm/100 kg), new rear springs (16.2 mm/100 kg), recalibrated shock absorber settings, grooved brake discs, new alloy wheels fitted with a different offset increasing the track by 4 mm, optional Toyo Proxes R888 225/40R18 tyres (Michelin Pilot Sport 2 235/40R18 were the original tyres) and stiffer lower arm bushes.

450 were made, with just over half of them(230 was the magic number) destined for the UK. The car was retailed at 22 990 quid back then. They haven’t lost much of their value, as well, I saw one for sale…And it cost 18 995 quid. So, if you want one, come prepared with a lot of cash.

…And that’s about it. All you really need to know about the Renaultsport Megane 230 F1 Team R26, which constitutes as my ultimate Megane, being more affordable, looking less like a mobile version of most Music Festivals, and Ultra combined, and having nearly as much performance. Feel free to leave advice, overlooked details and the like down in the comments, and now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get back to working on the next article.

See you there.

[Writers Note: Hey guys! If you’ve read up to this point, then, thanks for sticking around! Now, right now I’m experimenting with a different Writing Style, in an attempt to shorten my articles, so that you lot don’t fall asleep, so, I’m sorry if this seems a bit different. I’m quite liking this so far, so this might stick. Stay tuned for the next article, about an Unsung Hero, bash me as hard as you want in the comments, and I’ll see you at the next article. Thanks for everything. —Joel.]