Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy-R 2014 Review

I fancy myself a decent driver and not a bad motorcyclist, for that matter. I've ploughed around dozens of racetracks across the globe in all manner of machinery, but I've just had a reality check and loved every second of it.

Wriggling into the lightweight polycarbonate Recaro seats and buckling into the six-point Sabelt harness of the Megane RS 275 Trophy-R, I knew my chauffeur, Laurent Hurgon, would be fast.

He recently set the lap record for a front-drive car around the Nurburgring, in this Megane Trophy-R -- the fastest Renault production car thus far.

But I didn't realise he would be completely loco! Fast doesn't explain what Hurgon does with the vehicle, pushing it around the treacherous 20.8km road circuit – the world's most famous performance test track – with equal parts flair, zeal and lunacy.

After a brief chat about the lightweight car, of which only 250 units will be built globally – and 50 of them earmarked for Australia – he nods and drops the hammer.

And what I thought was a brilliant car, the regular RS 275 Trophy, is clearly capable of being much, much faster.

Provoking oversteer where needed, sliding through tight corners, using ripple strips hidden by shrubbery and getting virtually airborne on three occasions, both Laurent and the world's fastest Renault Megane are on song.

The key to the Trophy-R's increased performance, in terms of mid-corner and straight-line speed, is its lower mass. Sure, it gets larger alloy front disc brakes (up 10mm to 350mm) clamped by Brembo callipers, "world-first" composite epoxy front springs and adjustable Ohlins dampers. But as part of a weight-shedding regime the car is now 101kg lighter.

Going from 1381kg to 1280kg transforms the car, and it responds quicker in every respect, from its steering and braking to its acceleration and even the way it tracks through corners.

Hurgon says the Trophy-R is one of the best-balanced cars he's driven, and it shows. He brakes so late into the first few corners I wonder if we're going to stay on the track, but before long I stop pushing my legs hard into the firewall and trust car and driver as we slingshot our way around the Nurburgring.

Renault went to great measures to lower the car's weight, with the biggest drop coming via single-piece polycarbonate Recaro bucket seats, which shed 22kg. Take out the rear seats (20kg), sound absorbing materials (18kg) and replace the lead-acid battery with a lighter lithium-ion unit and the diet is clearly working.

Further mass is shaved via the removal of the stereo and air-conditioning (10kg), the addition of Speedline 19-inch alloy wheels (5kg), plus a new titanium exhaust from Akrapovic (4kg), aluminium alloy disc brakes (3kg) and the Allevard composite springs (2kg).

Chuck in a rear strut brace for improved body rigidity and specially developed Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres normally reserved for high-end Porsche 911s and the 201kW/360Nm turbo-petrol car feels less like a hot hatch and more like a guided missile.

The way Hurgon spears through the Nurburgring's 73 various corners leaves me speechless after a few minutes, and I grin like a dolt as we're thrust every which way against the six-point harnesses. The manner in which the car fires out of corners and maintains grip, even when the tyres seem about to completely let go, is flabbergasting.

Without doubt, Renault has created the most potent track-ready front-drive car in the new Trophy-R, which will arrive in Australia in limited quantities from December 2014.

It absolutely tore the Nurburgring to pieces and in the hands of drivers like Hurgon has the potential to make 'seasoned' drivers feel like newbies.