Renault is prepping up an all-new Megane R.S. for quite some time now. The new hot hatch is now confirmed to make its first official public appearance at the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix weekend. The Megane would go around the Circuit de Monaco street circuit with Renault F1 driver, Nico Hulkenberg, behind the steering wheel.
The appearance of the Megane R.S. on the F1 track also commemorates the 40 years of Renault’s involvement in Formula 1. And therefore to pay homage, the Megane R.S. will be adorning a special yellow and black livery. Ahead of the official reveal, the French carmaker has teased the car’s front. The R.S.-specific ‘chequered flag’ style square LED day-time-running lights, along with signature Renault grille and C-shaped headlight extension is all prominent features of the new Megane. The LED headlamps are complemented by an aggressive bumper. The recently leaked images hint at large diffusers at the back with centrally mounted twin-exit exhaust.
The all-new Megane R.S. will be the most potent Megane yet. It is early days yet to predict whether it will be rocking an all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, but one thing is certain. The new Megane R.S. will pose a serious threat to the Honda Civic Type R and Ford Focus RS. Under the hood would be a turbocharged 2.0-litre or the turbocharged 1.8-litre engine from the Alpine A110. Both engines, however, are likely to run up a power output in excess of 300bhp (at least 30bhp more than the previous car). Transmission could be a six-speed manual or an EDC dual clutch transmission.
After the sighting laps of the Monaco, the new Megane R.S. will go on sale sometime in 2018 with further details revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.