Renault has smashed the previous lap record for front-wheel drive cars around the Nürburgring with its Mégane Renaultsport 265 Trophy.
The RS 265 Trophy blitzed around the famous circuit in just 8 minutes 08 seconds to be the quickest ever front-drive production car on the track. This beats the three-year old record set by Renault's very own Mégane Renaultsport R26.R, which set a time of 8 minutes 17 seconds in June 2008.
With 265hp from its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, the RS265 has 34hp more than the old R26.R. Renault also says the new lap record had a lot to do with careful tyre choice and set-up by its Renaultsport engineers.
It also has a bit to do with Renaultsport's Laurent Hurgon, who is the tuning arm's development driver. He said after his record run: "The Mégane Renaultsport Trophy is very much in its element here and feels particularly reassuring despite the uncompromising nature of the terrain.
"The limited slip differential allowed me to accelerate hard out of the countless turns without understeer. The carefully-tuned Cup chassis, the dampers, the fade-resistant brakes, the Recaro seats, the power of the 265hp engine, the ready availability of torque between 2,500 and 5,000rpm and the car's Bridgestone RE 050A (235/35 R19) tyres allowed me to make the most of the car's enormous potential. It is this package which enabled me to post such a quick time round this circuit which you must always approach with a certain degree of humility."