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Megane R26 Limited Edition and Clio R27 tracing their heritage
Renault's formidable local hot hatch duo has been enhanced by very limited edition offerings in both Clio and Megane bodystyles.
Taking cue from the Renault F1 team chassis numbers and built on a dedicated production line at the Renault Sport facility in Dieppe, France, the Clio R27 and Megane R26 limited edition celebrate Renault’s newfangled local performance car commitment with aplomb.
Fancy a Megane R26 with black side-mirrors?
Its full model name might be Megane Renaultsport F1 Team R26 Limited Edition, but if you eventually become one of the 26 local owners you’d probably refer to it just as the 'R26 Limited Edition' when quizzed at a braai.
Mechanically identical to the R26 Megane, the local Limited Edition versions feature differentiating styling features such as –side-mirrors finished in black, and black 18-inch alloy wheels instead of the Anthracite standard R26 items.
All Limited Edition cars will only be available in either white or black finish, and feature a special edition numbered plaque signed by Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet (we’ve dropped the junior tag since the second place in the German F1 Grand Prix).
The 2-litre 169kW turbo engine is still stupendously strong in the mid-range, whilst the sorted chassis dovetails brilliantly with a mercurial limited-slip front differential to render virtually torque steer free high-powered front-wheel drive motoring.
If you're a hardcore Fernando Alonso or Nelson Piquet fan and black side-view mirrors really do it for you the R298 000 price may seem completely justifiable – especially considering the 26 car-only local allocation does boost exclusivity somewhat.
A "standard" R26 gets the job done all the same for R277 500 though, and only disturbingly schooled Renault fanatics will spot the difference between a white or black R26 and the similarly lacquered R26 Limited Edition version…
27 Reasons to cuddle up to a Clio instead of your partner
Launched in conjunction with the Megane R26 Limited Edition – in appropriately limited numbers too, only 27 available locally – is the Clio R27.
The full model name is characteristically epic in Renault performance car parlance – "Clio Renaultsport F1 Team R27 Limited Edition", we kid you not – and although your bank might have problems spacing in all of it on the financing papers, you’d hardly mind considering the performance potential.
Based on the roguishly loveable Clio RS sport means you still get a screaming 145kW, naturally aspirated two-litre engine, odd-throw six-speed manual gearbox and enticing rear-diffuser addled handling characteristics from the special Cup fettled chassis.
R27 has seen ride height lowered by 7mm whilst spring rates have been stiffened by 27 percent up front and 30 percent at the rear. Damper settings are revised to blend with the 10% improvement on standard Clio RS torsional rigidity, which yields more controlled behaviour during extreme deceleration characteristic of track days.
Behind the 17-inch Anthracite mags you’ll notice those distinctive red Brembo brake callipers and featuring a virtually identical braking system to the R26 Megane range (four-pot callipers on 312mm ventilated discs up front, with single-pot callipers clamping 300mm vented discs at the rear), declarative performance should be epic.
Interior appointments exclusive to the R27 include the requisite boy-racer sculpted Recaro racing seats, an upgraded four-speaker, two-tweeter DC/MP3 enabled sound system and fully automatic climate control. And between the font seats you’ll have your own commemorative, numbered plaque signed by both Alonso and Piquet.
Those 27 local potential Clio R27 owners can also specify the previously Megane R26 exclusive, lurid Sirius metallic yellow paint finish as an option beyond the R236 000 retail price.
With a 6.9 second 0-100km/h sprint time (it will suffer naturally aspirated performance depreciation at Reef altitudes) and improved suspension and braking features, the dynamic package should enable Clio R27 to keep its fabled position as the enfant terrible of naturally aspirated hot hatches.
Taking cue from the Renault F1 team chassis numbers and built on a dedicated production line at the Renault Sport facility in Dieppe, France, the Clio R27 and Megane R26 limited edition celebrate Renault’s newfangled local performance car commitment with aplomb.
Fancy a Megane R26 with black side-mirrors?
Its full model name might be Megane Renaultsport F1 Team R26 Limited Edition, but if you eventually become one of the 26 local owners you’d probably refer to it just as the 'R26 Limited Edition' when quizzed at a braai.
Mechanically identical to the R26 Megane, the local Limited Edition versions feature differentiating styling features such as –side-mirrors finished in black, and black 18-inch alloy wheels instead of the Anthracite standard R26 items.
All Limited Edition cars will only be available in either white or black finish, and feature a special edition numbered plaque signed by Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet (we’ve dropped the junior tag since the second place in the German F1 Grand Prix).
The 2-litre 169kW turbo engine is still stupendously strong in the mid-range, whilst the sorted chassis dovetails brilliantly with a mercurial limited-slip front differential to render virtually torque steer free high-powered front-wheel drive motoring.
If you're a hardcore Fernando Alonso or Nelson Piquet fan and black side-view mirrors really do it for you the R298 000 price may seem completely justifiable – especially considering the 26 car-only local allocation does boost exclusivity somewhat.
A "standard" R26 gets the job done all the same for R277 500 though, and only disturbingly schooled Renault fanatics will spot the difference between a white or black R26 and the similarly lacquered R26 Limited Edition version…
27 Reasons to cuddle up to a Clio instead of your partner
Launched in conjunction with the Megane R26 Limited Edition – in appropriately limited numbers too, only 27 available locally – is the Clio R27.
The full model name is characteristically epic in Renault performance car parlance – "Clio Renaultsport F1 Team R27 Limited Edition", we kid you not – and although your bank might have problems spacing in all of it on the financing papers, you’d hardly mind considering the performance potential.
Based on the roguishly loveable Clio RS sport means you still get a screaming 145kW, naturally aspirated two-litre engine, odd-throw six-speed manual gearbox and enticing rear-diffuser addled handling characteristics from the special Cup fettled chassis.
R27 has seen ride height lowered by 7mm whilst spring rates have been stiffened by 27 percent up front and 30 percent at the rear. Damper settings are revised to blend with the 10% improvement on standard Clio RS torsional rigidity, which yields more controlled behaviour during extreme deceleration characteristic of track days.
Behind the 17-inch Anthracite mags you’ll notice those distinctive red Brembo brake callipers and featuring a virtually identical braking system to the R26 Megane range (four-pot callipers on 312mm ventilated discs up front, with single-pot callipers clamping 300mm vented discs at the rear), declarative performance should be epic.
Interior appointments exclusive to the R27 include the requisite boy-racer sculpted Recaro racing seats, an upgraded four-speaker, two-tweeter DC/MP3 enabled sound system and fully automatic climate control. And between the font seats you’ll have your own commemorative, numbered plaque signed by both Alonso and Piquet.
Those 27 local potential Clio R27 owners can also specify the previously Megane R26 exclusive, lurid Sirius metallic yellow paint finish as an option beyond the R236 000 retail price.
With a 6.9 second 0-100km/h sprint time (it will suffer naturally aspirated performance depreciation at Reef altitudes) and improved suspension and braking features, the dynamic package should enable Clio R27 to keep its fabled position as the enfant terrible of naturally aspirated hot hatches.
