It's only been a short time since the Renault Megane RS 265 Trophy's official launch and it has already added a very impressive achievement to its record; it established an amazing Nurburgring lap record for a front-wheel drive vehicle with a time of 8 minutes 7.97 seconds. The previous record was held by the Megane Renaultsport R26.R which completed the lap in 8 minutes and 17 seconds on June 23, 2008.

The time posted at the Nürburgring puts the Mégane Renaultsport 265 Trophy on a completely new level of performance that allows the vehicle to be put alongside supercars with power outputs at or greater than 500 HP. This was done with an extra 14.7 HP (11kW) on tap, careful set-up work, and specific Bridgestone RE 050A (235/35 R19) tyres chosen by RenaultSport engineers. These things, plus the vehicle's "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" is what development driver, Laurent Hurgon says helped achieve the new record.

In Hurgon's words: "The Nordschleife is a legendary course. Its length and layout, which is very different to that of a conventional circuit, make it a unique and technically demanding challenge. Its difficulties are extremely varied, ranging from fast and even very fast in places to much twistier and slower portions. Turns like ‘Karusell’ and ‘Pflanzgarten’, for example, make huge demands of the car and driver alike, yet Megane->ke1227 Renaultsport Trophy is very much in its element here and feels particularly reassuring despite the uncompromising nature of the terrain."

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