Ayrton Senna has
been there, done that. Nelson Piquet drew parallels of it, stating that it felt
like riding a bicycle round your living room. It took Schumi only 1:14 minutes
to travel a full 3.3 kilometers of it.
The Vegas of France has seen motoring greats conquering this tight track
with more satisfaction than Imola. Circuit de Monaco will always be the
highlight of the Formula 1 calendar.
Now,
RenaultSport’s bold move to label their Megane RS after this street circuit
will be heavily scrutinized by the motoring world. Named the Monaco GP edition,
it had better be awesome at the very least. We do not really care about the
pearlised white paintwork, neither are we interested in the matching white
interior door handles and dashboard.. There is only one question that has needs
to be addressed. How’s it like to drive?
As I slid my
left hand towards the knob, engaged it to first gear and felt for the biting
point, I was greeted with a pronounced metallic clonk from the gearbox. The
clutch was made to withstand abuse and we would expect it to be a chore to
operate, but honestly, anyone can drive off in it. It’s that user friendly.
The car was
taken to a secluded part of Singapore for some G-Force related activity. But
before I test its road holding capability, I wanted to know if straight-line
adrenaline alone would send shivers up my spine. In order to feel the entire
punch coming from its potent 250bhp powerplant, I kept the revs up to more than
3000rpm, which means that I’ll have 340nm of torque at the slightest of right
feet input. Throttle response was also tweaked to the highest setting via the
in built computer. Results? Pure insanity. RenaultSport engineers couldn’t do
better with the engine refinement and response. There wasn’t even a slight hint
of turbo lag, impressive for a car with a front mounted intercooler. Its worthy
to note that force-fed cars here need to inhale overtime due to the sweltering
heat. I have to admit that the RS could do with more poke, but once we realized
that RenaultSport had built this from scratch, every figure and every parameter
is there for a reason. This is the amount of respect they get, and who would
question them, as they had all the part to play for the success of the R26R and
200 Cup.
19 inchers used
here doesn’t sound promising for ride comfort, and the CSC5P rubbers seemed
like a downgrade, in terms of grip level, from the stock Michelin PS2 found on
the 18 inchers. I braced myself for a bone-shattering ride, but tackling humps
in third gear felt as relaxing as wading in calm waters. The RS treated humps
like chicanes, gliding over them without drama, and it seemed well prepared for
whatever irregularities the tarmac in front might offer. 4 potters by Brembos
work seamlessly with the chassis and suspension, which brings me to how well
balanced the car is during corners. I could literally sense the Perfohub
(Renault’s version of Limited Slip Differential) doing its job while braking
and steering at the same time. It’s as though the front suspension could
communicate with the rubbers, informing them to stick to the ground like
chewing gum with all their might, grabbing every millimeter of tar by its
grooves, and ease off only when the driver tells them to do so. All these are
done milliseconds before the front rubbers are required to respond to the
throttle again. I’ve never driven a front wheel drive car that is so willing to
turn in without any hint of understeer.
RenaultSport has
managed to defy science. The RS’s precision during any driving moment is more
than apparent and all we can do is wait for a new variant to experience
something similar. The impatience is understandable once you’ve tried it. We’ve
seen the Twingo Cup, Clio Cup and Megane Cup, and please don’t stop here. We
are obsessed and we want more. It’s an addiction, and I have no choice but to
fix all blame on RenaultSport.
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