Renault Megane RS – the Next-Gen Hot Hatch with five doors, Manual Gearbox in doubt!

Kuala Lumpur: Recently unveiled at the ongoing Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault Megane is likely to spawn a new variant that is performance oriented and high on the technological aspect. The name of this all-new variant, Renault GT itself reveals what it is going to offer its customers, capable of churning out a power performance of about 205 HP and a sport-tuned suspension onto its chassis part.

Although, there is no announcement for the reveal of Renault Megane RS by the officials. But on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault moguls have confirmed plans for the next-gen Megane RS. “Yes, of course there will be one,” Renault design boss Laurens van den Acker told Autocar when asked about the possibility of a new Renault Sporty Megane.

Even the Renault executive vice-president Jerome Stoll confirmed that the hottest Megane is this 2016 launch, which would take a similar path to its Clio RS in terms of body styling.

Read Also: 2016 Renault Megane IV Unveiled at Frankfurt

“There will be no Megane RS coupe with this generation,” Stoll said. This decision reflects general market trends though RS purists will no doubt lament the end of the line for the eye-catching coupe body.

Patrice Ratti, boss of Renault Sport Technologies shaped the French marque’s performance models, stopped short of confirming the Megane RS but talked about the kind of technology future performance Renaults would use.

Significantly, the next Megane RS could benefit from the option of a manual gearbox. This would mark an about-turn for Renault, which has been stung by criticism of its decision to only supply the Clio RS with the EDC dual-clutch transmission, not universally loved among driving enthusiasts.

“When we made Clio [RS> the thinking was that the market would go completely towards EDC style units, but the reality is there are still a lot of manuals. The EDC move has done us a lot of good, opening up massive sales boosts in Japan and Australia for instance, our second and third biggest markets, but we now see that probably in an ideal world we would have both EDC and manual options.”

Read Also: 2016 Renault Megane spied in new body

“There are two different types of customer and we are doing the work now to see if we can justify going that way. There are no decisions and if I have to have one then it will be EDC, but manual is possible,” Ratti said.

Ratti added that the next Megane RS was likely to receive a power boost, but it would be in tandem with other technical developments and would not chase powerful front-drive hatches such as the Honda Civic Type R that generates 310 PS to channel via front tyres.

“Its an ongoing process of improving everything - the steering, the suspension and so on, and part of that is always wanting more power.”

Read Also: 2016 Renault Megane IV – leaked pictures

“The [current> Megane RS has gone from 250bhp to 260bhp to 275bhp, so more power is part of the evolution, even if the main focus is always the chassis. We don't need the most power but we do need the power to be part of the story,” he said.

The Megane RS is also likely to get the four-wheel steering system same as featured on the Renault Megane GT Variant. “It reduces the turning radius at low speeds and adds agility on winding roads, at high speed it introduces stability, so there is less adjustment and the car steers exactly the moment you turn and also that added stability means we can use shorter steering ratios to make the steering wheel much more alert.”

“Furthermore, it also does some of the job of the anti-roll bars, so the whole package can be less stiff. The benefits are numerous.”

Read Also: Revealed: Renault Clio GT Line comes to Malaysia, Expected Price – RM 118k

“From a design point of view it is quite interesting, but if I was being facetious I'd challenge whether it is a car that even needs to look good. The only codes that matter are whether it is fast, light and drives well.” Sounds interesting! For live performance and final images, we have to wait till its official launch, which is expected to surface in 2017 at the earliest, according to the reports.