Mégane R26.R voted 'Sports Model of the Year 2008' by French magazine Echappement

Renault Mégane R26.R with Candidates

French motor sport magazine Echappement has singled out Mégane R26.R as the winner of its much-coveted Sportive de l’Année (Sports Model of the Year) award. It is the sixth time that Renault has won this highly-prized accolade.


Previous winners were the Renault 5GT Turbo in 1985, Clio 16S (1991), Spider Renault Sport (1996), Clio Renault Sport(2000) and Mégane F1 Team R26 (2007). Renault is the carmaker which has won the highest number of 'Sports Model of the Year' titles since Echappement introduced the award in 1982.

Renault Mégane R26.R with Candidates

The Renault Sport Technologies-developed Mégane R26.R is the sportiest version of the Mégane Renault Sport line-up. It was named 'Sports Model of the Year 2008' by a panel of Echappement writers and guest readers. Readers of the magazine also sent in votes to produce an initial shortlist of 10 models from a list of cars that had come to market in the past year.

The 10 short-listed models were then put through their paces on stages used by the French Championship's Rallye du Limousin, as well as round the Mornay circuit in the
Creuse region of western France. Echappement's editorial staff and the magazine's guest readers profited from these tests to assess the performance of the different cars, while
rally driver Sébastien Ogier was on hand to bring his expertise to the table when it came to pushing each model to the limit.

The purpose of this award is to single out the car with the best credentials to warrant the 'Sports Model of the Year' prize. The procedure purposely avoids head-to-head stand-offs since the cars' technical specifications and market positioning can be very different. The factors taken into account are the vehicle's performance, of course, as well as their price and the general philosophy that guided their design.

Mégane R26.R racked up a total score of 95 points to finish ahead of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo GSR (85 points) and the Porsche 911 Carrera S (72 points). Clio F1 WSR
finished a highly honourable sixth.

Renault Mégane R26.R with Candidates

Mégane R26.R was unveiled at the 2008 London Motor Show and is manufactured at Alpine-Renault's Dieppe plant (Normandy, France). It is a limited edition model and only
450 cars will be produced in total for sale in France, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Benelux.

On June 23, 2008, Mégane R26.R highlighted its sporty credentials by lapping the Nürburgring, Germany, in a time of 8m 17s, a new record for its category.

Final standings:
1, RENAULT MÉGANE R26.R
2, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo GSR
3, Porsche 911 Carrera S
4, Audi TTS
5, Subaru Impreza WRX STi
6, Renault Clio WSR
7, Corvette C6
8, Mini Cooper S JCW
9, Renault Twingo RS
10, Abarth 500

The 'Sports Model of the Year' award is the main feature of the December 2008 issue(N°496) of Echappement.

Also candidate to EVO magazine’s Car of The Year 2008 contest, Renault’s new Mégane R26.R has achieved the feat of finishing ahead nine rivals such as the BMW M3, the
Caterham R500 Superlight and the Mini John Cooper Works. Having put all 10 cars through their paces in Wales, EVO's team gave the top prize to Mégane R26.R.

Images : 2008 Renault Mégane R26.R








[Source : RENAULT]