This story actually begins back in 2019 when I bought a Porsche GT4 (981), with the intention of doing a road trip to Spa Francorchamps in 2020. Unfortunately COVID-19 put paid to those plans….multiple times. In Summer 2021 I reluctantly sold the car having covered less than 2000 miles because I just didn’t see when (if ever) this trip would happen. And, as a road car I just didn’t really gel with it (more on that in another post).
Fast forward to November 2021 and the world was opening up finally, so the trip to Spa was on for 2022 and I needed a car. Much as I wanted to experience the GT4 on track, I couldn’t face that expense again. So, being a serial Renaultsport buyer I started to look out for an R26.R or 275 Trophy-R. Good unmodified R26.Rs are hard to come by, so when an immaculate fully specced Trophy-R popped up, I jumped on it.
The car is a 2015 Megane 275 Trophy-R finished in the launch colour combination of Artic White Pearl, Black roof with the Red wheels and decals. Most importantly it’s fitted with the ‘Ring Pack comprising larger bi-metallic front disks, lightweight lithium battery and Sabelt 6point harnesses. As standard the car comes properly specced for track use, with Ohlins adjustable dampers, Recaro Pole Position seats and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.
Production numbers….just 250 made worldwide with 30 coming to the UK/Ireland. So it’s a rare beast.
At time of purchase the car had covered just 3500miles and was probably much better suited to a heated garage than a road trip to Spa, but where’s the fun in that?
First shakedown on some of Donegals finest roads showed the tyres were past their best (original Cup 2 tyres that came on the car in 2015) and the brake pads/fluid needed a major upgrade. So I set about researching some braking options, landing on the Ferodo DS UNO up front and DS2500s on the rear. Fluid-wise I opted for Castrol React SRF Racing brake fluid and combined with the pads I had no complaints with stopping power anymore. The UNOs did squeal pretty badly until they’d had a few laps on the track, but since then have been pretty much silent. Highly recommended.
So that’s the car, next step the road trip! Part 2 coming soon…