Following the success of the Red Bull formula one racing team, for the third year in a row Renault released a Mégane R.S. Red Bull Racing RB8, a special edition version of the Mégane RS production car. This special edition hatchback features the same Crépuscule Blue color used by the Red Bull F1 team, 19 inch black alloy wheels and high-performance Bridgestone tyres, the same tires that were used by the Mégane Trophy to establish a new lap record for the Nürburgring. Other that that there are some red bull badges here and there in addition to an in-dash, connected R-Link multimedia tablet that has six functions (navigation, telephony, multimedia, vehicle, systems and R-Link Store applications catalogue).

Mechanically speaking, the RB8 has the same specs as the Mégane RS trophy edition featuring a Cup chassis, limited slip differential, 265-hp and 360Nm of torque squeezed out of a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. The Renault Mégane R.S. Red Bull Racing RB8 will be available in 26 countries until September 30, 2013. Prices in Lebanon start at around $50,000. Being a hatchback fan I loved it even though I don’t think I would really pay around 4000$ over a RS Trophy just to get Red Bull badges here and there. As the Mégane is issued from a French factory, I am glad that it is available in manual only, French cars tend to have crappy automatic gearboxes. Its design is not bad at all. The single middle exhaust at the back is damn sexy. The combination of a cup chassis and LSD is just brilliant. It even comes with a yellow seat-belt!! All in all, the Mégane RS Trophy has all the ingredients of a perfect and fun hatchback. Looking forward to test drive one of those Frenchies soon 🙂