This is the Renault Megane RS N4. It is a stripped out, FIA-approved tarmac rally car validated for Group N racing, and it is heading your way.
Designed for private teams and drivers to compete in Group N rallying, this hotter RS features a host of Renault Sport Technology parts which transform it from smokin' hot hatch into smokin' hot rally car.
Group N regs are quite strict, but Renault has managed to squeeze a little more power and a whole lotta' torque from the 2.0-lire 16v turbo'd four-pot. Power rises to 265bhp (from 250bhp), while torque now stands at 347lb ft, via a Cosworth Electronics ECU and new engine flywheel. Incidentally, if you're as juvenile as we are, the engine's internal code is F4Rt. You know what it reads.
The N4 benefits from Renault's independent steering-axis front axle - first debuted on the R21 Turbo of the 1980s - which apparently allows the suspension and steering to work independently of each other. This, in layman's vocab, equals better steering and grip.
Suspension peeps Ohlins lent a springy hand with the up-and-down stuff, with three-way adjustable hydraulic rebound shocks, together with four-piston callipers and 355mm discs. Group N rules means no ABS, so Renault has fitted a limiter system allowing the driver to control rear braking pressure.
The five-speed manual gearbox is fitted with a self-locking limited slip diff (big thumbs up), while much work has gone into adjusting gear ratios by men with big brains. As per usual, you get a welded roll cage, fire extinguisher, racing seats and six-point harnesses, while externally there's a new front bumper and roof-mounted air intake. Handy if you're upside down...
The kit costs �48,250 for all the oily bits, and don't forget, you need to buy a Megane RS first. Do it. Do it now.
Read Car Evolution's review of the Renault Megane RS 250
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