Renault Megane Trophy: French Mid-Engined Hot-Hatch Madness For The Track

Meet the latest in a long line of terrifying mid-engined French hot-hatches, the Renault Megane Trophy. The Trophy, revealed today at the Paris Motor Show, is just like the new 2009 Renault Megane, but completely different. The French unquestionably know how to make a great hot hatch, but if there's one thing they do even better it's taking those little cars and sticking a big engine where the back seat is supposed to go. Inside, you'll find a 3.5-liter Nissan-sourced V6 tuned to churn out 360 HP. That power is sent to the rear wheels via a paddle-shift sequential gearbox, resulting in performance that Renault claims is on par with the Porsche 911 GT3. The only problem is that it's not road car, and is destined only to compete in a spec-series for the car. Press release after the jump. More »