It is time, then, to pay a final and well-deserved tribute to a car that received a thrilling launch at the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix. Since then, some 30,000 Mégane III R.S.s have rolled off the production line at our Palencia factory in Spain, to be marketed in more than 30 countries (across Europe and in Japan, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, China etc).

A number of limited editions have seen the light of day over these last seven years : the Monaco GP series in 2010, followed by the Red Bull Racing, the Trophy and the AIR14 series, which celebrated the Swiss Air Force’s centenary in 2014. In that time, there have also been two performance upgrades, from 250bhp to 265, and then up to 275.

The Mégane III R.S. is first and foremost a record breaker, a point it proved on 17 June 2011, when Laurent Hurgon drove the Trophy version to a new class lap record of 8:07.97 at the Nürburgring’s famous north loop, the Nordschleife.

Then, on 16 June 2014, and with Hurgon again at the wheel, the Mégane R.S. 275 Trophy-R posted a new Nordschleife lap record of 7:54.36.
In the meantime, the Mégane III R.S. became the car of choice of France’s Rapid Intervention Force, winning an order to supply it in 2010.

The car also showed its numerous qualities in starring in the Renault Sport Shows at World Series by Renault meetings, earning many admirers in the process of performing more than 230 outings, with professional drivers behind the wheel.

And though we are about to turn a new page, there is no question that the Mégane III R.S. will remain very much a part of our history.