What's all this about?

The all-new Renault Sport Megane hot hatch has completed laps of the Monaco Grand Prix street circuit this weekend, as part of Renault's 40th anniversary celebrations of being part of Formula 1. We'll get the full technical run-down on this crucial C-segment performance motor nearer to its 'proper' debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but for now we know one thing about the Megane RS - what gearboxes it will feature.

So RS isn't making it an EDC-only, like the Clio RS?

No, it is not, and this is good news for fans of the French marque's performance arm. Renault Sport will offer the Megane RS with an Efficient Dual Clutch gearbox if you want it, but a full-on, clutch-pedal-equipped manual will also be available. This is a direct result of customer demand, presumably the customers who are hacked off that the formerly stellar Clio RS is now a two-pedal motor only (insane and possible RS16 model notwithstanding, of course...).

Right, so what else do we know?

Not much, although Nico Hülkenberg - Renault Sport Racing's current F1 ace, who drove the Megane RS around the Monaco GP track - did say this of the Megane RS: "I got an opportunity to test the Megane RS during its development and I was hooked first time out by the excellence of its chassis. Renault Sport has done a tremendous job on its performance credentials." Mind, he's paid to say this sort of thing... but the Megane RS has long been one of the best hot hatchbacks going, so we have very high hopes for the third iteration of the fast Megane. More details as and when they come out.

Matt Robinson - 26 May 2017