Nurburg, Germany - Renault Sport has been saying for years that it could be done, and now the sportiest limited-edition Mégane yet built has become the first street-legal production Renault to get round the infamous Nordschleife in less than eight minutes - 7m54.36s to be precise, knocking about four seconds off the record set by the Seat Leon Cupra 280 in February 2014.
Seri-aas. Watch the video.
Mind you, whether the stripped-out, race-prepped, radically tweaked Mégane RS275 Trophy-R that did it really is a production car in the strictest sense of the word is debatable, but Renault has committed to building 250 of them for sale to nutters like you and me, so it qualifies.
The RS275 Trophy-R is a two-seater derivative of the recently-introduced Mégane RS275 Trophy that's almost 100kg lighter, with very special suspension, brakes and tyres.
In fact, just about the only thing that hasn't been tweaked is the two-litre turbopetrol four, still tuned for a wastegate-rattling 202kW and 360Nm, but revving even quicker thanks to a more free-breathing titanium Akrapovic exhaust system.
STRIPPED OUT
The radio and aircon have been deleted, there's a cargo net where the rear seats used to be, and the front seats have been replaced by one-piece Recaro Pole Position polycarbonate seats, each one 21kg lighter than the conventional sports seat it replaces.
Standard issue is a three-point seat belt, but a six-point harness with aviation-style buckle is available as an accessory.
It's built on the track-orientated Cup chassis, complete with the normally optional limited-slip differential, and runs on Öhlins 'Road&Track' adjustable dampers with composite springs.
Special 350x28mm ventilated steel/aluminium composite front discs add race-track bite while shaving another three kilograms, while 19” Speedline rims in either red or black are shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres specifically tuned for this car.
Even the standard Mégane's battery has been ditched in favour of a lithium-ion amp-tank that's 16kg lighter than the original lead-acid unit.
SPECIAL LIVERY
The Trophy-R comes in an exclusive pearlescent white finish with black roof and red F1-type front blade and graphics. Inside, the special furniture is set off by alcantara-trimmed steering wheel and handbrake bellows, leather gearshift knob and red seatbelts to match the contrast stitching on the seats and steering wheel.
Renault SA says there's already been keen interest shown by a number of South African nutters, and it is considering releasing the limited edition RS275 Trophy-R in South Africa, possibly as early as the first quarter of 2015, but nothing's confirmed, so don't hold your breath.