Autocar Heroes: Renault's Nurburgring specials - the world's best hot hatchbacks?

If you want to go fast around the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a front-wheel drive production car, the Renault Megane RS is your answer.

The Renault Sport Megane R26R was the first to do it. This 227bhp stripped-out hatchback was some 123kg lighter than a regular Megane R26 RS, capable of 0-62mph in just 5.7 seconds and set a then-record Nordschleife lap time of 8m17s.

Then came the Renault Megane 275 Trophy R. It did a similar thing again: with no more power (271bhp) than the Renault Sport Megane Trophy that spawned it, it could go from 0-60mph in just 5.4 seconds and lap the Nurburgring in 7m54s at the hands of Lauren Hurgon, Renault's chief test driver.

And now there's this: the very latest 2020 Renault Megane RS 300 Trophy R, which again loses its rear seats and very many kilos, gains a lot in price, and laps the Nuburgring in just 7m40s.

Now, in one of our series of Autocar Heroes videos, we've brought the three of them together, to see just how exceptional they are on the road. Are these stripped out hatchbacks among the best ever made? And if they are, which is the best of them? Join Matt Prior for the Autocar reckoning.

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