Au revoir! French hot hatch bids adieu as 2023 Renault Megane RS Ultime pricing and features confirmed

If you’re after a spicy turbocharged petrol-powered hot hatch in Australia, your options are becoming increasingly limited.

And they are about to be even more limited when the Renault Megane RS bids farewell to the Australian market this year.

But before that, Renault is bidding adieu to the iconic hatchback with a special edition, dubbed the Ultime, which is limited to just 1976 units globally - reflecting the year Renault Sport was founded.

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Of that total, Australia has been allocated just 40 examples of the French hot hatch, which includes both manual and automatic versions.

Pricing starts at $67,500 before on-road costs for the six-speed manual and the six-speed dual-clutch auto is $70,500.

That’s a $4500 premium over the regular Megane RS Trophy pricing. It’s not far off the manual-only front-wheel-drive Honda Civic Type R’s $72,600 drive-away pricing.

Inside the Megane RS Ultime are Recaro sports bucket seats, paddle-shifters for the auto, RS drive mode and more.

So what do you get for the extra money?

The limited-edition Ultime gains sporty equipment like black 19-inch lightweight alloy wheels, high-performance Bridgestone S007 tyres, variant-specific decals, blacked-out Renault logos and a unique numbered door sill plate.

Inside, it gets Recaro sports bucket seats, and that’s on top of the paddle-shifters for the auto, RS drive mode and more.

The Ultime is available in a choice of four colours - Liquid Yellow, Orange Tonic, Diamond Black and Pearl White.

The Ultime gains sporty equipment like black 19-inch lightweight alloy wheels and blacked-out Renault logos.

Nothing changes under the bonnet, so the Ultime comes with the Megane RS’s 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, pumping out 221kW and 420Nm. It is front-wheel-drive and comes with a mechanical Torsen limited slip differential, four-wheel steering, launch control, an active exhaust system and Brembo high-performance brakes.

The Megane RS’s end was confirmed by Renault Australia late last year, and that means there will be no more internal combustion engine-powered Megane models left following the demise of non-RS models a few years back.

However, the Megane name lives on with the Megane E-Tech electric crossover that is expected to lob in Australia sometime this year.