I’ve managed to get an allocation for a new Trophy-R and went for the Carbon Fibre wheel package.

To say I’m a little excited is an understatement and with a bit of luck it will arrive in time for my trackdays at the Ring and Spa at the end of Sept.

I know these cars have created a lot of debate and there are plenty of opinions on them - mostly negative due to the cost - but I wanted to share my reasons for wanting one and some of you may understand.

I’ve been a massive 911 GT3/ RS fan for years (always will be) and I’ll be coming out of a 991 GT3RS to get the Trophy-R. Now some of you may think I’m mad, but let me explain why....

I’ve owned Porsche GT cars since 2009 and they have mainly been used on track, but also enjoy some road trips too. Started with a 996 GT3 then progressing onto the 991 generation and had all models as well as a GT4. So a mix of manual and dual clutch cars. The current RS is a 991.1 in Mexico Blue and is a thing of beauty.

My main track interest is the Nurburgring and I’ve been going multiple times a year since 2005 and completed a few races there in a Clio Cup too. So it’s fair to say that I know my way round there pretty well and can peddle at some pace - regularly lapping in sub 7.30 BTG in the RS. And that’s the problem, as it’s just too quick to enjoy on a trackday - the car is too valuable to push to such extremes. To go faster than that, I want to be in a proper race car. So - this means I have lost the excitement of the challenge of the RS at the Ring - which is a shame as I’ve always been challenging myself to get better and go quicker.

So why change to a Trophy-R when there are so many other cars available for similar money - well, I’m an Engineer by trade and I appreciate the Engineering work that goes into cars and the Trophy-R is a major feat of Engineering. To strip 130kg from a Trophy is a mighty accomplishment and didn’t come cheaply or easily. The fact that it has taken the FWD record at the RIng and Spa means it’s the best of its type to me and the challenge of getting the best out of a fast FWD car on track is really enticing.

The full lap time was recorded at 7.45 at the Ring. (7.40 was the time set for the industry standard lap which loses a bit of the straight at T13). This means that a BTG lap would be about 7.20 with Laurent Hurgon at the wheel. Now I’m not Laurent Hurgon and I’ll never be able to be that quick, but boy will I have some fun trying. I’ll be aiming for Sub 8 to begin with, then 7.50 and any quicker than that and to be within 30s of the record time will be a major achievement. So hopefully you can understand my reasons for this. I’m also keen to enjoy the FWD experience as it’s been a while.

So, whilst there are far more desirable cars that can be bought for the money, I can’t think of another car that will give me what I want on track and that I can also drive over to the Ring in relative comfort.

I’m really hoping it arrives by the end of September, as I have a 2 day trackday at the Ring followed by a day at Spa and I really want to get it out on track this year. I’ll post my thoughts on the car when I get it and get to grips with it and will be able to give it some context against a host of more desirable cars.

Thanks for reading and appreciate all sensible comments :)

Cheers

Terry

Absolutely no need to have explain why you would purchase your car. Your money, your car, your choice. Some of the arguements are invalid, and could be solved with the answer of "Why Spend £30k+ on a performance car when you could get a superbike for a fraction of the cost". Most of us could only dream of owning sonething like that!

Enjoy, and congratulations!

With only 1 Nurburgring Record pack available, I didn't think I would get that and also without a recent RenaultSport purchase history, then I wouldn't be the right person for them to select (it wasn't a 1st come 1st served system), although we have had a 182 and 197 a long time ago. Interestingly, I've heard that there was a lot of interest in getting this one.

I thought the carbon wheel pack would have the lowest ratio of interest to availability, as out of 30 customer cars (the additional 2 are for RUK), 16 are standard, 13 with CF wheels and 1 with the lot. Also, with a FWD car, to have a 2nd set of wheels to be able to drive out/ back to the Ring makes a lot of sense as I can see the fronts being written off after 2 full on days.

Plus, I don't know how good these Carbon Ceramic brakes would be in terms of life and reliability and they are very costly to replace. I optioned them on the Porsche GT cars, but they are the best brakes of their type and also help resale value, but a full set of PCCBs on a GT3 RS cost aboutr £6k and it is £9k for just the fronts on the Trophy-R which seems a bit mad.

However, I do intend to remove the RS Vision lights and fit the cold air intake as I read that you can buy that seperately.

Hi Terry, Congratulations mate. Your reason for purchasing make total sense.
Hugely jealous. Looking forward to the pictures.
I love my EDC sport 280. But the Trophy-R version is stuff of dreams for me and many others on here.


Matt.

Nice one and I like that personal Ring lap time challenge. Puts a real focus on owning it. Maybe you could add a few seconds to that BTG 7:20 target time as you are running the steel brakes and not in the full Ring spec. Getting a clear lap might be a challenge as well. The Spa lap time will be just as interesting as you might be able to get a decent flying lap in on a more regular basis. Good luck with it, got to start to pumping up the Ring testicles.

Interesting. I spoke to Laurent Hurgon when he was as the Festival of Speed this year. He said that the carbon brakes didn’t impact the ‘ring time, their benefit was on durability. In his words, you could go on and on doing laps of the ‘ring at full chat without any fade.

I think Renault specced the brakes to monster any circuit the car was put on, hence the margin over Type R at Spa.