THE NEXT Renault Megane RS will be offered in five-door form only, with Renault refraining for the first time from developing a three-door RS coupe for the Megane range.

At the debut of the fourth-generation Megane at the Frankfurt motor show last week, Executive Vice President Jerome Stoll confirmed that the new RS version, which is likely to be revealed in 2016, would be a five-door only model.

“An RS Coupe? No,” said Stoll flatly when asked about the new-generation Megane. Stoll also could not guarantee that a manual gearbox would remain part of the offering for the Megane RS, but added that Australia – as one of the highest-selling markets for RS models – had a role to play in the decision to offer one.

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“I like very much Australia for that reason, for it helps us very much to move in that direction,” said Stoll.

“We are not any more developing cars just for Europe; we are looking at other markets like Australia, Japan … there are some markets that are very relevant for the development, and which – to be honest – were not considered enough until recently,” he said.

Without a manual gearbox, the Megane RS will go down the same road as the latest Clio RS, introduced in 2013. Its predecessor was offered as a manual only three-door hatch. The new generation became exclusively five-door with a dual-clutch transmission, and no manual option.

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Stoll also said that the Renault RS line-up may offer more models than the two sold here – the Clio and Megane – as it works more closely with alliance partner Nissan.

“We are reconsidering completely the strategy for the sports car. For the time being, we have the Clio, Megane – we have a lot of pressure to expand; we are considering that. It’s not just a question of extending the line-up, but having the proper product.”