It was always going to be a fascinating head-to-head - Renault’s bijou, mid-engined supercar, the Clio V6 255, taking on its state-of-the-art front-drive cousin, the Mégane 250 Cup. Bald statistics suggest a close contest – both have 250bhp, give or take a few nags, and weigh around 1400kg, giving them a virtually identical power-to-weight ratio – though experience suggests anything but.

Which is quickest? Watch our video laps above and read the full story, as well as browse more pictures and compare the two Renaults' times to a plethora of other performance cars, in evo Issue 156 - on sale now. More details here.

And credit to reader Paul Bancroft who suggested this track battle...

Read about our long-term Clio V6 and Megane 250

Megane 250 v Focus RS v Golf GTI v Leon Cupra R

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