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Alongside the hardcore, limited edition Megane RS 275 Trophy-R's local debut today, the Renault Megane RS 265 Cup was also officially launched in Malaysia. This one sits above the cheaper RM197,888 Megane RS 265 Sport, and is priced at RM234,888. But we know this already, of course, having announced it way back in June.

Standard no-cost colour choices are Oyster Grey and Pearl White (pictured here), but customers can drive the price up further with a sirius-ly pricey Sirius Yellow paint option, at RM7,000.

Let's take you through the looks first, shall we? At the front is Renault's new corporate face (as seen on cars like the Clio RS 200 and the facelifted Koleos SUV) with a more prominent diamond logo and a slim upper grille. These are joined to new projector headlights with gloss black "eyelids;" beneath them sits an "F1 blade" that mimics the wing of an F1 racer.

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The 18-inch "Tibor" alloy wheels are identical to the ones on the Sport, but here they're finished in matte black. Interestingly, the Cup doesn't come with the Sport's Red Pack, so the side mouldings and rear spoiler are body coloured, while the aforementioned "F1 blade" is finished in gloss black. The Brembo brake calipers are painted red instead of silver on the Sport, however.

There are a fair few changes in equipment on the inside to differentiate both models – firstly, there's now keyless start (the Sport required the keycard to be inserted into a slot in the dashboard to start the engine) in addition to the Sport's keyless entry, while heavily bolstered Recaro semi-leather bucket seats replace the standard fabric seats.

Also new is a seven-inch colour central touchscreen that controls the R-Link infotainment system, including the upgraded RS Monitor 2.0; this is essentially the same system that is used in the Clio RS. A reverse camera is also fitted.

But it's under the skin where the Cup really leaves its mark. Although it shares the same powertrain as the Sport – a 2.0 litre turbocharged four-pot that kicks out 265 hp at 5,500 rpm and 360 Nm at 3,600 rpm, sent to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission – the Cup suspension is 10 mm lower and features uprated springs, dampers and anti-roll bars. A mechanical limited-slip diff is unique to the Cup too.