tour de toit r5 turbo

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CO. TOUR DE TOIT RENAULT R5 TURBO I et II

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Kit tour de toit pour R5 Turbo D et G

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THR Tarnhorn Racing

RENAULT 5 TURBO CUP

Table of Contents

Le Tour de France

We are thrilled to announce the latest addition to our simracing calendar: the THR RENAULT R5 TURBO Cup! This exhilarating series spans four race weekends, featuring weekday qualifying (Monday to Sunday) and an action-packed weekend schedule with 2 x 30-minute practice races on Saturday and the main event, 2 x 30-minute races, on Sunday.

Renault 5 Turbo

The Renault 5 Turbo is a legendary sportscar in the shape of a hot hatchback, renowned for its nimble handling, turbocharged power, and unmistakable style. The marvel of 80s engineering boasts a turbocharged and mid-rear-mounted 1.4 liter engine that delivers thrilling performance and a driving experience like very few other cars.

Its agility and speed made it a formidable rally car, and also provided a great challenge to circuit drivers in the single-make Renault 5 Turbo Europa Cup that used these cars from 1981 onwards . With the torquey mid-mounted turbo engine on soft suspension with a short wheelbase, this car was both a challenge and a provider of immense satisfaction for those who could master it. Legendary battles ensued when the Europa Cup accompanied F1 race weekends, leading to packs of 3 to 5 cars - all of which usually cheated the ban to tinker with the boost - bumpdrafting each other in spectacular fashion. Unlike the drivers in real life who used everything they could find to mess with the turbocharger - from bathtub gaskets to medical catheter tubes and pumps for blood pressure measuring - we're going to leave the cars as they are here!

Our race series will take place on four iconic French circuits, each offering unique challenges and a test of skill:

• Ledenon : Known for its technical layout and elevation changes, Ledenon is a driver's circuit that demands precision and bravery. Its combination of long curves and blind corners will push the limits of your racing prowess.
• Mas du Clos : This picturesque track is as beautiful as it is demanding. With its sweeping curves and varying elevation, Mas du Clos requires a keen sense of balance and control, making it a thrilling venue for our R5 TURBO Cup.
• Dijon-Prenois : A classic circuit with a rich motorsport heritage, Dijon-Prenois is famous for its high-speed sections and challenging corners. This track will test your top-speed handling and racing strategy to the fullest.
• Charade : Often referred to as the French Nürburgring, Charade's twisty, undulating layout is a true driver's challenge. With its narrow sections and complex curves, it promises intense racing and demands utmost concentration.

Why Participate?

The THR RENAULT R5 TURBO Cup is more than just a racing series; it’s a celebration of classic single-make motorsport and community spirit. Here’s why you should join:

• Unique Car Experience : Drive the iconic RENAULT R5 TURBO, a car that offers a distinctive and exhilarating driving experience, combining vintage charm with competitive racing performance.
• Challenging Tracks : Test your skills on four of France's most famous and challenging tracks, each offering unique racing experiences and technical demands.
• Competitive and Fun : Whether you're a seasoned racer or new to simracing, the R5 TURBO Cup offers a balanced and competitive environment where everyone can enjoy the thrill of racing.
• Community Engagement : Join a passionate community of simracers, share your experiences, improve your skills, and make new friends in a friendly and supportive environment.
• Structured Schedule : With weekday qualifying and weekend races, the series is designed to fit into busy schedules, allowing ample time for practice and preparation.

Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to be part of the THR RENAULT R5 TURBO Cup. Sharpen your skills, embrace the competition, and experience the joy of racing one of the most iconic cars on some of the best tracks France has to offer. See you on the track!

Championship Setup

ONE Cup but TWO Grids. Cause of the low number of available pitboxes we split the grids after the Weekday Qualifying:

• - Grid A: 1 - 22
• - Grid B: 23 - 44

The point system is: P1=56, P2=53, P3=50, P4=49, P5=48, P6=47, P7=46, … , P24=31, P23=30, P22=29 P23=28, P24=25, P25=22, P26=19, P27=18, P28=17, P29=16, ... , P42=3, P43=2, P44=1

We hope for a great start into the championship!

Registration Requirements

Participants must individually re-register for each event (!) in the championship, including both, the practice races on Saturdays and the main championship races on Sundays. Registration for each weekend's events opens on the preceding Monday (or Tuesday 😉 ). Please ensure to register separately for each day's race every week. To be able to join the Qualifying and the race sessions, you have to register via these links: RENAULT R5 CUP http://5.75.183.156:8772/championships?server=4

If so, then you can join the Qualifying with your car and skin immediately after registering. In some cases it is necessary to wait for the next server restart, which occurs every 2 hours. Only in rare cases you get the message "No slots available", then the Admins have to stop and restart the server. Give us a short hint in #drivers chat in our Discord.

THR has changed the onboarding process: New community members need to have three ACSR races in the records to get permission to start in the Main Event Races on Sundays. To achieve this, they can participate in the wkdy races, the practice races on Saturday and the THR Academy events. If you think you are experienced enough to directly start in the Main Event races, please go the our Discord channel ⁠#thr-ticket-system and follow the "Fast Main Race Permission" process to open a ticket. Our orga-team will review your ticket and, upon approval, you will be added to the entry list.

Short term upcoming events

- nothing scheduled yet -

RENAULT R5 TURBO [ Download ] Invisible TV Car [ Download ]

THR Skinpack

We have tons of beautiful custom skins from our members: https://thr.vacbot.cz/skinpacks/THR_assorted_skinpack.7z If you want to make your own skin and race it in THR races, have a look here: https://thracing.de/community/custom-skins/

Ledenon , Mas du Clos , Dijon-Prenois, Charade

The track download links can be found here: http://5.75.183.156:8772/tracks?server=4

Special Settings

• Fuel Rate: 100%
• Tyre Wear Rate: 100%
• Damage Multiplier: 75%
• Pit Speed : no pit speed limit & disabled autolimiter
• CSP Minimum Version : 0.1.77

We try to stick to the dates given, but it may be that we postpone individual dates for various reasons. The current THR schedule with detailed information on the individual events can be found here. https://thracing.de/thr-schedule/ We recommend subscribing to this calendar.

Race Week Schedule

Practice server / testing.

Server THR |1| THRacing | discord.me/THRacing hosts a 2 hour looped training session. The sessions are meant to test the different cars on the upcoming tracks. You can choose any available car and get a random skin after joining.

You can race qualifying laps from Monday to Sunday at any time, but you need to be registered. RENAULT R5 CUP THR |5| THRacing | discord.me/THRacing (I will close the Qualifying when I have time on Sunday. So the end of Qualifying may vary on this day. Please take this in account and don't race your laps just before the end.) Only  the best laps per driver from Server THR |5| will be used to create the starting grids.

An overview of the laptimes per driver can be found here: RENAULT R5 CUP http://5.75.183.156:8772/live-timing?server=4

Saturday - Practice Races

Will be hosted on Server: THR |3| THRacing | discord.me/THRacing The starting grid for the practice races will be based on the qualifying which takes place just before these races.

• Qualifying Session: 30 minutes
• Training Race 1: 30 minutes
• Training Race 2: 30 minutes (first 10 positions start in reversed order)

You can stay on the server between the sessions.

Sunday - MAIN EVENT

Will be hosted on Server: THR |5| THRacing | discord.me/THRacing

Official race based on the qualifying laptimes driven during the week.

• Practice Session: 30 minutes
• Race 1: 30 minutes
• Race 2: 30 minutes (first 10 positions start in reversed order)

You have to leave the Server after Race 1 and rejoin it for Race 2.

Drivers Championship

To take in account that we only have 4 Race Weekends, we will not have a drop race in this Cup. Means: 4 out of 4 weekends count for the championship.

Team Championship

If you like you can form a team of maximum 2 drivers and race against each other in a Team Championship. Find a teammate and enter your team name during registration.

Read our rules page here: https://thracing.de/rules/

Communication

Our main communication channel is our Discord Server. Please follow: https://discord.me/THRacing Or just click the button in the right menu. It is not mandatory, but recommended, that you join Voice Chat during Qualifying and Races.

Best wishes

We wish you some really good, intense and exciting races over the next weeks!

[THR]pitman

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Wild child restored: renault 5 turbo 2.

Volvo-owning Jack Phillips is a contributor to and former Deputy Editor of Classic & Sports Car

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R 5 TURBO Nº 255 - MAJORETTE

Nº 255. renault 5 turbo (1981-1986). red color, ´turbo´, light orange interior and bumpers, yellow windows and unpainted metal base. escala 1/53. majorette. made in france. produced from 1981 to 1985.   --------------------------------- r 5 turbo [ majorette ]   produced 1981 - 1985   number 255   "the casting was modified in 1986 and the r 5 turbo became the renault maxi 5 turbo, still referenced 255."   all variants: majorette.wikia.com/wiki/renault_5_turbo   more info: www.hobbydb.com/variant_definitions/2022 toysfromthepast.blogspot.com/2014/11/475majoretterenault5...   official majorette list: www.swiftysgarage.org/official-majorette-list-t16036.html   majorette listing - 200 series - pre 1990; made in france www.swiftysgarage.org/majorette-listing-200-series-pre-19... -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   renault 5 turbo   from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   "the renault 5 turbo or r5 turbo is a high-performance hatchback automobile launched by the french manufacturer renault at the brussels motor show in january 1980.   the car was primarily designed for rallying, but was also sold in a street version.   a total of 4987 (turbo 1: 1820 and turbo 2: 3167) r5 turbos were manufactured during a six-year production run." (...)   ----------------------- renault 5 turbo   manufacturer renault   production 1980-1984 (france) 1980-1986 (belgium)   assembly dieppe, france (alpine)   class hot hatch   body style 3-door hatchback   layout rmr layout   related renault 5   engine 1397 cc cléon-fonte turbo i4   transmission 5-speed manual   dimensions wheelbase 2,430 mm (95.7 in) length 3,660 mm (144.1 in) width 1,750 mm (68.9 in) height 1,320 mm (52.0 in) curb weight 970 kg (2,138 lb)   chronology   successor renault clio v6 renault sport   source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/renault_5_turbo ---------------------------------------------------------------------   variantes et versions   "la renault 5 turbo a connu des évolutions au fil de ses millésimes, ainsi que certaines extrapolations sportives. son type "service des mines" est le r8220."   - la renault 5 turbo 1981 - 1982   "la renault 5 turbo première version est parfois dénommée turbo 1, par opposition à la turbo 2, toutefois ce nom n'est pas officiel. elle dispose d'un intérieur spécifique signé bertone ainsi que d'ouvrants et d'un pavillon en aluminium. les deux principales couleurs disponibles sont le rouge grenade et le bleu olympe, les intérieurs présentent des sièges et tableau de bord bleu sur moquette rouge, ou rouge sur moquette bleue... la troisième couleur plus rarement diffusée est un gris argent métallisé agrémenté des éléments plastiques (pare-chocs, bas de caisse, tour de toit...) du même bleu mat que leurs "soeurs" bleu olympe.   la fabrication officielle débute le 20 juillet 1980 et elle est millésimée 1981. le millésime 1982 voit apparaître de nouvelles teintes de carrosserie plus classiques (dont un blanc nacré, bleu nuit métallisé, marron métallisé entre autres) avec un intérieur beige/fauve ou gris et noir. la production est de 1690 r5 turbo."   - la renault 5 turbo 2 1983 - 1986   "la renault 5 turbo 2 est présentée au salon de paris en 1982. pour des raisons économiques, cette nouvelle version aux performances identiques étant affichée à un prix 25% inférieur à celui de la version précédente (95000 francs au lieu de 125000 francs) l'intérieur futuriste signé bertone laisse la place à celui de la renault 5 alpine turbo. les portes et le toit en tôle d'aluminium sont remplacées par de l'acier.   la production de turbo 2 est de 3167 exemplaires, soit un total de 4857 r5 turbo au total auxquelles s'ajoutent quelques r5 turbo de compétition non homologuées. contrairement aux premières versions rouges et bleues qui arboraient des pare-chocs, bas de caisse et tour de toit assortis rouge mat ou bleu mat, ainsi que les parties peintes des jantes aluminium, les r5 turbo 2 ont ces éléments peints en gris anthracite, comme les r5 turbo de 1982 aux teintes "classiques". (...)   source: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/renault_5_turbo.

Five by Five: The Renault 5 and the Mid-Engine Renault 5 Turbo

If you’re an American over 30, you may have some hazy, not necessarily happy memories of the Renault Le Car, sold here from 1976 through 1983. To Europeans, who will need little introduction, it was known as the Renault 5, a ubiquitous French subcompact that helped to popularize the supermini genre. Although it never sold very well in the States, Renault moved more than 5 million of these cars in other markets between 1972 and 1986, making the “Cinq” one of the best-selling French cars of all time. It also spawned a wild little rally car: the fearsome mid-engine Renault 5 Turbo.

FORTUNES OF WAR

A born tinkerer, Louis Renault created his first four-wheeled automobile, a converted De Dion/Bouton cycle-car with a one-cylinder, 1.75 CV engine, in the fall of 1898. The following February, Louis and his brothers Fernand and Marcel established a company, which unveiled its first production cars, the Renault Type A and Type B, at the Paris Salon that June. By 1913, the company, now known as Société Anonyme des Usines Renault, had more than 5,000 employees and built around 10,000 cars a year.

Renault’s success was of course interrupted by two world wars. The First World War brought some profit through military contracts for trucks and even light tanks. World War II was a more difficult period; during the German occupation, the Nazis converted the Renault factory in Boulogne-Billancourt for their own production, making the complex a prime target for Allied bombardment. After the liberation, General Charles de Gaulle nationalized the company in January 1945 as Régie Nationale des Usines Renault. Louis Renault was arrested as a Nazi collaborator and spent some months in prison. He died in October 1945, shortly after his release.

Renault’s first postwar design, the 4CV — a small “people’s car” inspired by the German Volkswagen and developed during the war by Edmund Serre — went into production in late 1946. The 4CV represented a significant shift for Renault, which had previously built mostly large and relatively expensive cars, but it was very successful, selling 1.1 million units through 1960. It was supplemented from 1956 by the popular Renault Dauphine and replaced in 1961 by the Renault 4, the company’s first front-wheel-drive car. Thanks to models like the front-drive 16, one of the first five-door family hatchbacks, Renault did extremely well in the sixties and seventies. By 1970, it was building more than a million cars a year and by 1975, its annual volume was around 1.3 million.

As successful as it was in Europe, Renault floundered in the U.S. The Dauphine had some initial success during America’s so-called Eisenhower recession of the late fifties, but Renaults were not well suited for American driving conditions or tastes. They also weren’t particularly reliable and Renault’s dealer network was small and under-supplied. Several years later, the company acknowledged these mistakes in an unusually frank ad campaign (designed by ad man Richard Gilbert) for the Renault 10, but despite that honesty, later models made little impact on the growing U.S. import market.

THE DYING DESIGNER

In May 1968, a young Renault staff designer named Michel Boué began sketching designs for a new small car, using an illustration of the existing R4 as a starting point. Working on his own initiative, he developed a concept for a small, simple, utilitarian three-door hatchback.

The R4 was still selling well, so there was not yet any official program for a new small car, but Boué’s design made an immediate impression on his superiors and eventually on Renault’s board of directors. Renault president Pierre Dreyfus approved it for production (as Project 122) with remarkably few changes from Boué’s initial conception. It was designated Renault 5.

The R5 shared most of its components with existing Renault models. Like the R4, it had a longitudinal engine and front-wheel drive rather than the transverse-engine layout of the BMC Mini or contemporary FWD Fiat 127 and 128. The engines were pushrod fours of 782 cc (48 cu. in.) and 956 cc (58 cu. in.) displacement. Sole transmission was a four-speed manual transmission, initially with a curious dashboard-mounted shifter. Front suspension was a simple double-wishbone layout with longitudinal torsion bar springs while the rear suspension used trailing arms and transverse torsion bars. As with the R4, the left and right wheelbases were slightly different — 94.6 inches (2,403 mm) left, 95.8 inches (2,433 mm) right — to facilitate mounting of the transverse springs. The Renault 5 was more modern than the Volkswagen 411, but was far from groundbreaking in its engineering. The principal strengths of the “Cinq” were its excellent packaging and clean, unpretentious appearance.

The R5’s development was a remarkable success for Boué, who was still in his early thirties when he designed it. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with cancer and died in late 1971, around the time the R5 went into production. He was only 35 years old.

CHIC CINQ: THE RENAULT 5 DEBUTS

The Renault 5 made its public debut on January 28, 1972, and promptly made a splash in the burgeoning “supermini” class, supplementing but not replacing the R4 (which remained in production into the eighties). Along with rivals like the Autobianchi A112, Peugeot 104, and the A112’s Fiat 127 cousin, the R5 fit into a new genre that we now call the B-segment: subcompacts somewhat bigger than the Mini, but smaller and cheaper than C-segment family cars like the Ford Escort. The R5 became the most successful of these early superminis, selling at a brisk pace.

Why was the R5 so successful? It was certainly not because it was a fast car. The base model’s 782 cc (48 cu. in.) engine had only 34 PS (25 kW), while the 956 cc (58 cu. in.) engine of the TL model made 44 PS (32 kW), enough to push the little supermini to a claimed 83 mph (138 km/h). These were later replaced with 845 cc (52 cu. in.) and 1,108 cc (68 cu. in.) versions with a bit more torque, and from 1974, there was a bigger 1,289 cc (79 cu. in.) engine with up to 64 PS (46 kW), but even that provided a top speed of only 94 mph (151 km/h).

In its favor, the Cinq was surprisingly roomy for its modest dimensions, cheap to buy, and economical to run. It had safe, predictable front-drive handling with little of the tail-wagging that sometimes afflicted earlier rear-engine Renaults. While the engines were not powerhouses, they were smooth and relatively quiet in normal driving. Moreover, the R5’s soft suspension and ample suspension travel gave it a comfortable ride over the highly variable roads of the Fifth Republic — a strong point for many small French cars of the seventies and eighties. In all, the Renault 5 was a practical and livable car for European families.

Buyers also appreciated the R5’s unadorned styling, which was enhanced by a variety of cheerful paint choices. Like the Mini some years earlier, the R5 unapologetic simplicity allowed it to transcend its humble size and price and become almost chic in the mid-seventies.

The Renault 5 became particularly attractive in the wake of the OPEC oil embargo of late 1973, which saw a temporary return to fuel rationing on both sides of the Atlantic. Sales for 1974 were up more than 30% from 1973. By 1975, Renault had sold its millionth Cinq.

The success of the R5 inevitably led to many variants. From 1974, there was the Renault 7, a slightly bigger four-door version with a conventional notchback profile, built by Renault’s Spanish subsidiary, FASA-Renault. From 1976, there was a “Utilitaire” commercial version with blanked-out rear windows, aimed at delivery drivers and small businesses. Plusher GTL and (marginally) sportier LS and TS models appeared in the mid-seventies and a three-speed automatic transmission version bowed for 1978.

Renault had actually prepared a five-door version of the R5 at the time the three-door went into production, but decided to focus initially on the cheaper three-door, which they judged the better commercial prospect and less likely to cannibalize other Renault products. The five-door finally appeared in 1979 as a 1980 model and also became very successful.

Thanks to the introduction of the five-door — and a second energy crisis — the Renault 5 sold even better in the early eighties than in the late seventies: 711,533 for 1980, 625,984 for 1981, 531,827 for 1982, and 458,004 for 1983. That was all the more remarkable given that it was now a 15-year-old design facing a host of newer rivals.

RENAULT LE CAR

As big as it was in Europe in the mid-seventies, Renault still had almost no U.S. presence, with only about 250 dealerships nationwide. Although Renault offered several models in the U.S., including the 12, 15, and 17, none had found its niche and sales steadily declined from 1970 on.

Hoping to appeal to economy-minded American buyers, Renault imported the first federalized R5s for the 1976 model year. Available in 5 TL and 5 GTL forms, the U.S. cars were trimmed like their French counterparts, but had 5 mph (8 km/h) bumpers, which added about 3.7 inches (94 mm) to overall length, and the French car’s optional 1,289 cc (79 cu. in.) engine, making 58 horsepower SAE (43 kW).

Early U.S. reviews were very positive, perhaps aided by the lavish spread Renault PR director Pierre Gazarian had laid out for the American media at the R5’s press introduction in October 1975. Testers thought some of the R5’s minor controls were unnecessarily quirky, but were impressed with the ride and handling, which were excellent despite copious body lean, and thought the Renault well-built and surprisingly quiet at cruising speed for a contemporary small car. It was in no way fast, but its performance was sprightlier than expected and fuel economy was predictably excellent. The R5 was not the cheapest car in its class, starting at $3,295 — over $100 more than a Honda Civic CVCC — but it wasn’t a bad deal.

Unfortunately, getting American buyers to even consider the R5 proved to be easier said than done. Shoppers who were familiar with past U.S. Renaults weren’t necessarily inclined to buy another, and rival subcompacts like the Civic and Chevrolet Chevette benefited from stronger dealer networks, more marketing muscle, and less checkered reputations. As a result, Renault’s total U.S. sales for 1976, including the bigger cars, were only 6,819 and dealers ended the year with almost 8,000 unsold R5s.

Gazarian’s response was to dump Renault’s U.S. ad agency in favor of Marsteller Inc. (now Burson Cohn & Wolfe). The agency persuaded Renault to dump the R5 designation — which in the U.S. mainly served to tie the Cinq to earlier models of which Americans had been none too fond — and relaunch the car as “Le Car.” An aggressive new ad campaign emphasized the R5’s Frenchness, sporty character, and ties to Renault’s impressive European competition history.

The new marketing direction did sharply improve U.S. sales, albeit not as much as Renault might have hoped. Production peaked at more than 25,000 units for 1980, when Le Car received a modest facelift that added rectangular sealed-beam headlights and a new 1,397 cc (85 cu. in.) engine (a de-tuned, smog-controlled version of the European Alpine/Gordini engine, of which we’ll say more shortly). That was about as good as Renault had ever done Stateside, but still not great.

By this time, Renault had moved to strengthen its North American distribution through an alliance with the American Motors Corporation, whose dealers badly needed more fuel-efficient models to sell. Ironically, AMC had been among the first domestic automakers to promote compact economy cars, but by the late seventies, they had fallen well behind the times; their Gremlin and Pacer compacts were bulky rear-drive cars, usually sold with large, relatively thirsty six-cylinder engines. AMC wanted to develop a modern FWD subcompact, but with sales of its existing models sinking rapidly, it couldn’t afford to build one.

In October 1979, Renault bought a 5% stake in AMC, quickly upped to 22.5%. The two companies announced that they would build American versions of future Renault models at AMC’s Kenosha, Wisconsin plant, helping AMC to meet its Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements.

Renault’s investment in AMC, which grew in 1980 to a 46% equity stake, did little for either company. American Motors lost $197 million in 1980 and a further $136.6 million in 1981. The losses prompted Renault and the AMC board to promote AMC president Paul Tippet to chairman, replacing the resigning Gerry Meyers, and install Renault executive José J. Dedeurwaerder as president. French engineers and designers, including former Renault Sport engineer François Castaing, began to appear on AMC’s payroll, a further sign of Renault’s growing influence on AMC’s operations.

Renault continued to pour money into American Motors, but it was to little avail. The federalized Renault 18, launched for 1981, was a flop, while the joint-venture Alliance (an Americanized Renault 9) and Encore (an American version of the Renault 11) were hampered by erratic build quality and poor reliability. All lost money and sales remained weak.

Meanwhile, what buyer interest there had been in Le Car was fading. Despite the addition of the five-door model for 1981, Le Car was now hard-pressed by a generation of newer rivals, including the second-generation Honda Civic, Mazda’s popular GLC, the FWD Toyota Tercel, and the Plymouth Horizon. Some of these competitors were a class bigger than the R5 by European standards, but despite two energy crises, Americans still tended to conflate all B- and C-segment models as “little cars” and generally favored larger ones with more space and more power. The latter was a particular sore point for U.S. Renault dealers; the emissions-controlled 1.4-liter Le Car had only 51 hp SAE (38 kW), compared to 62 hp (46 kW) for a Civic 1300 and 68 hp (51 kW) for the Mazda GLC.

Renault withdrew Le Car from the U.S. market in the spring of 1983 and from Canada two years later. In late 1986, the French finally decided that any further investment in AMC was throwing good money after bad and agreed to sell American Motors to Chrysler, a deal completed in March 1987. The sale price was estimated at more than $1 billion in cash and stock, but the deal’s big winner was Chrysler, which not only acquired the Jeep brand, but also talented executives like François Castaing, who later became principal author of the innovative platform-team approach that revitalized Chrysler’s design and engineering in the nineties.

Because Le Car had such a marginal presence in the States, American buyers never saw most of the Renault 5’s many variations — particularly the more interesting sporty versions.

RENAULT 5 ALPINE AND GORDINI

As with the Mini, the Renault 5’s modest size and nimble basic handling lent themselves to what today we would call “hot hatch” versions, such as the Autobianchi A112 Abarth or Volkswagen’s Golf GTI . The first of these hot Renault 5s was the Alpine, introduced in 1976.

Alpine — not to be confused with the Sunbeam car of the same name — was founded in the mid-fifties by Dieppe racing driver and mechanic Jean Rédélé. In the early fifties, Rédélé, whose father was a Renault dealer, scored class victories in the Mille Miglia, Tour de France, and Coupe des Alpines using modified Renault 4CVs. He followed those victories by founding Société Anonyme des Automobiles Alpine in 1954. The following year, he launched the A106, a plastic-bodied coupe riding a 4CV chassis. The A106 was the first of a series of Renault-based sport racers, the best-known and most successful of which was the Michelotti-styled A110, launched in 1962.

Rédélé developed a close relationship with the Renault factory, which helped Alpine develop performance hardware for competition. However, Alpine’s business success didn’t match its competition record and by the seventies, the company was on the brink of collapse. Renault finally bought Alpine in 1974, just as Fiat had bought out Abarth a few years earlier. Under Renault’s ownership, Alpine continued to built its rear-engine A310 through 1984 (and the updated GTA through 1991) as well as developing performance parts and performance versions of Renault production cars.

The first Renault 5 Alpine, launched in 1976, was a straightforward upgrade of the basic car, with stiffer suspension; a new five-speed gearbox; bigger tires (if one may call 155/70SR13 “big”) on alloy wheels; and a 1,397 cc (85 cu. in.) version of the standard four with hemispherical combustion chambers and a Weber carburetor in place of the smaller engines’ Solex units, giving 93 PS (67 kW). Costing about 70% more than a 5 TL, Alpine was capable of 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in around 10 seconds seconds and a top speed of 109 mph (175 km/h). It sold respectably well through 1981, with a total production of 59,202 cars. In Great Britain, where Chrysler (and later Peugeot) still owned the name Alpine, the model was marketed as the Renault 5 Gordini, taking its name from Franco-Italian tuner Amédée Gordini, another Renault specialist. In the Spanish market, the equivalent model was called Renault 5 Copa.

The R5 Alpine had obvious potential as a rally car and Renault quickly homologated it for Group 2. Renault 5 Alpines driven by Jean Ragnotti and Guy Fréquelin beat out many more powerful competitors to win second and third places in the grueling Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo in January 1978. While this was an impressive and morale-boosting performance, it was clear the R5 was badly outgunned. Even as the Monte Carlo Rally began, however, Renault was already working on something stronger.

SUPER-SUPERMINI

Back in 1976, Marc Deschamps of the Italian styling house Stilo Bertone had suggested a wild mid-engine version of the Renault 5, probably inspired by the Bertone-styled Lancia Stratos, which dominated the rally scene in the mid-seventies. The idea won the immediate approval of production vice president Jean Terramorsi and his successor, Henry Lherm, who took over after Terramorsi died later that year.

The mid-engine project, coded Project 822, was developed at the Alpine works in Dieppe by a small staff of four engineers — Renault had a substantial competition department, Renault Sport, but the rally car was deemed a lower priority than Grand Prix. Styling, by Bertone’s Marcello Gandini — who had also designed the Stratos — was completed by July 1977. The first prototype was on the road in March 1978 and made its public debut at that year’s Paris Salon.

Early in the development of Project 822, the engineers in Dieppe considered using the 2,664 cc (169 cu. in.) “PRV” V6, which had recently been added to the Alpine 310, but opted instead for a turbocharged version of the standard R5 Alpine’s 1,397 cc four. The FIA “factored” turbocharged engines as having 1.4 times their actual displacement, but a turbo version of the 1.4 L engine could still compete in the under-2,000 cc (122 cu. in.) class, where it would be more competitive.

Even for the mid-seventies, the turbo engine’s specifications were unremarkable. It substituted Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection for the Alpine/Gordini car’s Weber carburetor, but had only two valves per cylinder and used neither overhead cams nor dry-sump lubrication. Compression ratio was reduced from 10.0:1 to 7.0:1 to allow the engine to survive up to 13 psi (0.9 bar) boost from a single Garrett AiResearch T3 turbocharger. In street form, the turbo used an air-to-air intercooler mounted in one of the bulky flared fenders; more elaborate and effective intercoolers were fitted to competition cars.

Although the turbo engine was a fairly straightforward derivative of the regular production item, the rest of the car bore only a nodding resemblance to the standard R5. Budget limitations precluded the tubular space frame the engineers wanted, so they instead expanded the standard R5’s rear track by about 10 inches (25 cm) and installed a cradle to carry the still longitudinally mounted engine and five-speed transaxle, the latter derived from the unit in the Renault 30 and Alpine A310. Since the engine now occupied the space through which had previously passed the standard car’s transverse torsion-bar springs, the 822 got an entirely different double wishbone suspension derived from that of the A310. The standard fuel tank, meanwhile, was replaced by a large, centrally mounted two-section tank.

All the changes left the 822 with something of a weight problem. Group 4 cars had a legal minimum weight of 1,862 lb (845 kg) while the later IMSA GTU cars were around 1,650 lb (750 kg), but even with plastic fenders and aluminum doors, hood, roof panel, and hatch, the street version weighed 2,140 lb (970 kg), compared to about 1,875 lb (850 kg) for the front-engine R5 Alpine. The mid-engine car was also none too aerodynamic; the bulky dimensions and blocky shape made for a mediocre drag coefficient of 0.44.

TAKING IT TO THE STREET

Sorting this hodgepodge of parts and getting the bugs out took almost two years, so production of the mid-engine car didn’t begin until May 1980 and the first street cars, called simply Renault 5 Turbo, didn’t go on sale until July 1.

In production form, the Renault 5 Turbo carried a base price of some 140,000 FF (equivalent to perhaps $26,000–$27,000 at the time), about twice as much as basic Renault 5 L. For that price, you got highly conspicuous looks, 160 PS DIN (119 kW) at 6,000 rpm), and an eye-popping new interior treatment. Designed by Renault interior designer Marion Villain, it featured wild geometric shapes, an abundance of gauges, vividly colored carpeting, and optional leather/velour sports seats. The engine cover was carpeted as well, in part to help control interior noise levels; nonetheless, full-throttle acceleration produced a hair-raising (and ear-ringing) 90 dB shriek.

Straight-line performance in this form was appropriately brisk, if not quite ferocious: 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in between 7 and 8 seconds and a top speed of perhaps 126–127 mph (203–205 km/h), limited more by drag than power. Racing versions had more boost and considerably more power: perhaps 180–210 PS (132–155 kW) for early Group 4 rally cars, 270 hp (201 kW) for GTU. Renault Sport later offered high-output kits for European street cars, offering 180 or 200 PS (132 or 147 kW).

The R5 Turbo was tricky but highly entertaining to drive. Even in street form, the engine was quite peaky, a characteristic that became more pronounced as more boost was added. The abrupt power delivery added to the mid-engine Cinq’s penchant for dramatic tail slides, something wholly alien to the regular R5. This was a great crowd-pleaser on the WRC circuits, but the R5 Turbo could spin readily if mishandled. In compensation, the mid-engine car was very agile, excelling at the sort of antics that had made the original Mini Cooper so beloved a generation earlier: careening around corners at lurid angles and then exploding out of roundabouts, tires squealing and engine howling. It was all a lot of fun, if not for the faint of heart or high of insurance premium.

Alpine managed, with some difficulty, to build 400 mid-engine Cinqs by the end of 1980, allowing the new car to complete its Group 4 homologation in time for the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally, in which Jean Ragnotti achieved the mid-engine Cinq’s first WRC victory. He followed that by winning the Tour de Corse in May 1982.

In 1982, the original production car, of which Renault had sold 1,820 units, was replaced by the cheaper Renault 5 Turbo 2. The Turbo 2, which debuted at the 1982 Paris Salon, used the same engine as the original street car, but traded its aluminum exterior panels for steel, bringing curb weight to around 2,315 lb (1,050 kg). Unfortunately, the unique interior was also sacrificed, again to reduce cost. The Turbo 2 remained in production through 1986.

At the same time, Renault introduced a more conventional Alpine Turbo (called Gordini Turbo in the UK, Copa Turbo in Spain). This was essentially the outgoing front-engine Alpine/Gordini/Copa, fitted with wider tires, four-wheel discs, and a mildly turbocharged engine making 110 PS (82 kW). It was capable of 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h in 9 seconds or so and had a claimed top speed of 115 mph (185 km/h). That was somewhat slower than a Volkswagen Golf GTI, but in compensation, the Gordini was also more than 10% cheaper. British testers had great praise for the Renault’s ride and handling, although by then they considered it cramped and unrefined compared to newer hot hatches.

The R5 Turbo’s rally success was short-lived. Although it remained a strong competitor through the middle of the decade, it had a tougher time under the new Group B rules, where it faced formidable all-wheel-drive rivals like the Audi Quattro. Even so, if it did not always win, the R5 Turbo was consistently a top-10 finisher.

The last major competition version was the limited-edition MAXI 5 Turbo, of which Renault Sport built 200 copies for Group B homologation. The MAXI 5 had aluminum roof panels, broader fender flares to allow wider tires, and a retuned 1,527cc version of the familiar turbo four with less lag and substantially more power: a nominal 350 PS (257 kW). Jean Ragnotti used one of these cars to win his second Tour de Corse victory in May 1985, beating out many powerful AWD challengers. It was the R5 Turbo’s last hurrah in WRC competition, although the cars continued to compete until the cancelation of Group B in 1986.

French production of the original Cinq ended in 1986. In all, Renault built 5,471,709 first-generation R5s, including almost 5,000 mid-engine turbo cars. The Iranian company Pars Khodro (now owned by SAIPA) continued to build modified versions of the first-generation R5 until 2002, first as the Sepand, later as the PK, making various minor styling changes and substituting mechanical components from Kia and Mazda.

The second-generation Renault 5, popularly known as “Supercinq” (“Superfive”), actually bowed more than a year before French production of the first-generation cars ended, bowing for the 1985 model year. In development since 1978 (as Project 140), the Supercinq was all-new, but its styling, credited to Marcello Gandini, looked enough like the original Cinq to confuse a casual observer. Under the skin, the new car was essentially a shrunken version of the Renault 9/11 platform, trading the Cinq’s double wishbone front suspension for cheaper MacPherson struts and mounting the engines transversely rather than longitudinally. Engine choices were the 1,108 cc (68 cu. in.) four also used on later first-generation cars or the normally aspirated 1,397 cc (85 cu. in.) engine with either 60 or 72 PS (43 or 52 kW); there was also a 1,595 cc (97 cu. in.) diesel.

Inevitably, the Supercinq was neither as beloved nor as long-lived as its predecessor. The more modern Clio effectively superseded it in 1990, although budget versions of the Supercinq remained in production until the end of 1996.

From early 1985 to 1990, there was a front-engine GT Turbo version of the Supercinq, replacing the old Alpine/Gordini, but there were no exotic rally versions like the R5 Turbo. A true successor to the old mid-engine car didn’t arrive until 2001, with the launch of the Renault Sport (or Renaultsport) Clio V6.

Initially built for Renault by TWR, the Clio V6 used the 2,946 cc (180 cu. in.) six from the Renault Laguna and other big French executive cars, mounted behind the front seats. It was powerful — 230 hp (169 kW) to start, later 255 hp (188 kW) — but the six-cylinder car’s considerable weight (over 3,085 lb/1,400 kg) meant that it wasn’t as fast as the specifications implied.

Moreover, the driving experience couldn’t match that of the quite good and much cheaper front-engine, four-cylinder Clio RS and Sport 172, a consequence of the V6’s additional mass, a higher center of gravity, and understeer-biased suspension tuning. The Clio V6 rode well, but felt more stodgy than agile. Worse, the general stolidity belied the mid-engine car’s potential for abrupt trailing-throttle oversteer. The issue was not that it would hang its tail out, which was to be expected and could have been fun, but that the transition was not clearly telegraphed or easy to catch, making it a flaw to avoid rather than a virtue to exploit.

Later iterations, with a reworked suspension, more power, and different gearing, were both faster and better sorted. However, the Clio V6 remained very expensive — nearly 10% more than a Volkswagen Golf R32, itself none too keenly priced — and sales were slow. It was dropped in 2005.

The original Renault 5 will never win any awards for cutting-edge engineering or sexy styling, but its sheer lack of affectation has a certain charm. It is that rarity: a simple, basic automobile that doesn’t purport to be a fighter plane, a prewar Classic, or a wild animal. Renault and others have attempted to recapture that unassuming spirit many times, notably with the Twingo, but we’ll go out on a limb and say the Cinq’s closest modern heir is the Tata Nano. The Nano is even less sophisticated than the old Cinq, but it appears to be a cunning exercise in automotive minimalism, founded in similar values. It will not impress the modern Ford Fiesta driver, accustomed to satellite radio, backup sensors, and GPS navigation, but it’s not intended to. The Nano, like the R5 or the old 4CV, doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not.

In an entirely different sense, we could say the same of the Renault 5 Turbo. If it looks like a bizarre Frankenstein exercise concocted by a handful of over-caffeinated rally fans, that’s not all that far from the truth. That the Turbo looks and feels faintly deranged is to be expected; the fact that it works surprisingly well is almost a bonus.

R5 Turbos are extremely rare here; our white photo subject is one of perhaps 200 gray-market Turbo 2s imported to the States. Parts and service are hard to come by, and we don’t know how we’d explain it to the insurance company. Still, if we had the money, we’d be tempted — particularly if we could get license plates reading “LE WHAT?”

NOTES ON SOURCES

Information on the development of the R5 came from from David Abrahamson, “For Your Information: Renault 5 Alpine,” Car and Driver Vol. 22, No. 11 (May 1977), p. 30; C. Billequé’s French site Renault-5.net (2009–2014, www.renault-5. net, last accessed 5 August 0215); Mike Covello, Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946-2002 , Second Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2001); Patrick R. Foster, The Story of Jeep (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1998); Karl Ludvigsen, “The Renault that Rumbled,” Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car #55 (March 2010); L’Editrice Dell’Automobile LEA, World Cars 1973 (Bronxville, NY: Herald Books, 1973), World Cars 1979 (Pelham, NY: Herald Books, 1979), World Cars 1982 (Pelham, NY: Herald Books, 1982), World Cars 1984 (Pelham, NY: Herald Books, 1984), and World Cars 1985 (Pelham, NY: Herald Books, 1985); Jan P. Norbye, “The new logic in small-car engineering,” Popular Science Vol. 206, No. 2 (February 1975), pp. 56–59; “Renault 5 Review and Test Drive,” Unique Cars and Parts, n.d., www.uniquecarsandparts. com.au, accessed 14 September 2009; Renault Inc., “From a Country that Just Built the World’s Fastest Train…” [advertisement], Popular Mechanics Vol. 156, No. 6 (December 1981), p. 13; “Introducing Le Car” [advertisement], Car and Driver Vol. 22, No. 11 (May 1977), p. 13; “Le Sports Car” [advertisement], Popular Mechanics Vol. 150, No. 3 (September 1978), p. 31; “Read what the experts say about Renault 5” [advertisement], Popular Mechanics Vol. 146, No. 1 (July 1976), p. 13; Renault S.A., “Renault Icons – Renault 5” (video), n.d., www.renault. tv, accessed 14 September 2009; Edouard Seidler, Let’s Call It Fiesta: The autobiography of Ford’s Fiesta (Newfoundland, NJ: Haessner Pub., 1976); Ray Thursby, “French Fry,” Special Interest Autos #188 (March-April 2002), pp. 41-45; Mark Wan, “Renault 5 (1972),” AutoZine, n.d., www.autozine. org/ Archive/ Renault/ classic/R5.html, accessed 14 September 2009; and the R5 Wikipedia® entry, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_5, accessed 14 September 2009. Driving impressions came from John Christy, “Renault Le Car GTL Deluxe,” Road Test May 1978, pp. 60-64; Jim Dunne and Ed Jacobs, “40-mpg imports,” Popular Science Vol. 218, No. 2 (February 1981); “Giant Test,” CAR , July 1979, pp. 60-69; “Giant Test: Fiat 127DL, Renault 5TL, VW Polo N,” CAR , August 1975, pp. 48-56; “Giant Test: Honda Civic, Allegro 1100, Renault 5TL, Ami Super,” CAR , November 1973, pp. 66-74; “Giant Test: VW Polo -v- Peugeot 104 -v- Ford Fiesta -v- Renault 5 -v- Fiat 127 -v- Mini 1000,” CAR March 1977, pp. 42–49; “Giant Test Special: Renault 5TX -v- MG Metro -v- Ford Fiesta XR2 -v- Citroën Vista GT -v- Fiat 127GT,” CAR June 1983, pp. 108-116; “Giant Test: Town & Country Club,” CAR August 1994, pp. 104–121; Bill Hartford and Michael Lamm, “First Hand Report: Driving the Renault 5,” Popular Mechanics Vol. 145, No. 1 (January 1976), pp. 134-137; “How the Volkswagen Golf GTi compares,” Autocar 4 April 1981, reprinted in VW Golf GTI 1976-1991 Limited Edition Extra , ed. R.M. Clarke (Cobham, England: Brooklands Books Ltd., ca . 2005), p. 25; Friedbert Holz, “Grosse Klasse, Kleine Masse (Vergleichstest: Ford Fiesta 1300S – Renault 5 TS),” Sport Auto January 1980, pp. 82–86; “Road Test: Renault 5TL,” Motor Road Tests 1980, pp. 128-131; “Road Test: Volkswagen Golf GTi,” Motor 27 November 1982, reprinted in Volkswagen Golf GTI 1976-1991 Limited Edition Extra , pp. 36–39; Chris Rees, Fantasy Cars: An A–Z of the World’s Best Contemporary Classics (New York: Hermes House, 1999); and LJK Setright, “Fly Babies,” CAR April 1980, pp. 66–70.

Additional information on the R5 Turbo came from the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, “Alpine-Renault Sports Cars,” HowStuffWorks.com, 25 May 2007, auto.howstuffworks. com/ alpine-renault-sports-cars.htm, accessed 15 September 2009; Stu Copping, “Stu’s Renault 5 Site,” n.d., www.angelfire. com/weird/ renault5/, accessed 15 September 2009; Gavin Green, “Skye and Goodbye,” CAR March 1987, pp. 98–107; Csaba Csere and Don Sherman, “R5 Turbo versus R5 Turbo,” Car and Driver Vol. 27, No. 2 (August 1981), pp. 63-66; Ian Eveleigh, “Renault 5 Turbo: Birth of an icon: 1980,” Evo February 2008, www.evo. co.uk, accessed 15 September 2009; “Giant Test: Colt 1.4 Turbo -v- Renault 5 Turbo -v- Mazda 323 1500GT,” CAR , December 1982, pp. 76-83; Brian Laban, “B Cars,” Performance Car August 1987, pp. 34–43; “Renault 5 Turbo” (n.d., Uniquecarsandparts. com.au, accessed 15 September 2009); “Renault R5 Maxi Turbo,” Slowly Sideways UK, n.d., slowlysidewaysuk. com/ database%20-%20renault%205%20maxi.html, last accessed 5 August 2015; Renault S.A., “Renault Classic: Alpine A106,” n.d., en.renaultclassic. com/ the-renault-car-collection/, accessed 15 September 2009; Mark Wan, “Alpine A110 (1962),” AutoZine, n.d., www.autozine. org/Archive/ Renault/ classic/ A110.html, accessed 15 September 2009; “Alpine A310 (1971),” AutoZine, n.d., www.autozine. org/Archive/ Renault/classic/ A310.html, accessed 15 September 2009; “Lancia Stratos (1972),” AutoZine, n.d., www.autozine. org/ Archive/ Lancia/ classic/ Stratos.html, accessed 15 September 2009; and “Renault R5 Turbo (1980),” AutoZine, n.d., www.autozine. org/ Archive/ Renault/classic/ R5_Turbo.html, accessed 14 September 2009; and the Wikipedia entries for the Lancia Stratos (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia_Stratos, accessed 15 September 2009) and Renault 5 Turbo (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_5_Turbo, accessed 14 September 2009).

Details on the Renault Clio V6 came from the Wikipedia entry (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Clio_V6_Renault_Sport, accessed 15 September 2009), Matthew Franey, “Hot Bothered? CAR December 2000, pp. 72–76; Peter Grunert, “Wide of the Mark: Renaultsport Clio V6,” Top Gear December 2000, pp. 44–46; and Mark Wan, “Renault Clio II” (30 August 2003, Autozine.org, www.autozine. org/ Archive/ Renault/old/ Clio_II.html#V6, accessed 15 September 2009).

Additional background on Renault’s marriage to AMC came from Chad Quella, “AMC – The Spirit Still Lives (history of American Motors Corporation” (n.d., Allpar, www.allpar. com, accessed 15 September 2009); Steve Corbin’s paper “RIP American Motors, 1954-1987” (12 April 1998, www.skidmore. edu/ ~pdwyer/ amc/ stevecorbin.htm, accessed 14 September 2009); Patrick R. Foster, The Story of Jeep (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1998); and the Wikipedia entry for American Motors (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Motors, accessed 15 September 2009).

Historical exchange rates were estimated based on data from Werner Antweiler, “PACIFIC Exchange Rate service, Foreign Currency Units per 1 U.S. Dollar, 1948-2009” (2009, University of British Columbia, fx.sauder. ubc.ca). All equivalencies cited in the text are approximate and are provided for illustration and informational purposes only — this is an automotive history, not a treatise on currency trading or the value of money, and nothing in this article should be taken as financial advice of any kind!

33 Comments

Didn’t the Renault 5 have a different length wheelbase on each side?

You’re quite right. I forgot all about that when I wrote this up; the text has been amended accordingly. For the record, the wheelbase was 2,403 mm (94.6 inches) left, 2,433 mm (95.8 inches) right.

The reason for this trick, which Renault also used on the 4, was that it had transverse torsion bars. Having the slightly different wheelbases kept the torsion bars from overlapping without any sort of cunning linkages or geometrical tricks, and with minimum cost.

I own a renault 5 turbo 2, 1981. It is a great car, but tires for it, are hard to get, so I would like to change the wheels for 15 inch or 16, but have not idea what to buy. Do any body knows what should I get.

Oops, that should have been “transverse torsion bars.” The last two words were accidentally deleted in an earlier revision. Fixed.

I think it can be mentioned that there were ties between Renault and AMC already before the launch of the 5, with Renault assembling and marketing Ramblers as Renault Rambler for the european market in the 1960s.Also the red car has dutch registration plates from 1979 which makes it a European 5 which always had rectangular headlights. Thanks for such a great,fun, informed and informative website btw.

Thanks for the information on the reg plates. I’ve corrected the photo and caption.

AMC had relationships with a number of other companies to assemble and market its cars in markets where AMC itself didn’t really have a presence. AMI in Australia (later bought out by Toyota) was the largest of those; there were probably others that I’m not thinking of. Such relationships were quite common in the fifties and sixties — even Daimler-Benz had deals like that.

Another interesting connection is IKA in Argentina. IKA was established by Kaiser in 1955, making both local versions of Kaiser cars and Jeeps. In the sixties, IKA also made a deal with AMC to market Rambler cars, including some unique local concoctions like the Torino (a blend of Rambler American and Classic pieces powered by a Willys Tornado six). Around the same time, IKA also started assembling Renaults, beginning with the 4. In 1970, Renault bought out IKA, but continued building some of the AMC-based cars afterward — the Torino remained in production until the early eighties.

I don’t know how much those deals had to do with the later merger, if anything, but clearly the companies were not strangers.

While it wasn’t a big success in the United States, the R5 was a bigger success in Canada because half of the Canadian sales was in the province of Quebec and was sold until late 1986. A local ad agency did some nice tv ads of the R5 with the catchphrase "Le Chnac", here the links. They’re all in French.

The Le Car Turbo as sold Stateside was still front engine, & suffered from the same reliability issues as all Renaults did [which may have much to do w/ why Nissan keeps a tight lid on its links to Renault to date. ;) ]

Still, in the black & red livery, it was a very sexy beast for a sub-compact in its day. Total chick car tho’, like the original Miata & the VW Cabriolet [nee’ Rabbit Convertible]: I kinda doubt any Le Car sales in the States were to men, except maybe in the case of a dad for his daughter.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of the front-engine 5 Turbo being officially sold in the U.S. As mentioned in the text, in Europe there was a front-engine Alpine Turbo (known as Gordini Turbo in the U.K.), but I haven’t seen anything about an officially federalized version. There was a U.S. version of the Fuego Turbo from mid-1982, though, with 107 hp from 1,565 cc.

You’re right.. Alpine Turbo never sold in the US. The Fuego turbo was great driving car but the turbos wore out quickly. The 2.2 OVC Fuego with a 5 speed was my favorite. The 3 speed automatics were a disaster

You alluded to fuel rationing reappearing in Europe and America following the 1973/4 OPEC embargo.

Certainly ration books were issued in the UK at the time, but rationing was never officially introduced. I remember at the time fuel was often hard to obtain, and a lot of gas stations would only sell to regular customers or limit sales to a few gallons per customer. I understood refining volumes changed very little during this period, the main cause of shortages was that almost everyone went to the gas stations and completely filled their tanks at the same time, rather than buying a few gallons each week as was normal practise.

Prices took a hike but not by a great deal. There were many other factors in the cost of gas (petrol over here), refining costs and duties and taxes made the cost of the actual crude oil much less of a factor.

Was fuel officially rationed in North America, either nationwide or by individual states?.

So far as I’m aware, there wasn’t a return to rationing in the World War II sense, with books of ration stamps or coupons being issued on a per-household basis, but there were at certain points (at least in some areas) officially mandated restrictions on fuel purchases such as limiting people to buying petrol on specific days based on whether certain digits of their car’s license plate (number plate) were odd or even and limiting each sale to a specific number of gallons. So, if one were being technical, one would probably call that de facto rationing or just complex purchase restrictions. The price of petrol also increased rather dramatically after being very static for quite a few years.

I was a Renault dealer from 76-82 and was one of the top sales dealers in the US. Won a trip to Paris on the Concorde. The LeCar was excellent driving small car and the with the sunroof it was a fun car. The problem was its complexity with all the emission controls required. Also, by adding A/C was the straw that broke the camels back. It was very difficult to work on.

“The R5 was Renault’s first unibody.” Are you 100% sure?

While I find no reason to doubt you, I find this surprising. Were the Renault 12, 15/17 and 16 not unibody designs?

Ack — I’m not sure now where that line came from, but it’s obviously incorrect. (Yes, the 16 and a variety of other earlier Renaults were unit-bodied.) I’ve amended the text. Thanks for the correction! That’s an embarrassing glitch.

It happens; I am pretty sure you meant they replaced the semi body-on-frame R4 with a monocoque design. Glad I could help.

I have a feeling that one came from the Renault documentary on the 5 and was probably a point lost in translation. Ah well…

I had a Renault 5 when I was still in school, and have fond memories of it. It was cheap but it wasn’t half bad. The skinny tires were great in the snow. It never left me stranded, and I could work on it myself.

Great write-up on a significant car. So successful that Renault could only replace it by the Super 5, which kept the original car’s styling cues (though it was quite different underneath).

Never ceases to amaze me how Renault and the other French marques never did crack the US market. Whether rear-engined (Renault), RWD (Peugeot) or FWD (Citroen), they always faltered. There were plenty of French cars in South America, Europe, Africa, parts of Asia… so what is it about the US market that made them a fish out of water?

Minor corrections in your Renault timeline: the first 4CV cars were presented at the first post-war Paris car show (October 1946) and Dauphine came out mid 1956 (Geneva car show).

Thanks again for the corrections; I’ve amended the text.

I think the biggest problems for the French were that they didn’t have strong enough U.S. organizations, never had a good reputation for reliability in U.S. conditions, and that they didn’t have enough prestige to make up for it. (Just a few issues…)

American buyers above all want known quantities, particularly when it comes to cheaper cars. This is something that European buyers and manufacturers often fail to understand (and for which the British often have contempt, although they’re just as guilty of it in different ways), but I think it’s a bigger concern for most Americans than whether something is interesting, exciting, or even prestigious. A lot of popular cars in this country, whether made or designed here or not, are sort of like the products of big fast food chains: It may not be great, it may not even be very good, but when you walk in the door, you know exactly what you’re going to get and how much it’s going to cost. As soon as you start adding question marks to that formula, your product immediately becomes a niche item.

If Renault had been able to have a thousand U.S. dealerships, if there were inexpensive parts for every U.S-market Renault in every auto parts shop in the country, if rebuilding an R5 gearbox were part of the curriculum of every high school auto shop class, they probably would have done pretty well, flaws and all. The trick is that to get to that point, they would have had to offer some consistent virtues compelling enough to the mass market to build up a reputation. The 5’s main selling point here was fuel economy, and you could get that from various other B- and C-segment cars that didn’t cost any more and had much less shaky reputations.

The problem for a car like the 5 specifically was that there’s really never been a strong incentive for Americans to own cars like that. We don’t have legal constraints on length or width (the only area where you get into issues is if the car is over 80 inches wide), fuel prices are such that the cost difference between an A- or B-segment car and a C-segment one is not substantial, and while I think a few states still base annual license fees on the old RAC taxable horsepower formula, the difference isn’t enough to make someone rush out and buy an old long-stroke British car to beat the system. On American roads, driving a small car is a disadvantage at least as often as it’s useful. As awful as urban traffic is, we don’t have to deal with narrow European city streets and parking spaces are usually of pretty constant size. If you have to park on the street a lot, a short car can be useful, but when you find yourself staring up at the four SUVs boxing you in on the freeway at rush hour, you start wondering if it’s worth it.

The French also never really did enough to develop products specific to the U.S. market. The successful imports did and the results are pretty obvious.

Renault also looked at developing a transverse-engined Mini-rival called the R2 sitting below the Renault 5, the R2 and successor Mini-rival projects would eventually evolve into original Renault Twingo.

http://ranwhenparked.net/2012/08/28/a-look-at-the-renault-2-the-mini-fighter-that-never-was/

The following French link goes into more detail. http://renaultconcepts.online.fr/prototypes/r2.htm

Perhaps so many European Manufacturers failing to crack the USA market was because they were busy building enough cars to satisfy their home markets. Also the UK makers had an established market in the former empire states. Indeed for some time after WW2 the UK was exporting more cars than any other country!. Likewise the French had their former colonies to send cars to. Which begs the question; why did VW succeed in North America?. One factor was there would be strong resistance to buying anything German in the immediate aftermath of WW2, perhaps much less so in the USA where many servicemen never went to Europe to fight. Also VW offered a simple car that could withstand American driving conditions. It wasn’t a very good car in any driving or comfort parameter, but turned out to be reliable and simple to fix when it did go wrong. Renault built cars with a very Gallic character, Italian cars likewise had Latin character, and British cars were very, well, British. Swedish cars had their own Scandanavian aure as well. Perhaps German cars appealed to Americans who wanted unpretentious transport offered by VW, or fine engineering and didn’t object to the hefty premium required for a Mercedes Benz. It is worth noting that the imports that have sold well in North America all have a reputation for reliability as a common factor.

A lot of American servicemembers did fight in Europe, although how that impacted their feelings about German products is complex and really depends a lot on whom and where you’re specifically talking about. It’s perhaps a facile point, but the U.S. is much, much bigger than Europe and has a huge amount of significant regional variation in both culture and driving conditions!

The downfall of many a foreign automaker in the U.S. was a combination of products that didn’t suit U.S. conditions and lack of a service network. The Volkswagen Beetle managed to skate on both points because it could withstand extended trips on American highways (not necessarily comfortably or adroitly, but without melting down) and because Volkswagen made a concerted effort to build a parts and service infrastructure. Nissan and Toyota eventually succeeded because while their early products didn’t manage either feat, they kept at it rather than throwing in the towel, inspired in no small part by the fact that Japan’s automotive economy was growing rapidly at the same time.

The real dilemma for European makers was that the investment involved in making their cars viable in the U.S. market was a lot greater than their immediate sales justified. (Why invest millions in engineering and tooling for a market where you’re selling low five figures?) I think that was a bigger factor than the issue of national character; for instance, Americans would probably have appreciated the Gallic knack for achieving good ride quality in small packages, but other factors became dealbreakers.

French cars were characterized by lightweight not very crash resistant bodyshells combined with high ratio top gear in order to achieve the fuel economy and cruising speed from the small engines necessary for economy in high fuel price and engine sized tax regimes in European markets. This lightweight engineering was unsuited to ham-fisted mechanically unsympathetic drivers, but perfectly suited to the majority of European drivers.(MGA twincam engines being another example) The engineering of Peugeots in particular was more than adequate for punishing Africanconditions when driven sensibly.

While it would have entailed Renault producing two 1.6-litre engines, it is a shame the Cléon-Fonte never grew to 1.6-litres except in parts of South America as well as Romania (via Dacia) and Turkey, at least for the Renault 5 / Renault Super 5 / Renault Express and Renault 11 / Renault 9.

There was also the 90 hp 1596cc variant used in the Volvo 343 Oëttinger, which gives some insight as to what a 1.6-litre version of the 92 hp 1.4-litre Renault 5 Gordini/Alpine and 108-118 hp 1.4-litre Renault 5 Alpine / Renault Super 5 GT Turbo would have put out along with the mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo.

I think it very unlikely Renault would consider investing in developing two engines of the same displacement, particularly if one was for a low volume car. GM is perhaps the only auto maker that was big enough to have different engines very similar in design, size, and output, for each of its divisions, and that was being rationalised out in the 1980’s.

The Renault 5 and Renault 11 plus related models were large volume cars, the more potent 1.6-litres would have allowed them to compete in the Hot Hatch sector particularly in non-turbocharged possibly productionized 105 hp 1.6-litre Alpine/Gordini spec.

The 1.6 Cleon engine could have also found its way into the Renault 18/Fuego, Renault 21 and Renault 19 in European/Western markets.

It was also possible to reduce overlap between the 1.6-litre C-Type / Cleon and 1.6 A-Type engines to have been resolved by having the latter (already capable of 1647cc) further enlarged to 1774cc via a 82 mm bore / 84 mm stroke, thereby slotting between the 1.6 C-Type and 2.0 Douvrin engines.

Renault appeared to have little issue producing overlapping engines what with the Cleon / Energy and X engines.

Interestingly the A-Type was also originally conceived to produce a 2.2-litre 6-cylinder version of the 1.6-litre A-Type for the Renault 114 Project that was intended to replace the Frégate (and predated the Renault 16).

Meant to say.

It was also possible to reduce overlap between the 1.6-litre C-Type / Cleon and 1.6 A-Type engines simply by having the latter (already capable of 1647cc) further enlarged to 1774cc via a 82 mm bore / 84 mm stroke, thereby slotting between the 1.6 C-Type and 2.0 Douvrin engines.

It should be said that it’s not uncommon for automakers to have different engine families that overlap in displacement range, particularly if they’re of different vintages. Examples that spring to mind are Toyota’s R-system, T-system, A-system, and S-system fours, all of which started in the 1.5-liter (ish) range — albeit not all at the same time. The R engine had greater growth potential (as evidenced by its late 2.2- and 2.4-liter iterations), but was physically larger and a fair bit heavier than the later T engine. The A and S engines replaced the T and R, but because the latter were quite widely used, it was a gradual transition. Similarly, a lot of Japanese manufacturers had small sixes that overlapped their four-cylinder engines in displacement and output.

So, it’s not all that unusual, whether for logistical reasons (which is mostly why GM did it), as an overlap between design generations, or just different applications (like the difference between fours and sixes of similar displacement).

Seem to recall Honda being another carmaker to have overlapping engine families.

Regarding the 1.6 C-Type and 1.6 A-Type engines, it is likely that both would have been replaced by the 1.6 F-Type engine anyway. The two engines would also have been used in different models since it is unlikely the A-Type would have fitted into the Renault 5 and Renault 11 (plus related variants).

Allegedly there was also scope for the PSA-Renault X engine to be enlarged to 1.6-litres, which was later used in the updated PSA TU engine.

While the Renault 5 / 7 carried over the C-Type engine, apart from the larger Renault 14 is it known whether the jointly-developed PSA-Renault X-Type was ever seriously investigated for use in the Renault 5?

Do any weight figures exist for the Cleon-Fonte / C-Type engines as well as the latter K-Type and D-Type engines?

The only figure available online appears to be the related Renault Energy / E-Type engine’s 238 lbs / 108 kg, which chronologically slots between the Cleon-Fonte and K-Type engines.

Data might exist in French-language sources with which I’m not familiar, but I don’t have any figures for them.

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An American in Paris…

Whenever someone brings up a “ Renault 5 ” in conversation it stirs up a lot of different thoughts and emotions. And for some, they probably have no idea what the significance of this vehicle is. And first impressions are lasting ones, so I won’t fault anyone if they feel that it’s a bit of an ugly duckling.

Growing up during the height of “Killer-B” Rally era , mention of the R5 immediately conjures images like the one above. Even though the R5 was a FIA Grouppe 3/4 entrant, it ran alongside the famed Killer-B cars like the Audi Quattro , Peugeot 205T16 , Lancia Delta and Ford RS200 . And I have no shame in admitting there was a model R5 parked next to my other die-cast rally heroes in my bedroom.

After watching the 1983 James Bond film “ Never Say Never Again “ starring Sean Connery , it locked the R5 in a special place in my heart, and likely many others, as an automotive icon. The gorgeous “Fatima Blush” played Barbara Carrera introduced the homologated rally car to the world by driving through narrow European streets while being chased by James Bond on a BMW motorcycle as seen in the clip below. Hmm… t hinking back, I am not sure who I had a bigger crush on.

Le Sigh…

For folks slightly older than me, they probably remember this laughable little gem (below), the base-model Renault 5 sold state-side as the “ LeCar .” – Sales of the LeCar where dismal at best, and by now most have biodegraded.

However, a sum total of 4987 (Turbo-1: 1820 and Turbo-2: 3167) R5 Turbos were manufactured during a six-year production run from 1980-86. The Turbo-1 was the closest to the rally-spec using Bertone, Alpine and specialty alloy parts directly from the Renault-Sport parts bin, whereas the Turbo-2 was a more affordable version using more off the shelf Renault parts.

Ooo, Dat Ass…

Its undeniably wide and one of the R5s most distinct features. Approaching the R5 from behind makes you feel like you’re behind other wide-body cars of the era like the Porsche 930 or the Ferrari Testarossa , but the front-end is significantly narrower than the rear giving the R5 a noticeably wedged footprint.

To make room after changing the configuration of the base Renault 5 from front-wheel drive to mid-engine rear-wheel-drive; the engineers at Renault had to make significant modifications to the rear half of the car specifically for cooling and ventilation. Up front, in the “frunk” – a large tubular reinforcement beam was installed in place of the engine in order to keep the chassis from twisting.

At 144-inches long the R5 is quite small – and for the sake of comparison: a 1st generation Mazda Miata is 155-inches long and 4th generation VW GTI is 163-inches. Both of these vehicles by today’s standards are considered “compact”; the R5 is nearly 2 feet shorter than the VW, woah!

It’s what’s on the inside that counts…

A stock R5 Turbo-2 is powered by a turbocharged 1.4-litre Renault ( Cléon-Fonte ) 4-cylinder making 158 bhp mated to a 5-speed gearbox with a top speed somewhere shy of 130 mph. Allen’s Turbo-2 has been upgraded to a “Stage 2” package which bumps the horsepower up to a peppy 180 bhp, making it feel like a much larger engine.

As mentioned previously, if you compare this car to the sportier and racing-inspired Bertone + Alpine interior of the Turbo-1, the Turbo-2 is much more plush and civilized. Unfortunately, moving to the off-the-shelf Renault parts means a cheaper feel and poorer fit and finish, even for a limited-production hand-built car. The seats are probably the best and worst feature of the R5. They are bulky and almost too large for the cabin and provide an awkward seating position (imagine driving while sitting at your kitchen table); but they do provide plenty absorption for the R5s rough coil-over ride.

In typical early ’80s euro-fashion, the interior is every shade of earth tone possible and comprised of chunky plastic components. The steering is left of drivers center and the clutch pedal is spaced very far from the brake, whereas the gauges are easily visible and the shifter is in a great location. The R5 is full of “quirks” which add to its charm. One of my favorites being the horn button, which is not in the center of the steering wheel but found on the end of the indicator stalk. It makes one of the happiest sounds and when people pulled up next to me on the road waving and giving thumbs up, I would respond with the cheery “beep-beep” and watch their faces explode with grins and laughter.

The R5 has a raspy exhaust note, but having the engine directly behind you encased in a carpet covered plywood box gives you a no-filter symphony from the engine. Unfortunately, because there is no separation between the driver and the engine – like you would find in a Lotus Elise or Porsche Cayman – there is no lack of heat in the cabin. Driving with the windows cracked or opening the center air vent (which only lets in outside air) is mandatory. Diagnosing problems with the R5, especially sounds or smells is a breeze. If I were to spend more time in an R5, I would probably install a carbon-monoxide detector , just to be safe.

…but, it has a great personality.

Driving the R5 is interesting, I got to spend time with it in a mix of situations: twisty back-roads, highway and in weekend traffic. On the highway, its like any other car at 65 mph. A little bumpy because of the coil-overs, and not too noisy – the motor hums at mid-range rpm and there are small rattles here and there. Visibility is good and after a while you can even begin to get accustomed to the odd seating position. I did mistake the hood release as a dead-pedal until I realized the floor pan didn’t have one! This meant resting your foot flat on the floor, which was okay, because my knee became a resting place for my wrist since the steering wheel is not only off center, but leans slightly toward the dashboard on the left side.

On a twisty road or off-ramp, the nose of the R5 tends to get light and gives you the impression of massive body roll, but once you’ve gotten used to it, you can really point and squirt the car wherever you like. At first the brakes where mushy, but I started to realized that Allen had taken this car to a HPDE a few seasons ago and was equipped with race pads and Toyo R888R tires, which take time to warm up. Usually, manual-steering cars turn slowly unless at speed and feel “heavy and truck-like” but the R5 is so light and generates lift quickly, it gives the impression it has power assist which makes attacking corners fun.

By today’s standards – where your mom’s Toyota Camry comes with close to 300 hp depending on the package – it’s hard to say that the R5 is “fast.” – If you take the R5 back to 1985 comparables, the punch that 1397cc can deliver in this tiny package is impressive. The turbo-lag is period appropriate, and when the R5 is on boost, it’s an absolute riot!

The transmission in the R5 is fabulous, the gating between 1-2-3-4 is perfect, tight, with no searching. The car responds well to quick shifting and heel+toe , and it makes sense that 5th is a reach as it would be seldom used (in a race). Reverse on the other hand, equally as far away from the H as 5th, is in an odd spot being right next to 2nd gear with no lock-out. This makes a “bay city roller” (2nd gear, rolling take off) or an aggressive 3rd-to-2nd downshift challenging. Once you get used to the spacing it does become very natural. #adaptandovercome #savethemanual.

Verdict: Is the R5 a good car?

Heck no… it’s terrible. Rare, difficult to gets parts for and maintain, crampt, hot, quirky, cobbled together, laggy, awkward handling and above all… very French . But that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it! Driving the R5 was an absolute hoot and I appreciated every moment behind the wheel. Storming down a B-road, trees rushing by in a car like this gives you an overwhelming sense of euphoria and freedom. Seeing so many positive reactions from outsiders adds to that sense of glee – and was a concrete reminder why cars are awesome!

Like all good things – my rendezvous with Genevieve (I felt it appropriate to name the R5 after our date) – had to come to an end. A special thank you again to Allen R for letting me spend time with a true icon, one of my heroes, and get to know it better. This was definitely an experience I will not forget.

From all of us at the GTM writers desk, we hope you look forward to more reviews on classic cars coming in the next few months. ( More pictures of Allen’s R5 can be found on Shutterfly. )

#merrymotoring

Great article! I owned 2 R5’s starting in the late 1980’s. I can’t remember the circumstances which brought me to the first one but I was attracted to the uniqueness of it. Shortly after I bought it(less than $10,000) the engine blew and it took me awhile to find someone to fix it. After many months of rebuilding the engine I took it to Watkins Glen for a BMW Club HPDE event. On the track with BMW 2002’s it held its own but a throttle linkage problem cut short its debut. After that for a time I drove it occasionally on the street, enjoyed looking at it and then sold it. Years after that I tripped across another R5 which I couldn’t pass up. The price was right and I kept it for several years ultimately recouping on its sale my inception to date R5 investment dollars. I’m not a car collector and I don’t buy cars to make a profit but I can’t help looking back at some of the cars I’ve had and wish I still owned them. The R5 is one of those – their current prices get close to 6 figures. I love cars that are different and my romance with the R5 was very rewarding.

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Renault 5 Turbo 2 'Tour de Corse': The hatchback that thinks it's a supercar

Price: £72,995 | year: 1983 | engine: 1,565 cc turbo-charged inline four cylinder, 236 bhp.

The outlandish bodykit is no disguise. When Renault wanted to take its classic 5 hatchback rallying in the 1980s, they didn't just uprate the engine. They moved the highly modified power unit backwards to transform France's favourite supermarket shopper into a rallying two-seater supercar. Open the hatchback on this immaculate Renault 5 Turbo 2 , resplendent in the 'Tour de Corse' colours that twice won one of the most demanding events on the rallying calendar, and there is the potent power unit, initially tuned using Renault's Formula One expertise.

The car you see here was converted from left hand drive and to its current specification by John Price Rallying of Hereford, an outfit with long experience of preparing rally cars, including the monstrous Metro 6R4. The Renault began life as a production Turbo 2, a road-legal homologation special built in small numbers to meet Group B rallying regulations. It was delivered direct to John Price Rallying in October 1983. They transformed the car, first to right hand drive, under licence from Renault, and then, over some years, to its current specification, honouring the Tour de Corse wins.

Inside, there is a full competition interior, including a bespoke aluminium roll cage complemented by ultra lightweight Sparco seats and essentials such as a plumbed-in fire extinguisher. Door cards are carbon fibre to save weight. Full Sabelt harnesses are fitted. Bespoke switches are marked by crude, clear labelling. There's little in the way of creature comforts. In stark contrast to the specialist equipment, much of the standard Renault 5 dashboard remains, an analogue reminder of the original hatchback, albeit now punctuated with specialist gauges and switchgear.

The Renault real secret is revealed by opening the hatchback and lifting a blue carpeted panel. There, instead of shopping space and the rear seats, is the highly-tuned turbo-charged engine. The power unit is mounted ahead of the rear wheels, so the little Renault is designated as mid-engined, just like today's supercars which would have their work cut out to match its pace. John Price Rallying have upgraded the engine to so-called "Maxi" specification, as on the car Jean Ragnotti drove on the second of his Tour de Corse victories, in 1985. This 2009 upgrade, for the car's demanding previous owner, includes the correct Tour de Corse manifold, oil cooler and close ratio gearbox, among many other parts.

Every detail of this Tour de Corse recreation is correct, down to the finest points of the exterior livery. The condition is immaculate and the Renault is, remarkably enough, road legal. For your next rally stage or as a very swift supermarket shopper, there really is nothing like it. Just remember there’s no room for the week's groceries in the back.

Meet another '80s wonder car: the BMW E30 M3 Evo 2 .

Get your fill of all things automotive at  The Garage .

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Group B is often viewed as the golden era of rallying . It was a time where restrictions were limited, drivers were fearless,  and cars were extreme . Very extreme. And because of homologation rules, these cars weren't just limited to those brave — or indeed, skilled — enough to tackle the rally stages, either.

One of the cars that featured throughout this mad era was the Renault 5 Turbo. And you could really tell, too, because it was about as bold as it gets. Its engine, for starters, was mid-mounted. Then there was the way it looked, with those super-aggressive arches and boxy lines. Oh, and don't forget the fact it was turbocharged.

Renault had taken what was a fairly-unassuming looking hatchback and turned it into a monster. The result was a hit, too, with the Renault 5 Turbo becoming a legend everywhere from the circuits to the streets. Taking a small hatchback and giving it supercar-like levels of desirability is no easy feat. But Renault succeeded.

With that being said, let's take a look back at the Renault 5 Turbo and see what made it so iconic. 

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The Renault 5 Turbo's Rally Pedigree

By the time the Renault 5 Turbo came around in 1980, Renault was no stranger to developing turbocharged cars for the racetracks. According to Rallysport Magazine, Renault had successfully entered the RS01 into Formula 1 in 1977, which was the first-ever turbocharged car to be used in the sport. It was, however, said to be chronically unreliable, having failed to finish any of its qualifying races — in fact, it wasn’t until a year later that Renault secured its first points with a fourth-place position at Watkins Glen.

But Renault was undeterred by this, having decided to try its luck in the World Rally Championship, too. Renault chose the Renault 5 to be the platform, not only because they saw its potential to be a successful rally car, but through desire to promote the sales of the ordinary 5.  In 1980, an initial run of 400 cars were homologated. And the result was bold in every way imaginable.

The car went on to be a success in Group 4, with the first rally-spec model — named the type "Cevennes" — driven to first place by Jean Ragnotti at the 1981 Monte Carlo rally, which was followed up by a win at the Tour de Corse a year later.  With the following model, which was named the Tour de Corse to commemorate Ragnotti's success, Renault hadn't managed to make the most of the transition to Group B, with the car reportedly handicapped by its smaller engine displacement.

According to Renault Sport, this was rectified in late 1984, though, when they decided to change capacity class, creating the ultimate version of the Renault 5 Turbo: the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo. Twenty cars were homologated to meet the new class requirements, with changes made to the car's aerodynamics and engine displacement — now 2,138 cc over 1,956. Power was increased to 360 bhp and resulted in the car dominating on tarmac surfaces, with Ragnotti going on to win the 1985 Tour de Corse rally. On 0ther surfaces, things weren't so successful, though, with the Renault 5 left behind by its four-wheel-drive competition.

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A Detailed Look at What Made the Renault 5 Turbo Special

In terms of the road, though, things weren't quite as out-there as the Group B monster, but things were still extreme nonetheless. The first Renault 5 Turbo — fittingly named the Renault 5 Turbo 1 — released in 1980. It came with an engine derived from the earlier Renault 5 Alpine Turbo, which was a 1.4-liter unit fitted with a turbocharger to produce 160 bhp and 163 lb-ft of torque. The engine was mounted in the rear — a set up which served as the inspiration for a later hot hatch icon, the Clio V6 — and the power sent to the back, too.

Zero to sixty would take around 6.7 seconds, and a top speed of 130 mph could be reached. Yes, this may not seem as impressive as the insane figures of contemporary hot hatches, but this was the '80s, so it was quick. So fast, in fact, it was actually the quickest French production car at its time of launch.

And while placing a turbocharged engine behind the driver was radical at the time, the looks were even more so. Renault enlisted Bertone — the Italian design firm responsible for some iconic cars  — who set about making it far more aggressive and lighter than a standard 5. The rear arches were much wider — so to accommodate the mid-mounted engine — and lighter, aluminum body parts were used to save weight. In the model that came in 1983, though, named the Turbo 2, this wasn't the case, as these models received heavier and slightly cheaper bodywork .

But it wasn't just the bodywork that was aggressive. The wheels were, too. The tires, for starters, took on a staggered setup borrowed from the Alpine A310, with Evo reporting that this was 190-section up front and 220 at the rear. Then there were the rims, which were deep and designed to mimic turbocharger fans.  The eccentricity continued on the interior, also — at least on Turbo 1 models, anyway — which, again, was left to Bertone to design. The result was a riot of blue and red covering just about everything, with the only exception being the quirky, asymmetrical steering wheel.

The result, then, was unlike anything the automotive industry had ever seen before and arguably, ever will see again. It not only inspired a new era of rear engined, rear-wheel drive hatches in rallying but redefined what people thought possible of hatchbacks.

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1985 Renault 5 Maxi Turbo

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Renault 5 E-Tech : que vaut-elle une fois toute équipée ?

La Renault 5 E-Tech a plus d'un argument dans son sac. Mais le principal, c'est bien entendu son accessibilité. La petite française s'affiche en effet à partir de 25.490 euros une fois le bonus de 4.000 euros déduit. Toutefois, la R5 E-Tech n'oblige pas à se serrer la ceinture, puisqu'elle dispose d'un catalogue d'options relativement fourni qui permet de faire grimper la note. Alors, bonne ou mauvaise idée ?

En 2021, Luca De Meo, PDG de Renault , annonçait pour la première fois la R5 E-Tech . La citadine électrique devait révolutionner le segment avec un positionnement tarifaire enfin abordable pour le commun des mortels. Trois ans plus tard, la star est enfin commercialisée et, pour l'heure, la promesse semble tenue. Elle s'affiche actuellement à partir de 25.490 euros en finition Techno, mais Renault a d'ores et déjà annoncé l'arrivée de versions encore plus attractives ultérieurement.

La finition Techno est déjà assez richement dotée, au vu de son tarif. Vous voulez plus de confort, ou une touche d'exclusivité supplémentaire ? Pas de soucis, La R5 E-Tech est également disponible en finition Iconic Cinq. Celle-ci est associée d'office à la même motorisation de 150 chevaux, ainsi qu'à la batterie de 52 kWh autorisant une autonomie de 408 kilomètres en cycle mixte WLTP. La note grimpe à 31.490 euros, avant déduction du bonus écologique.

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Une présentation élégante, mais moins charmante

Évidemment, la présentation extérieure est propre à la finition Iconic Cinq. La voiture se dote de série de jantes de 18 pouces avec des branches plus fines. Certains préfèreront peut-être les modèles de la finition Techno. Il est possible de les remplacer, moyennant 200 euros.

Il en va de même pour la teinte de la carrosserie. La R5 E-Tech haut de gamme se pare d'une livrée noire intégrale, rehaussée simplement par le jonc de toit rouge. Il faut compter entre 600 et 800 euros pour profiter de couleurs plus joyeuses.

Côté équipements, en revanche, la finition Iconic Cinq justifie son tarif plus élevé. La dotation inclut de série des éléments de confort, comme le volant et les sièges chauffants à l'avant, le chargeur de smartphone à induction, un éclairage d'ambiance à 4 zones, ainsi que des aides à la conduite supplémentaires comme le régulateur de vitesse adaptatif avec centrage dans la voie.

En définitive, la finition Iconic Cinq est indéniablement le meilleur choix, pour peu que vous ayez les moyens. Toutefois, il faudra prévoir une rallonge si vous voulez profiter de l'esprit « pop » de la R5 E-Tech (couleur, jantes…), plutôt que de l'aspect « voiture de police banalisée » . Et, si jamais les 150 chevaux sont trop justes à votre goût, il reste toujours l'Alpine A290 …

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Vidéo – Renault 5 électrique : la présentation complète pour tout savoir, nos impressions à bord

Florent FERRIERE

• 26 Fév 2024 10:00

Vidéo , Voiture électrique

Ultra-attendue, la nouvelle Renault 5 électrique est enfin là, dans ses habits définitifs. Automobile Propre a pu la découvrir en avant-première et vous partage ses premières impressions à bord.

Dire que l’attente fut longue est un euphémisme. Voilà plus de trois ans que l’on patiente (et s’impatiente). Renault a en effet annoncé le lancement de cette R5 électrique en janvier 2021 avec la présentation d’un concept-car. Depuis, on a beaucoup vu ce concept dans les salons, les dessins se sont multipliés dans la presse, Renault a enchainé les teasers tout au long de l’année 2023. En étant totalement honnête, on a un peu perdu l’effet de surprise face au modèle de série !

A l’extérieur : fidèle au concept

D’autant que, et c’est la bonne nouvelle, le véhicule de série est très proche du concept. Luca de Meo, directeur général du Losange, tenait à cela. Quitte à inverser la logique de conception : alors que le design est souvent contraint par la plate-forme, ici les ingénieurs ont pu imaginer une base qui garde les proportions musclées du show-car. Pour Renault, le premier argument de vente doit être le style. Il faut reconnaitre que sur ce point, c’est réussi.

Outre la silhouette musclée, l’effet coup de coeur souhaité par Renault vient bien sûr de l’aspect néo-rétro. Pour démocratiser la mobilité électrique, la marque a décidé de faire revivre une icône qui a une image sympa et populaire. Renault rêve d’un succès façon Fiat 500. Une comparaison qui n’est pas faite au hasard, puisque Luca de Meo, qui a validé ce projet de nouvelle R5, avait oeuvré à la renaissance de la petite italienne.

La nouvelle R5 reprend ainsi la silhouette de la 5 apparue en 1972. Avec ses ailes gonflées et ses voies élargies, l’auto évoque aussi l’attitude de la mythique variante Turbo. Preuve que Renault a mis l’accent sur le design, toute la gamme est équipée de grandes roues de 18 pouces ! Quitte donc à sacrifier un peu d’autonomie…

A l’avant, les optiques évoquent celles des ancêtres, même si la forme est plus travaillée, avec une carrosserie qui vient remonter dans ces phares. Dommage pour le côté rétro, on s’éloigne du côté rectangulaire. Par rapport au concept, la signature lumineuse a été revue. Pour les carrés de chaque côté du bouclier, les LED ne font plus tout le tour, mais marquent les angles. Et cet aspect est repris au centre des optiques principales.

Détail sympa, la prise d’air sur le capot a été réinterprétée. Ici, c’est un témoin de charge de la batterie, qui forme un 5. Plus la batterie est chargée, plus le 5 est visible, par segment de 20 %. Dans les autres clins d’œil au passé, on a le liseré coloré qui souligne le pavillon et bien évidemment, à l’arrière, les feux verticaux qui encadrent un hayon incliné.

Au lancement, il y aura cinq couleurs, dont deux teintes directement inspirées de celles des années 70, un Jaune Pop et un Vert Pop. Ce dernier sera la teinte gratuite. La 5 ne résiste pas à la mode de la silhouette bicolore.

Ce qui peut surprendre à la découverte de la R5, c’est sa petite taille. Alors que les Clio et Zoé dépassent les 4 mètres, la nouvelle venue se contente de 3,92 mètres. Côté hauteur, on est à 1,50 m, 6 cm de plus que la Clio, mais il fallait bien loger la batterie !

A bord : plus techno que rétro

La vraie découverte de cette présentation, c’est l’intérieur, car Renault n’avait jamais rien dit et rien montré. A bord, l’exercice néo-rétro est plus difficile. Forcément, depuis la première R5, les habitacles ont connu plusieurs révolutions. La R5 version 2024 associe donc les équipements modernes de notre siècle à des clins d’oeil au passé.

Par exemple, les deux écrans sont associés dans un cadre épais aux bords arrondis. Petit souci : l’écran de l’instrumentation est moins haut que celui de l’info-divertissement, il y a donc au dessus du vide comblé par du plastique noir laqué, pas du meilleur effet. Ce plastique est d’ailleurs trop présent sur la planche de bord. De plus, l’ensemble des deux écrans est imposant et la visibilité vers l’avant en souffre.

L’écran tactile central de 10,1 pouces est en série. Il n’empêche pas la présence de nombreux boutons, trop éparpillés. Dans le système multimédia, on trouve un nouveau petit personnage, un compagnon de route virtuel nommé Reno, en forme de Losange. Il peut présenter les caractéristiques de la voiture, lancer des fonctions… Pour cela, il suffit de lui poser des questions à l’oral. Pour avoir mieux réponse à tout, il est connecté à Chat GPT.

C’est finalement face au passager qu’on a davantage l’aspect rétro, avec une structure sur deux étages et un décor matelassé. On voyage aussi dans le passé avec des sièges dont la structure en H évoque ceux de la R5 Turbo. Renault a imaginé une sellerie façon jean ! Mais attention, on est en 2024. Le tissu est ici conçu à partir de bouteilles en plastique recyclées. Détail sympa, dans la liste des accessoires, il y a un élément qui prouve que la 5 est bien française : il permet de ranger une baguette de pain !

En montant à l’arrière, la R5 confirme que c’est un petit gabarit. On manque de place pour les jambes, d’autant qu’il est difficile de glisser ses pieds sous les sièges avant pour gagner des centimètres. C’est correct pour la tête, bien en largeur. La base électrique permet au moins d’avoir un plancher dégagé. La R5 est homologuée pour 5.

Renault annonce un volume de coffre de 326 litres, une bonne valeur pour une petite citadine électrique, qui prend toutefois en compte le rangement pour le câble de recharge. Reste que le seuil est très haut, et forme donc une marche imposante. La banquette se rabat en 60/40, mais crée là-aussi une grosse marche.

Les dimensions

• Longueur : 3,92 m
• Largeur : 1,77 m
• Hauteur : 1,50 m
• Empattement : 2,54 m
• Volume de coffre : 326 litres

La technique : trois moteurs, deux batteries

La Renault 5 inaugure la plate-forme AmpR Small (anciennement nommée CMF-BEV). C’est une base pour les voitures électriques, mais dérivée de la plate-forme thermique de la Clio, ce qui a permis à Renault de faire des économies dans la conception. Le train avant est par exemple partagé avec la Clio. En revanche, à l’arrière, la R5 a le droit à un train avec une géométrie multi-bras, un petit luxe à ce niveau de gamme. La volonté de Renault est d’avoir une citadine électrique plaisante à conduire.

Pour baisser les coûts, Renault a aussi travaillé sur la structure de la batterie. Au lancement, la R5 aura une batterie de 52 kWh, comme sur la Zoé, mais avec quatre larges modules au lieu de 12. En revanche, Renault n’a pas retenu la chimie LFP, moins onéreuse mais plus volumineuse, gardant le NMC, Nickel Manganèse Cobalt.

Avec cette batterie de 52 kWh, la marque promet une autonomie de 400 km, une valeur jugée suffisante pour une citadine. Cette batterie est associée à un bloc de 110 kW, soit 150 ch. La R5 sera vive, avec un 0 à 100 km/h réalisé en moins de 8 secondes.

Pour le moteur, Renault reste fidèle au synchrone à rotor bobiné. Dérivé de celui de la Mégane, il a été retravaillé pour être plus léger et plus compact. La compacité a aussi été de mise pour le nouveau système de freinage, qui intègre dans le même module freinage et ESP afin de réduire l’encombrement sous capot. Toutefois, il n’y a pas de coffre avant.

Par la suite, il y aura une batterie de 40 kWh (avec 3 modules), qui donnera une autonomie d’environ 300 km. Avec la batterie de 40 kWh, le bloc sera décliné en 70 et 90 kW, soit 95 et 120 ch.

Côté recharge, la voiture sera équipée en série d’un chargeur 11 kW. Avec la grosse batterie, on profite aussi d’une recharge en courant continu jusqu’à 100 kW. Ce sera 80 kW avec la batterie 40 kWh en version 120 ch (pas de DC sur le petit bloc).

Element important, sur une bonne partie de la gamme, le chargeur embarqué 11 kW sera bidirectionnel, avec donc les fonctions V2L et V2G. Le V2L permet de brancher un petit appareil électrique, par exemple un aspirateur pour faire le ménage de l’intérieur.

Grâce au V2G,  Renault promet d’économiser jusqu’à 50 % du prix de la recharge à domicile. L’auto est capable de se charger quand le prix de l’électricité est au plus bas et de revendre de l’électricité quand le prix est plus élevé. Pour cela, il faut avoir à la maison une borne dédiée et souscrire un contrat d’électricité spécifique.

Pour la recharge en route, le système multimédia Open R Link intègre bien sur un planificateur d’itinéraire. A noter que la R5 propose le Plug&Charge : il n’y a qu’à brancher la voiture, recharge et facturation sont automatiquement gérées.

Les batteries et autonomies

• Batterie 40 kWh, autonomie mixte WLTP 300 km
• Batterie 52 kWh, autonomie mixte WLTP 400 km

Les moteurs

• 70 kW / 95 ch, batterie 40 kWh, recharge AC 11 kW.
• 90 kW / 120 ch, batterie 40 kWh, recharge bidir. AC 11 kW, DC 80 kW.
• 110 kW / 150 ch,  batterie 52 kWh, recharge bidir. AC 11 kW, DC 100 kW

Les performances du bloc 110 kW

• Vitesse maxi : 150 km/h
• 0 à 100 km/h : moins de 8 secondes
• 80 à 120 km/h : moins de 7 secondes

La 5 fait le plein d’assistances à la conduite, avec des éléments rares voire inédits à ce niveau de gamme, par exemple le freinage automatique d’urgence en marche arrière et une sortie sécurisée des occupants. Le régulateur de vitesse adaptatif s’aide aussi de la géolocalisation. Preuve que la R5 est plutôt typée haut de gamme.

D’ailleurs, l’équipement de série comprendra les optiques LED avec feux de route automatiques, l’écran 10,1 pouces, l’accès mains libres, les jantes 18 pouces… Le grand mystère reste le prix. Renault dit que ce sera à partir de 25.000 € environ, avec donc la batterie de 40 kWh et le bloc de 95 ch, dans une version de base Evolution.

Mais au lancement, Renault ne proposera que la grosse batterie de 52 kWh avec le bloc 150 ch, dans les finitions hautes Techno et Iconic 5. Là, forcément le prix sera bien plus élevé. On espère que cette grosse batterie commencera sous les 30.000 €. Les commandes devraient s’ouvrir d’ici l’été, les livraisons commenceront vers octobre.

Notre premier avis

Chacun ses goûts, mais pour nous, c’est un coup de coeur esthétique à l’extérieur. L’intérieur a moins fait l’unanimité. Renault aurait peut-être pu garder l’esprit rétro pour simplifier la présentation, comme Mini vient de le faire dans sa citadine. Il y a ici beaucoup de boutons dispersés, de plastique laqué. L’habitabilité est juste, mais il ne faut pas oublier que le gabarit est plus raisonnable. La voiture aura l’avantage d’être plus maniable. On a d’ailleurs hâte d’en prendre le volant car la base technique soignée est prometteuse.

A propos de l'auteur

Journaliste

Il aime les voitures, il aime les médias, il a donc mélangé les deux pour devenir journaliste automobile, avec une appétence particulière pour les scoops et nouveautés. Il a aussi la particularité de mélanger ses sneakers.

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