Renault 5 Turbo is back in electric reincarnation of maddest car ever

It is 50 years since the Renault 5 burst onto the global automotive scene. It was meant as a newer and better version of Renault 4, released in 1972 it lasted all the way to 1996. It was sold all over the world - in the US it was known under the name of Le Car, seriously. There even was a 4-door sedan version sold in Spain and known as Renault 7. But the one that truly changed the world was the Renault 5 Turbo.

It all started with the first hot-hatch in the world - no, not the VW Golf GTi, the Renault 5 Alpine, known in other markets as Gordini or Copa. Golf GTi came out two months after Renault 5 Alpine with slightly better performance figures thanks to its bigger engine.

It took Renault a few years to eventually upgrade the normally aspirated motor in the Renault 5 Alpine/Gordini/Copa but addition of the turbocharger didn’t make a dramatic difference - power went from 92 hp to 112 hp and acceleration improved by 1 second. Not enough.

Enter the 1980 Renault 5 Turbo - a homologation rally car made legal for the streets. With a mid-mounted engine, rear-wheel drive and 158 hp in a car that weighed 970 kg. Back in the day it was only a smidgen slower than the Ferrari 308 which sold for 10 times more in 1980.

Once the 400 units of the homologation required Renault 5 Turbo were manufactured, the company introduced Turbo 2 version. It used far less of the rally parts, all light-alloy components were gone, Bertone bucket seats were ditched and the Alpine dashboard was replaced as well. The Turbo 2 ended up being less expensive and a bit slower but as a result it was more manageable and far many more examples survived to this day because of that.

Renault 5 Turbo wasn’t the last mad Renault to leave the factory. The French treated us to Clio V6 Trophy competition where modified Clios with V6 engines were racing each-other on the track. The series got so popular that in 2001 Renault released a road going version of the car.

There were two editions - Phase 1 with 230hp V6 mounted at the back and Phase 2 which followed in 2003 with 250hp. It was one of the maddest creations ever, a car that did not know which way was its front once you put your foot anywhere near the accelerator. A car that sensed the rain before you could see the clouds and informed you of it by its rear overtaking the front. An absolute hoot and a full workout - even shortest trips were life changing adventures and kissing the ground was a common habit among the drivers.

After this short history lesson - let’s celebrate the occasion because Renault is bringing the mad 5 Turbo back. Although it will be a one-off show car we know how it goes with the French automaker. All they need to see are our grinning faces and wallets waving in the air, at least let’s hope that’s all they need.

Renault 5 Turbo will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show on October 17 and judging by the dark photos the company has released it will be a worthy tribute if not a successor. We have the compulsory steroid-bred wheel arches, slammed body and a rear wing that was nicked from F1. It’s not possible to mistake this shape for any other car in the world.

If you cannot make your way to Paris this coming October - don’t worry. Renault will unveil the 5 Turbo online on September 24. For now we only know that it is based on the upcoming electric Renault 5 and that most likely it will feature a far more powerful drivetrain than its donor. Just like its predecessors did.

And even if we don’t get the new electric 5 Turbo the car may pave the way to a more performance oriented version of the regular, electric Renault 5. Alpine is making a comeback with at least 2 electric performance models in the pipeline and Renault 5 Alpine is a name the company will be happy to revive.

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