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 3576
R5 Turbos were manufactured during a four-year production run.
The car in the adjacent gallery is a Turbo 2, a late
model that makes use of more Renault 5 parts than the original iteration of the
R5 Turbo. Nevertheless, you will be hard-pressed to find a Renault 5 Turbo 2 as
pristine as this one.
Not to be confused with the conventional front-wheel
drive Renault 5 GT Turbo, the Renault 5 Turbo was a mid-engined homologation
special built in limited numbers for Group 4 and Group B rallying. Renault's
considerable F1-derived, turbo-charging expertise was applied to the humble
1.4-liter overhead-valve engine, resulting in a power increase to 160 bhp (in
road trim), an output sufficient for a top speed of 125 mph and a 0-60 time of
less than seven seconds.
A thinly disguised two-seater supercar, the Turbo
was first seen in prototype form at the 1978 Paris Salon and made its
competition debut in 1980 on the Tour de Corse, Jean Ragnoti's 250 bhp works car
leading the event before succumbing to electrical trouble. In 1981,
Ragnotti/Andrie won the Monte Carlo Rally outright for Renault and the
following year Ragnotti won the Tour de Corse again.
With an MSRP of US$ 22,500, the Renault 5 Turbo II was
not exactly a cheap car in 1983, and you can see why. Presented here with rare
features such as air-conditioning and the typical Gotti wheels, this Turbo II
looks just right.
