Renault's supercar in miniature

When you think of a supercar, you would sooner think of a Ferrari, McLaren or Porsche than of a Renault. However, the French brand is now coming out with a mini-supercar. Perry Snijders traveled to France on behalf of MASTERS to get acquainted with the most spectacular Renault of all time.

The exterior is somewhat reminiscent of the Renault 5, but the technology is completely different. Anyone with a good memory knows that Renault has a long history in this area. It started in 1978, when the brand first showed the Renault 5 Turbo. In 1972, the brand had introduced the Renault 5; six years later it was time for a version that could seriously compete in motorsport. However, the rules of the time required that a road version would also be offered for sale, which had to be more or less the same as the motorsport version in technical terms. So a Renault 5 came into the showroom with wildly extended mudguards and the engine in the back. A turbo was still something special in those years, so a name did not have to be thought of for long: Renault 5 Turbo. Even in a completely different part of the market that was still remarkable. When Porsche used a turbo for the first time in 1975 for the 911, Turbo was also proudly added to the name.

Monte Carlo Rally

Renault first showed the 5 Turbo in 1978, but the car wasn't finished yet; that took until 1980. 400 units had to be sold to be able to use the car in motorsport, but the demand turned out to be much greater. That's why Renault changed a few small things and came up with a new version, which was given the name Renault 5 Turbo 2. Of that first and second version together, almost five thousand units were eventually built!

In motorsport, the 5 Turbo took off like a rocket: the year after its introduction, it immediately won the legendary Monte Carlo Rally.

More than twenty years ago, Renault repeated the trick with the Clio — the successor to the 5. Renault did what it had done with the 5: wildly extended fenders, the engine in the back. This time it was not a turbo engine, but a three-liter V6. It started with the Clio V6 Trophy, which was only intended for motor racing. Two more versions followed. In total, Renault built more than three thousand copies. Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson once said that this Clio was one of his ten favorite cars.

"The engines are very special, because they are placed in the back — in the wheels!”

Third generation

It is now 2025 and Renault has launched a new version of the 5. Those who were at MASTERS EXPO in December may have seen it and the first examples of the 5 can now also be spotted in traffic. We drove the 5 to Monaco last year and we were really enthusiastic about it. In the meantime we have also driven its sportier brother, the Alpine A290. Since then we know that MINI has a problem with it. We are not the only ones who are enthusiastic about the Renault 5 and Alpine A290, because the cars were voted Car of the Year.

Renault has noticed that such a retro model is well received and is building on the success in the coming period with a new version of the Twingo and the 4. But it doesn't stop there, because there is also another wild Renault 5 Turbo coming. The third generation of the 5 Turbo, and this time electric. That immediately explains the name: Renault 5 Turbo 3E. And just like in 1978, the brand is taking two years, because buyers will not receive their new Turbo until 2027.

540 hp

Renault really tried to make something spectacular. The 5 Turbo 3E has only a few parts that are the same as the regular 5: the door handles and the digital instrument panel. The windshield is a modified version of the regular 5, and everything else (!) is different.

According to Renault, the 5 Turbo 3E is a supercar in miniature, and the brand is not exaggerating. The platform on which this car is built is completely different from that of the car with which it shares its name. It is made of aluminum and on top of that sits a body of carbon. The normal 5 has five doors, the Turbo 3E has only three. There is no back seat. The engines are very special, because they are placed in the back — in the wheels!

For an electric car it is very light, because the weight is limited to 1.450 kilograms. Combine that with the 540 hp and you understand that this is a bomb. It takes you to 3,5 in less than 100 seconds and the top speed is 270 kilometers per hour.

If you drive calmly, you can drive more than 400 kilometers with it. However, nobody buys such a car to drive calmly, which is why Renault also provides other information: on the circuit you can go wild with it for more than twenty minutes before you have to find a fast charger. If you think that's short: on track days it is rare for people to drive flat out for half an hour or more. In fifteen minutes you can then recharge the batteries from 15 to 80 percent. For safety reasons, Renault also fits a roll cage as standard, like Porsche does with the 911 GT3 RS.

“Combine that with the 540 hp and you understand that this is a bomb”

Circulation of 1.980

Here and there we hear whispers that it will cost one and a half tons, but Renault has not yet announced anything about the prices. The 5 Turbo 3E will not be cheap in any case. Just think: hand-built, with special technology, an aluminum platform and a carbon body. Plus a limited edition, because Renault is building 1.980 units - a reference to the year in which the original 5 Turbo came on the market. Sales will start this spring and the expectation is that the 5 Turbo 3E will sell out in no time. Renault may show the car at MASTERS EXPO 2025, but anyone who wants to order one would do well not to wait until December.