The Renault 5 Turbo Returns With Crazy Power

Electrical sizzling hatches are few and much between. Fashions that spring to thoughts embody the Abarth 500e, Cupra Born VZ, Mini John Cooper Works, and the lesser-known MG4 XPower. Renault desires to overshadow all of them—together with its very personal Alpine A290—with a ludicrously highly effective iteration of the reborn 5. Sure, the Renault 5 Turbo is again, and identical to the Porsche Taycan, it’s an electrical automotive with “Turbo” in its title. Complicated, I do know.

Though it might ship an idea vibe, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E isn’t just for present. The automaker with the diamond emblem intends to place the automotive into manufacturing. The tiny-but-mighty hatchback will probably be rear-wheel drive, very similar to its Eighties ancestor. As an alternative of getting the unique automotive’s mid-mounted four-cylinder engine, it’ll rock a pair of rear electrical motors. That turbo 1.4-liter mill made about 160 horsepower, whereas its EV religious successor has greater than thrice the facility.

Photograph by: Renault

The French tout a mixed output of over 500 hp, or a whopping 285 hp greater than the Alpine A290 we talked about. The facility hole between the 5 Turbo 3E and a regular Renault 5 is even larger, at a daft 350 hp. Torque isn’t talked about, however we all know the electrical hatch will want solely three and a half seconds to hit 62 miles per hour from a standstill. It makes it 0.3 seconds faster than the MG4 XPower, which packs “solely” 429 hp.

The spectacularly muscular physique deletes the common Renault 5’s rear doorways in trade for facet vents. Renault provides bulging fenders as a throwback to the unique R5 Turbo. We’re additionally noticing huge 20-inch wheels on what stays a diminutive automotive. The 2-tone alloys are wrapped in 245/35 ZR20 tires on the entrance and meaty 275/35 ZR20 rubber on the rear.

Though it’s the primary Renault-badged electrical sizzling hatch to enter manufacturing, there have been one-offs prior to now. A few of you’ll recall the 2017 Zoe E-Sport with 460 hp and the 2022 R5 Turbo 3E with 375 hp. The road-going mannequin will trump each, presumably for an exorbitant price ticket and low manufacturing numbers.

Photograph by: Renault

Because the common Renault 5 has a front-wheel-drive structure with a single motor, it’s secure to say there are some main modifications beneath the pores and skin. The twin-motor, RWD efficiency model makes use of a “carbon superstructure,” claimed to be “light-weight and intensely stiff.” Weight isn’t talked about, however the previous idea automotive–which additionally had two motors on the rear–tipped the scales at 3,306 kilos. The Alpine A290 is a smidge lighter, at 3,260 lbs.

We are able to draw parallels between the brand new Renault 5/Turbo 3E and the automobiles bought many years in the past when America obtained the first-generation 5 rebadged because the Le Automotive. Again then, the common mannequin additionally had FWD with a front-mounted engine, whereas the homologation particular Turbo mannequin put the engine behind the seats, with energy going to the rear wheels.

Certainly, there isn’t a giant marketplace for this sort of automotive, however we’re glad it exists. It’s anticipated to go on sale in 2026. Renault, when you’re at it, can we’ve one other mid-engine Clio?

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