In the fall of 1898, Louis Renault, then only 21 years old, turned a three-wheel De Dion/Bouon cycle-car into a four-wheel automobile. He and his two brothers subsequently introduced their first production cars, the Renault Type A and Type B, at the Paris Auto Show in June 1899. By 1913, their company, now known as Les Automobiles Renault, had over 5,000 employees, building a respectable 10,000 cars a year.

Renault's success was of course interrupted by two world wars. During the occupation, the Germans converted the Renault factory to military production, making it a prime target for Allied bombardment. After the liberation, Louis Renault was arrested as a Nazi collaborator, and died in prison in October 1944. The following year, General Charles de Gaulle nationalized the company as Régie Nationale des Usines Renault.

Renault's first postwar design, the 4CV -- inspired, ironically, by the German Volkswagen -- went into production in August 1947. This was followed in 1954 by the popular Dauphine and 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 one 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 America. 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, admitting they had "sold the skin of the bear before putting him on the ground." Despite that honesty, these later models -- advertised as "The Renault for people who swore they would never buy another one" -- made little impact on the growing U.S. import market.

In May 1968, a young Renault staff designer named Michel Boué began sketching designs for a new small car atop an illustration of the existing R4. In only two days, working on his own initiative, he developed a concept for a small, simple, utilitarian three-door hatchback.

Although there was not yet any official program for a new small car, Boué's design made an immediate impression on his superiors, and eventually on Renault's board of directors. Renault president Pierre Dreyfus quickly approved it for production, with remarkably few changes from Boué's initial conception. It was designated Renault 5.

Mechanically, the R5 was noteworthy mostly as Renault's first unibody production car. Otherwise, it 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 Fiats. 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; like 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 R5 was more modern than the Volkswagen 411, but it was far from groundbreaking in its engineering. The principal strengths of the "Cinq" were its excellent packaging and clean, unpretentious appearance.


The original Renault 5 was 139 inches (3,530 mm) long, with an average wheelbase of 95.2 inches (2,418 mm). With a curb weight of around 1,610 lb (730 kg), the base 782 cc (48 cu. in.) engine provided a top speed of about 70 mph (120 km/h). Bumpers were plastic; some later models added similar cladding around the rocker panels. Base models had drum brakes, but the slightly more expensive TLs, like this one, had front discs. (Photo © 2009 Alfredo Acevedo Alfaro; used by permission)

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.

The Renault 5 made its public debut on January 28 1972, and promptly made a splash in the fledgling "supermini" class. Along with rivals like the Autobianchi A112, Peugeot 104, and the A112's Fiat 127 cousin, it fit into a new genre: subcompacts somewhat bigger than BMC's Mini, but smaller and cheaper than 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 a fast car. The base model's 782 cc (48 cu. in.) engine had only 36 hp (27 kW), while the 956 cc (58 cu. in.) engine of the TL model made 47 hp (35 kW), enough to push the little supermini to a claimed 83 mph (135 km/h). (A bigger 1,289 cc (79 cu. in.) engine with 64 hp (47 kW) became optional in 1975.) 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 its engines were not powerhouses, they were smooth and relatively quiet, and the R5's soft suspension gave it a comfortable ride over the highly variable roads of the Fifth Republic. In all, it was a practical and livable car for small European families.


The face of the Renault 5 was the only part of Michel Boué's design that wasn't firmly established from an early date; it underwent many variations before assuming its final shape. U.S. models had round sealed-beam headlights until 1980, when they received rectangular sealed-beam units that looked more like the European model's. (Photo © 2009 Alfredo Acevedo Alfaro; used by permission)

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

The R5 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 Spain's 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 sportier LS and TS models appeared in the mid-seventies, and an automatic transmission version bowed for 1978.


Michel Boué's original design called for the taillights to extend all the way up the C-pillars, like the much later Volvo 850 wagon, but Renault eventually rejected this idea for cost reasons. (Photo © 2009 Alfredo Acevedo Alfaro; used by permission)

Renault had actually prepared a five-door version of the 5 at the time the three-door went into production, but decided to focus on the cheaper three-door, which they judged the better commercial prospect. 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 5 sold even better in the early eighties: 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.


This Mexican-market 1976 Renault 5 TL has the 956 cc (58 cu. in.) engine, which was rated at 44 hp (32 kW). Mounting the spare in front left the rear free for cargo; the front-mounted spare is something the 5 shares with its mid-engine brother. (Photo © 2009 Alfredo Acevedo Alfaro; used by permission)

As big as it was in Europe, Renault still had almost no U.S. presence in the mid-seventies, with only about 250 dealerships nationwide. Its total U.S. sales for 1975 were only 5,780, an embarrassing figure for the world's sixth-largest automaker.

Renault imported the first federalized R5s in 1976, simply called "Renault 5 TL." They were trimmed much like the French TL, but had the French car's optional 1,289 cc (79 cu. in. engine, with 58 horsepower (43 kW). Unfortunately, their initial U.S. sales were negligible. Although Renault wined and dined the American press on the R5's U.S. introduction in October 1975, first-year sales totaled only 9,673, and Renault dealers ended the year with almost 8,000 unsold cars.

Frustrated, PR director Pierre Gazarian dumped Renault's U.S. ad agency in favor of Marsteller (now Burson-Marsteller). Marsteller pointed out that the "5" designation meant nothing to American buyers, who had little familiarity with the rest of Renault's line. They suggested re-branding the American version as "Le Car," to emphasize its French origins. "Le Car" made a new debut the following year. U.S. critics were generally positive about Le Car, which had excellent ride quality, good fuel economy, and adequate acceleration, although it was noisy and not particularly nimble.

Although the new name and an aggressive new ad campaign increased sales by 30%, that still meant only 12,645 for the 1977 model year. While two energy crises had made Americans more fuel economy conscious than before, they had not embraced minicars the way crowded, heavily taxed European markets had, and they tended to prefer bigger subcompacts like the Volkswagen Rabbit or Plymouth Horizon. Renault's American, Japanese, and German rivals also tended to have a better reputation and much stronger dealer networks than Renault. Nothing the French automaker did seemed to help much, including a facelift for 1980, which included rectangular sealed-beam headlights and the bigger 1,397 cc (85 cu. in.) engine, now down to 51 SAE hp (38 kW).


The R5's U.S. name, suggested by Renault's American ad agency, puzzled French speakers; in French, car implies a coach or carriage, not an automobile. (Photo © 2010 Joost J. Bakker; used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

The only one in America who seemed to want Le Car was, curiously enough, the struggling American Motors Corporation. 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 1978, AMC chairman Gerry Meyers began negotiations with Renault for a Franco-American joint venture. In October 1979, Renault bought 22.5% of AMC, giving it access to AMC's dealer network -- which then numbered around 1,200 -- and calling for the two companies to build the American versions of future models at AMC's Kenosha, Wisconsin plant. Not only did the deal promise AMC a much-needed infusion of cash, it would give it more fuel-efficient models to help meet its Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements.

Selling Le Car through AMC dealers did little for either AMC or Renault. AMC lost $155 million for 1980, while total U.S. Renault sales were still only 25,365. Renault promptly doubled its stake in AMC, paying an additional $122 million for a 46.4% controlling interest. In January 1982, Gerry Meyers resigned, and the AMC board named president W. Paul Tippet, Jr. as the new chairman, with Renault exec Jose J. Dedeurwaerder as president. French engineers and designers, including former Renault Formula 1 engineer François Castaing, began to appear on AMC's payroll, a sign of Renault's growing influence on American's operations.

Renault continued to pour money into AMC, to little avail. The federalized Renault 18 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. After spending an enormous amount of money in its U.S. operations with little success, Renault finally decided to pull out in 1986. It sold AMC to Chrysler in March 1987 for $757 million. Only $35 million of that was cash, suggesting Renault's eagerness to be free of its American partner. (Renault's involvement was ultimately good for Chrysler, however. A number of designs developed during the Renault period, notably the Jeep Grand Cherokee, proved very successful. François Castaing, meanwhile, later developed the innovative platform-team approach that revitalized Chrysler's design and engineering in the 1990s.)


A much-neglected 1979 Renault 5, probably somewhere in the Netherlands. (Photo © 1984, 2010 Joost J. Bakker; used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

Le Car disappeared from the U.S. after March 1983, never having managed to sell more than about 20,000 units a year; Canadian sales continued through 1985. Since its presence in the States was so marginal, American buyers never saw most of the Renault 5's many variations -- particularly the more interesting sporty versions.

As with the Mini, the R5's modest size and nimble basic handling lent themselves to what today we would call "hot hatch" versions, like 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 mechanic Jean Rédélé. Like Carlo Abarth in Italy, Rédélé began as a tuner, whose most notable achievement was a modified Renault 4CV with which he scored class victories in the Mille Miglia and Coupes des Alpes in the early 1950s. In 1954, he founded Société Anonyme des Automobiles Alpine, and the following year launched the A106, a Michelotti-bodied coupe riding a 4CV chassis. It was the first of a series of moderately successful Renault-based sport racers.

In the sixties, Rédélé developed a close relationship with the Renault factory, which helped Alpine develop the performance hardware it needed for competition. Alpine's business success didn't match its competition record, however, and by the seventies, it was on the brink of collapse. Renault finally bought Alpine in 1973, just as Fiat had bought out Abarth two years earlier. Under Renault's ownership, Alpine continued to built its own 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 was a straightforward upgrade of the basic car, with stiffer suspension, a new five-speed gearbox, bigger tires, alloy wheels, and a hemi-head 1,397 cc (85 cu. in.) version of the four-cylinder engine, rated at 93 hp (68 kW). It was capable of 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in a bit under 11 seconds, with a top speed of 107-108 mph (175 km/h). It sold respectably well through 1981, with a total of 59,202 cars. In Great Britain, where Chrysler (and later Peugeot) still owned the name Alpine, it was marketed as the Gordini, taking its name from Franco-Italian tuner Amédée Gordini, another Renault specialist. In the Spanish market, it was called Renault 5 Copa.

The Alpine had obvious potential as a rally car, and Renault quickly homologated it for Group 2 racing. Renault 5 Alpines driven by Jean Ragnotti and Guy Fréquelin beat out many more powerful competitors to win second and third place 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.


Inspiration for the mid-engine 5 Turbo was the mid-engine Lancia Stratos HF, styled by Bertone's Marcello Gandini. The Stratos was a formidable Group 4 and Group 5 competitor throughout the seventies, winning three consecutive World Rally Championships. It was powered by the 2,418 cc (148 cu. in.) V6 from Ferrari's Dino 246. Street versions had 190 hp (140 kW), while racing engines had 280 hp (209 kW) or more. Only 492 of these cars were built in all. (Photo © 2006 Al Dickson; used by permission)

Back in 1976, Marc Deschamps of the Italian styling house Stilo Bertone had suggested a wild mid-engine version of the R5, comparable to the Lancia Stratos, which dominated the rally scene in the mid-seventies. Renault production vice president Jean Terramorsi loved the idea, and approved it immediately. Terramorsi died later that year, but Henry Lherm, his successor, ordered that the project should continue.

Since the company's RenaultSport division was occupied with Grand Prix racing, only four engineers could be spared for the mid-engine program, which was dubbed Project 822. The styling for the project, by Bertone's Marcello Gandini, was completed by July 1977, and the first prototype, built in Alpine's works in Dieppe, was on the road by March 1978.


From the front, the Renault 5 Turbo looks a great deal like its conventional sibling. It's about 3.4 inches (87 mm) lower and 9.1 inches (230 mm) wider than a basic R5, and a good deal heavier.

The 822 was not nearly as avant-garde as the Stratos, looking more like a standard 5 suffering from an alarming glandular condition. The engineers briefly considered using the 2,664 cc (169 cu. in.) V6 from the Renault 30, but opted instead for a turbocharged version of the Alpine's 1,397 cc four. The FIA "factored" turbocharged engines, treating them 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.

The engine's specifications looked rather humble, even by the standards of the time. While it used Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, it had only two valves per cylinder, and it had neither overhead camshafts nor dry-sump lubrication. The engineers in Dieppe also reduced its compression ratio to 7.0:1 to allow it to survive under boost, which was up to 13 psi (0.9 bar) from a single Garrett AiResearch T3 turbocharger. In street form, augmented by an air-to-air intercooler in one of the bulky flared fenders, the turbo four produced 160 hp (119 kW) at 6,000 rpm. Racing versions, with more boost and more-effective intercoolers, later made up to 300 hp (221 kW).


From the rear, the Turbo's substantially greater width is readily apparent. The standard tires were metric-sized Michelin TRX, 190/55HR340 in front, 220/55VR390 in back. The engine and transmission occupy most of the rear compartment, leaving very little usable cargo space. There is, naturally, no rear seat!

While the 822's engine was a straightforward derivation of the production engine, the car itself needed a great deal more work. The engineers originally wanted a tubular space frame, rather than the normal 5's steel monocoque, but they didn't have the money. Instead, they expanded the 5's rear track by about 10 inches (25 cm) and installed a cradle to carry the engine -- still mounted longitudinally -- and five-speed transaxle. That left no room for the 5's transverse torsion-bar springs, so the 822 got an entirely different rear suspension, derived from that of the Alpine A310. The standard fuel tank, meanwhile, was replaced by a large, centrally mounted two-section tank.

Weight was something of a problem for the 822. Group 4 cars had a minimum weight of 1,862 lb (845 kg ), while the later IMSA GTU cars were around 1,650 lb (750 kg), but the street cars were fairly heavy. Even with aluminum doors, hood, roof panel, and hatch, the street version weighed 2,140 lb (970 kg). Later street models, sharing more panels with the standard 5, were around 2,315 lb (1,050 kg); that's light by modern standards, but it compared to about 1,765 lb (800 kg) for a regular three-door 5 TS. Aerodynamics were not among the mid-engine car's strong points, either. All-out speed was not a high priority for rallying, which emphasizes acceleration and agility, but the 822's short, bulky dimensions and blocky shape were far from sleek. Coefficient of drag was a mediocre 0.44.


Although the engine was now located where the rear seat used to be, the radiator and battery were left up front, along with the spare tire, for better weight distribution. Renault also added a fiberglass tube of about four inches (10 cm) in diameter ahead the former firewall, to maintain front-end rigidity and crash safety. Front/rear weight distribution was 40/60.

Renault director Bernard Vernier announced the turbo car to the press at the 1978 Paris Auto Show, but it took two more years to sort out the bugs and get the car for production. The first street cars, called simply Renault 5 Turbo, went on sale on July 1, 1980. Renault had to rush to build the 400 cars they needed for Group 4 homologation. Jean Ragnotti won the Monte Carlo Rally the following January, and followed it by winning the 1982 Tour de Corse in May.

The R5 Turbo's rally success was short-lived. Although it remained a strong competitor through the middle of the decade, new all-wheel-drive rivals like the Audi Quattro often overshadowed it. Even so, if it did not always win, it was consistently a top-ten finisher.


Because the R5's standard transverse torsion bars would have interfered with the mounting of the transmission, the Turbo got a new rear suspension with double wishbones and coil springs. Four-wheel vented discs were standard; the front brakes were borrowed from the Citroën CX, the rears from the Renault Fuego.

The street version of the Renault 5 Turbo had straight-line performance that was appropriately brisk, if not quite ferocious. Car and Driver, testing an early model in August 1981, reached 60 mph (97 km/h) in just over seven seconds and recorded a maximum speed of 126 mph (203 km/h). European testers typically recorded 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) times of around 6.5 seconds with the hotter 180 hp (132 kW) and 200 hp (145 kW) RenaultSport upgrade kits, although even the all-out racing versions didn't have a top speed much over 137 mph (220 km/h). The turbo engine was peaky, a characteristic that became more pronounced the more boost was added. The considerable turbo lag and abrupt power delivery could make the Turbo a handful on slippery surfaces.

In any case, sheer speed was not the R5 Turbo's raison d'être. It excelled at the sort of hooligan antics that had made the Mini so beloved a generation earlier: careening around corners at lurid angles and then exploding out of roundabouts with turbo howling and Michelins squealing. It had a penchant for dramatic tail slides quite alien to its front-engine progenitor -- a great crowd-pleaser on the WRC circuits -- although it could spin readily if mishandled. In competent hands, it was a hugely entertaining beast.


In the best Detroit tradition, the Turbo was somewhat longer, lower, and wider than the regular R5. Overall length was 144 inches (3,660 mm), with a wheelbase of 95.7 inches (2,430 mm). Early Turbos were available only in red or blue metallic, but the later Turbo 2 could be ordered in a variety of colors, including this pearl white metallic.

Aside from their aluminum body panels, booming turbo, and propensity for driving sideways, early production cars were distinguished by an eye-popping interior treatment. Designed by Marion Villain, it featured wild, geometric shapes, an abundance of gauges, vividly colored carpeting, and plush leather/velour sports seats. The engine cover in back was also carpeted, in part to moderate its noise; nonetheless, full-throttle acceleration produced a hair-raising 90 dB shriek.



Aside from allowing space for bigger tires, the flared fenders contain the air-to-air intercooler for the turbocharger and an engine oil cooler, to help the engine survive the stress of producing 114 hp/liter, a very respectable figure even today. Fuel filler supplies the centrally located 24.6-gallon (93-liter) fuel tanks, which are located roughly where the rear-seat footwells used to be.

Despite high prices, the Turbo sold 1,820 units between 1980 and 1982. It was replaced by the cheaper but equally powerful Turbo 2, which debuted at the 1982 Paris Auto Show. At the same time, Renault introduced a more conventional Alpine Turbo (Gordini Turbo in the UK, Copa Turbo in Spain). This was essentially the outgoing front-engine Alpine/Gordini/Copa with a mildly turbocharged engine, making 112 hp (82 kW). In June 1982, Autocar clocked a 1982 Gordini Turbo from 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in a bit under nine seconds, with a top speed of more than 110 mph (176 km/h). That was somewhat slower than a 1.8 L Golf GTI, but in compensation, the Gordini was also more than 10% cheaper. The British magazine had great praise for the Renault's ride and handling, although by then they considered it cramped and unrefined compared to newer hot hatches.


Introduced in 1982, the Turbo 2 was intended to be cheaper to build and less expensive than the original Turbo. It had the same layout, engine, and suspension as the original, but dispensed with the aluminum exterior panels and unique interior, using instead the dash and interior trim of the standard Alpine/Gordini. Renault built 3,167 Turbo 2s between 1982 and 1986; this is a 1985 model.

Production of both the front-engine and mid-engine turbo cars continued through April 1986. Toward the end of the line, RenaultSport built 200 "MAXI 5 Turbo" models, with aluminum roof panels and a 1,527 cc (93 cu. in.) version of the familiar four, intended as an homologation special for the Turbo 5's last great stand in WRC competition. Driving a competition-tuned MAXI with a nominal 350 hp (257 kW), Jean Ragnotti beat out many powerful AWD challengers to win his second Tour de Corse victory in May 1985, the R5's last hurrah.

Although it continued to compete through 1986, the Tour de Corse win marked the end of the line for the original "Cinq"; production ended in June 1986. Renault built 5,471,709 first-generation R5s in all, including just under 5,000 of the mid-engine turbo cars.

The second-generation R5, popularly known as "Supercinq" ("Superfive"), bowed for the 1986 model year. Essentially a shrunken version of the Renault 9/11 platform, it had the familiar 1.4 L (85 cu. in.) four, now mounted transversely, and a cheaper MacPherson strut suspension. Despite new styling, credited to Marcello Gandini, it looked much like its predecessor. Although there was a new GT Turbo, there were no exotic rally versions like the old R5 Turbo.

Inevitably, the Supercinq was neither as beloved nor as long-lived as its predecessor. The more modern Clio replaced it in 1990, although a budget version of the Supercinq remained in production in Slovenia until 1996. Meanwhile, the Iranian company Pars Khodro, now owned by SAIPA, continued to build the original R5 until 2002, first under the name Sepand, and later simply as the PK.

The true successor to the R5 Turbo was the Renault Clio V6, launched in 2001. 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 it wasn't much faster than the vastly cheaper front-engine Clio 2.0 RS, and it could be tricky to drive. The original 5 Turbo was certainly willing to slide, but the V6's greater weight (over 3,085 lb/1,400 kg), substantial polar moment of inertia, and high center of gravity put it in the same league as an older Porsche 911. Testers complained that it was more abrupt than exuberant, understeering heavily until the point it finally let go, which could happen with little warning. Later cars, with a reworked suspension, more power, and different gearing, were both faster and better sorted, although they were still very expensive -- nearly 10% more than a Volkswagen Golf R32, itself none too keenly priced.


A Clio V6 on the move. This is a Phase 1 car, although it has the taillights of the revised Phase 2 models, introduced in 2003. While the early cars were built by TWR, the latter went bankrupt in February 2003. Subsequent Phase 2 cars were built by Valmet in Finland and assembled at the RenaultSport works in Dieppe. While very powerful by hot hatch standards, the Clio V6 was also quite pricey, and sold in limited numbers. (Photo © 2007 Chris Harrison; used with permission)

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, with her Bluetooth stereo, backup sensors, and GPS navigation system, 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 R5 Turbo. If it looks like a bizarre Frankenstein exercise concocted by a couple 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.

Renault 5 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?"

# # #

Much of our information on the development of the R5 came from the video "Renault Icons - Renault 5" (date unknown, Renault.tv, http://www.renault.tv/en_GB/channels/infotainment#/infotainment/videos/135621/renault-icons-renault-5 (video), accessed 14 September 2009), with detailed information (including production data and specifications) from the French site Renault-5.net (C. Billequé, 2009, http://www.renault-5.net/site.htm, accessed 14 September 2009). Additional details came from Mike Covello, Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946-2002 (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2001; Second Edition), and the R5 Wikipedia entry, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_5, accessed 14 September 2009. U.S. driving impressions came from Bill Hartford and Michael Lamm, "First Hand Report: Driving the Renault 5," Popular Mechanics, January 1976 (Vol. 145, No. 1), pp. 134-137, retrieved via Google Books, http://books.google.com/books? id=N-IDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134, accessed 15 September 2009.

Information on the R5 Turbo came from Ian Eveleigh, "Renault 5 Turbo: Birth of an icon: 1980" (February 2008, Evo, http://www.evo.co.uk/features/features/223527/renault_5_turbo.html, accessed 15 September 2009); "Renault 5 Turbo" (author and date unknown, Uniquecarsandparts.com.au, http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/car_info_renault_5_turbo.htm, accessed 15 September 2009); and Csaba Csere and Don Sherman, "R5 Turbo versus R5 Turbo," Car and Driver, August 1981 (Vol. 27, No. 2), pp. 63-66, which includes a technical comparison between the street car and the racer.

Details on the Renault Clio V6 came from the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Clio_V6_Renault_Sport, accessed 15 September 2009) and Mark Wan, "Renault Clio II" (30 August 2003, Autozine.org, http://www.autozine.org/Archive/Renault/old/Clio_II.html#V6, accessed 15 September 2009).

Background on Renault's marriage to AMC came from Steve Corbin, "RIP American Motors, 1954-1987" (12 April 1998, http://www.skidmore.edu/~pdwyer/amc/stevecorbin.htm, accessed 14 September 2009) and the Wikipedia entry for American Motors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Motors, accessed 15 September 2009).

Write comment

Your Contact Details:

Name:

Email:

Comment:

Title:

UBBCode:         -color-aquablackbluefuchsiagraygreenlimemaroonnavyolivepurpleredsilvertealwhiteyellow -size-tinysmallmediumlargehuge

Message:

Security

Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.