“THIS has your name all over it,” advised Drive boss Will Scholes as he forwarded an email announcing that the Renault 5 Turbo 3E, a 500bhp race-inspired supercar version of Renault’s imminent all-electric Renault 5, is also going to make it to production.
He knows me too well. Regular Drive-rs will have already have read my enthusiastic report on how the superb looking new R5 – a increasingly rare instance of a modern ‘reboot’ of a classic name actually resembling the car it’s descended from (we’re looking disapprovingly at you, Ford) - will be starting at just £23k when it goes on sale next month, and of course we already knew that a ‘hot hatch’ version called the Alpine A290 will be arriving at some point next year as well.
The Renault 5 Turbo 3E becoming a reality is a slightly more surprising turn of events: this pleasingly retro-futuristic design inspired by the original Renault 5 Turbo and Turbo 2 was previously revealed at the 2022 Paris Motor Show as a one-off all-electric drift/show car.
Back then, it was powered by twin electric motors sending 375bhp and 516lb ft of torque to the rear wheels for a 0-62mph time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 124mph.
Built on a tubular chassis with a FIA-approved roll cage to protect the driver, the track-orientated two-seater featured a carbon-fibre reproduction of the original R5 Turbo body panels – thus, it really did look very like the 1980 original, albeit with a huge rear wing grafted on.
Incredibly, now Renault is planning to put this 21st century vision into production as a limited-edition affair that will be even more powerful than the 2022 prototype envisaged (and thankfully shorn of that ugly rear wing).
The revelation has come in Anatomy of a Comeback, a new Renault-centric documentary series which dropped on Prime Video in Europe last week that examines how the French carmaker recently fought its way back from near-collapse.
There’s no UK/Ireland release date for the series as of yet, but apparently it finds Renault “throwing its doors wide open, offering a unique insight into its manufacturing secrets and the design of new models such as Renault 5, as well as taking us into the paddocks of the Alpine Formula One Team” over the course of a couple of crucial years of corporate rejuvenation.
Of the limited-edition Turbo 3E, Renault enthuse: “With the looks and livery of a car built for the track, it sports the historic colours of one of the rallying versions of the early 1980s.
“Renault 5 Turbo 3E is an all-electric hot hatch of retro-futuristic design, with an eminently modern charging socket in one of the rear air intakes, bringing to mind the styling of the original ‘Turbo’. The carbon superstructure is both lightweight and extremely stiff, two qualities that are fundamental for a ‘pocket rocket’ worthy of its name and heritage.
“Like its iconic predecessor, Renault 5 Turbo 3E will have a rear-wheel drive layout. The two electric motors housed in the rear wheels will deliver instant power to each wheel, for total output of more than 500 bhp.
“Behind the wheel, drivers will experience ultimate driving thrills with lightning acceleration. Renault 5 Turbo 3E will sprint from 0 to 100 km/h [0-62mph] in just 3.5 seconds, a performance worthy of a supercar or even a hypercar.”
In the final episode of the series, the cameras follow a group of Renault grand fromages on a visit to the company’s Design Department, where Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo confirms that the Turbo 3E will actually be going on sale.
We’ll bring you more news on when that’s likely to be, as well as when Anatomy of a Comeback can be viewed on Prime Video here, but in the meantime why not feast your eyes on Renault’s renderings of the Turbo 3E and try picturing yourself going white-knuckled behind the wheel…
