Renault 5 turbo | What is R5 Turbo? | Everything You Need to Know

Renault 5 turbo, also shortly referred to as R5 turbo is a hatchback vehicle that is primarily created for sports rallying and later having the street version designed.

The R5 turbo was manufactured by Renault in 1980, having a sports compact body together with 3 doors and also being a 3-door car.

The production of this car ran through 6 years and all through its six years of production, it was embraced by sportsmen.

The car experienced two different production phases; 1980 – 1984 in France and 1980 to 1986 in Belgium.

The production of the R5 turbo was based on the pre-existing Renault 5 but has a turbocharged engine, a rear-wheel drive layout, wider wheel arches, and some other modifications to accommodate the mid-engine layout.

The car due to its modifications and its portability was well received by car lovers and is in fact, still recognized as a classic today.

The R5 Turbo 3E was designed by Renault to be an all-electric drifting vehicle. The hatchback has two electric motors, one for each wheel, and has rear-wheel drive.

The vehicle was built with a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine that generates 160 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque, with Its acceleration from 0 to 60 mph taking 7.5 seconds, and its top speed was 131 mph.

The Design of the Renault 5 turbo

The R5 Turbo was a response to the success in the production of another rally vehicle made by Lancia, the mid-engined Stratos.

At Bertone, under the direction of Chief Designer Marcello Gandini, Marc Deschamps styled the novel and unusual rear bodywork of the hatchback drive.

READ; Car brands in the world: Countries with car brands

The R5 turbo has the engine designed and mounted rather in the middle of the hatchback than the front like the layout of a traditional engine.

With this, the compact looks more sporty and handy. This also helps the performance of the car.

The length of this hatchback drive is about 157 inches, in width, about 51.9, and about 51.9 inches in height, its chassis is tabular in compliance with safety regulations as it is agile and compact in its dimensions, yet has a minimum weight of 2,160 lbs.

The Interior Design of the R5 turbo

Just as the exterior of this compact is desirable, the interior also leaves a lot to be desired, as it looks so much like a video game.

As an electric drift car, the interior is a combination of intriguing designs from some other hatchback drives: the handbrake is big enough and it is located in the central part.

The clutch and other driving tools are easy and convenient to use; the steering has a significant weight that does not affect its responsiveness.

The car’s general responsiveness is as well not altered, as it can easily be maneuvered without hiccups and sneezes.

The cabin of this car is built with high performance that makes it both gentle and aggressive, its bucket seats make one seat comfortably and it has fabrics that shields it.

The Engine of the R5 Turbo

The R5 turbo car, lacking the rear seats, is a mini hatchback that has a mid-engine and it also has rear-wheel drive, one for each.

The engine of the R5 turbo is a 1.4 liter-cylinder engine using a 5-speed transmission, having no sufficient space for the engine in its normal bonnet.

The location of the battery is underneath the floor in the car with the entire power train positioned towards the back.

The batteries are charged with a 380V charger that can fully charge the batteries in two hours.

READ; largest car in the world: Largest car company

R5 turbo is produced with two electric motors which have a combined output of 516ib-ft of torque and 380 horsepower, having its top speed being 124 mph.

In addition to the fun one gets from driving, the car has different driving modes that have catchy names like turbo for drifting, invader for gaming, and donut for specific 360-degree modes.

R5 Turbo Body Parts

When the R5 turbo was first created, it was equipped with 145R13 tires; the type of tires that were designed specifically for the complementation of the rough handling sports cars in those days.

Later, the R5 turbo has been improved with tires, as its tires were later improved to 145HR13 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67; tires that are too notch for this car product.

The R5 turbo was improved upon and the later version had better body materials: the racing seats had harnesses; it had embroidered fabric dashboards; a digital driver display was also included; a roll cage was added too.

With the improved version of the R5 turbo, the underbody, the bumpers, and all of its surfaces were adjusted, and its width was increased by 25 cm.

For more beautification, the windows got tinted with inky-violet, the red LED wheels that light up while drifting, and a glowing emblem in the middle of the steering wheel were all made to be more attractive.

Benefits of R5 turbo

The R5 turbo had a lot of merits that made it the likable type in its time and these benefits include that it was not expensive to maintain when it developed problems.

Renault cars generally were superb products that were embraced not only by consumers but by other car companies also and this led to its engine being used by some other car producers. 

Final Thought

Conclusively, the R5 was a good car in its time, although it still exists so well now.

The car was useful in various areas, as it was especially used by sportsmen.

The car later had various versions that came up as R5 turbo 2 and others, making its production a massive one.