In the 1980s, French automotive brand Renault’s frankly bonkers 5 Turbo terrified rally stages and domestic high streets alike. Silhouette was broadly that of the everyday 5 hatchback, a massively successful piece of small car design. Huge rear wheel arch bulges with matching air intakes suggested all was not standard with the Turbo version, as indeed it wasn’t since a powerful turbocharged engine lurked in the back, ready to power the 5 on those rally stages. Now the 5 Turbo is back and you see here the first images of what Renault are calling the 5 Turbo 3E.
Looks very effectively convey the shock to the system that the original 5 Turbo provided. Arches bulge front and rear to accommodate widened track. And that’s to keep as much power as possible on the road. Renault say their new 5 Turbo E is good for 500 bhp, against 160 bhp for the original, with 60 mph coming up in 3.5 seconds, much faster than the 1980s version’s 6.9 seconds. Big difference is of course on the power system utilised.

All that power
Twin electric motors are mounted at the rear, just as the 5 Turbo’s rally-tuned fossil-fuelled engine was. Drive is exclusively to the rear wheels, with one electric motor responsible for each wheel. All-electric power means all that 500 bhp is instantly available, which goes some way to explaining the huge improvement in acceleration. And then there’s that styling.

We’re not entirely convinced that every nuance of this excessive design is necessary for increased performance and we don’t care. This is a little car that relishes in looking the part, like a street tough in leathers. And as we’ve said there is punch to match the promise. Construction is all aimed at lighter weight, to offset the burden of carrying batteries. Chassis is an all-new carbon monocoque, making the 5 Turbo 3E more of an in-house restomod than anything else.

Renault 5 Turbo 3E: The Details
Colourway is in Renault’s time-honoured yellow with black accents, which is superbly executed here. There’s very little in the way of subtlety with side decals shouting out the name of your new ride and unique look-at-me alloy wheels to finish the design off. We’re not complaining about any of this, mind you. With these performance figures, you’re not going to want to hide your little hatchback-supercar.

If you want one to go alongside your original 1980s Renault 5 Turbo, there’s good news. Renault are going to build limited numbers of this machine. These will accompany the more everyday versions of their new electrified 5 hatchback, which has already impressed hardened motoring hacks. "I'm not going to tell you when, but it's coming out,” is the official Renault line on availability which gives you ample time to save up. No prices yet released but the basic electric Renault 5 costs less than £25,000 which in the world of battery-power is a bargain. We’d expect the 5 Turbo 3E to be at least twice that - and worth every penny.
Next up: The best French car brands in 2025.