The “Turbo” version of the Renault 5 was first presented in Paris in 1978 following a collaboration between the French manufacturer and the Italian design house Bertone, and it entered production at the Heuliez coachworks in 1980
The “Turbo” version of the Renault 5 was first presented in Paris in 1978 following a collaboration between the French manufacturer and the Italian design house Bertone, and it entered production at the Heuliez coachworks in 1980. The car was created with the goal of positioning the brand among the leading contenders in the world of international rallying, a field previously represented by the Alpine A110 and later by the 5 Alpine—high-performance versions derived from the standard economy model. In both cases, these cars were unable to stand up to direct rivals led by the Lancia Stratos, which is why Renault decided to develop a new racing car: light and powerful, with rear-wheel drive and a longitudinal mid-mounted engine.
Regarding the body structure, the company wanted the car to derive from the standard Renault 5, despite featuring a longer wheelbase, widened tracks, and styling reminiscent of American muscle cars. This choice created more than a few challenges, starting with the relocation of the powertrain, which required a complete re-engineering of the vehicle’s weight distribution.
To power the car, Renault chose a 1,397 cc “Cléon-Fonte” inline-four engine with a 76 mm bore and 77 mm stroke. Initially, the unit was rated at 160 hp at 6,000 rpm and 210 Nm of torque at 3,250 rpm. The block was cast iron, while the cylinder head was made of light alloy and featured a pushrod and rocker arm valvetrain. Fuel delivery was managed by a Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical injection system, and intake boost was provided by a Garrett T3 turbocharger operating at 0.86 bar, supported by an air-to-air intercooler. A twin-plate dry clutch handled the coupling between the engine and the five-speed gearbox.
Rally in the heart
In this configuration, the car competed both in the World Rally Championship and in several national championships, successfully racing in Group 4 and Group B, and over the years its power output rose to nearly 370 hp. Nonetheless, it never achieved mainstream public fame outside the rally world, as the company was simultaneously involved in Formula 1 and endurance racing—most notably the 24 Hours of Le Mans—disciplines that attracted far greater public attention than rallying.
Furthermore, to keep weight down, the car featured body panels made of aluminum, resins, and polyurethanes, all of which were practically hand-crafted. This dramatically increased production costs, making the cars accessible only to the best-funded and most organized teams, which in turn made all the necessary modifications to meet various race regulations.
This led to the decision, in 1983, to launch the second version of the 5 Turbo, called the 5 Turbo 2. These “5 Turbo” variants retained the mechanical layout of the original cars but no longer used lightweight bodywork, resulting in a more affordable price. Production ceased in 1985.
Title: The story of the Renault 5 Turbo, a rally car created by a Franco-Italian collaboration
Translation with ChatGPT
