The Renault 5 Turbo is back with more bite (but no turbo)

13th December 2024

Adam Wilkins

The Renault 5 Turbo is back! This time there’s no forced induction, but it doesn’t matter because it has ‘Turbo’ written down the side in a bold typeface, just like the first generation did. Well, if Porsche and Gillette can add the word turbo to non-turbocharged products then why not Renault? And what the new 5 Turbo 3E lacks in blowers it more than makes up for by having in excess of three times the power of the original 5 Turbo.

The Turbo 3E was first shown as a concept in 2022, and it’s going into limited production in more or less the same form. It is, quite clearly, inspired by the Turbo and Turbo 2 from the 1980s, those overblown (in more than one sense of the word) hatchbacks that gave up their back seats to become as close to a supercar as any hatchback could. The concept was reprised with the Clio V6, a similarly fat-arched three-door that had cartoonish looks and knife-edge dynamics (in Phase 1 form, at least).

Relocating electric motors doesn’t have quite the same impact as plonking a 3.5-litre V6 in the back of a shopping car, but the Turbo 3E does become entirely rear-wheel-drive thanks to motors located in the back wheels. With no mid-mounted combustion engine to give the new car the vibes of a supercar that shrunk the wash, Renault has taken a different tack to give the 3E a sense of the exotic: carbon fibre construction. Whatever was in the water when Renault came up with the 5 Turbo and Clio V6 is clearly still present, and for that we’re grateful.

In the history of hot hatches, no other manufacturer has come close to creating anything as wild as Renault’s most unhinged creations and the Turbo 3E lives up to its forebears in every way. The kind of board meetings where wheelarches that wide are signed off are the kind of board meetings we’d like to witness.

We don’t know what effect the lightweight carbon fibre construction has had to the Turbo 3E’s overall weight because Renault hasn’t released that figure, but its partner Alpine is class-leading on that front so we’d hope it’s pretty svelte. Well, as far as tipping the scales goes. You couldn’t accuse the oversized wheelarches of being slender. Renault has yet to trifle us with many of the details. Battery size? So far undisclosed. Range? Who cares? You might as well enquire about the boot size of a Clio V6 – it’s really not the point. We’ll find out in good time.

One thing we would like to know is whether it has back seats. There’s no practical reason it shouldn’t, but carrying rear-seat passengers is not the kind of thing a miniature supercar should be doing. And with its 0-62mph of below 3.5 seconds, it really is a scaled down supercar (or fairly normal performance EV, depending on your perspective). Acceleration and the 506PS (372kW) power output are the only figures we have to go on so far.

Among the stats that remain unreleased is the price. We’re expecting limited production (the Turbo 3E will be hand built) and its carbon fibre construction won’t come cheap. Those lucky enough to get an allocation are likely to be asked for six figures. For context, a Clio V6 was around £50,000 in today’s money when inflation is taken into account. The new car is, arguably, more bespoke.

Details, details. Let’s just revel in the fact that Renault has proved there’s still life in the fat-arched superhatch; a genre it owns and one that could so easily have fallen by the wayside in an era when most manufacturers are still hedging their bets when it comes to EV line-ups. With the regular 5E, the 4E and Twingo, Renault has done more to enhance the mood around electric vehicles than many car makers. By reinventing its back catalogue, it has carried many EV-sceptics with it... and a remake of history’s lairiest hot hatches can only enhance that. Even one with the chutzpah to call itself Turbo.