Renault 5 Turbo (1980-85)

The Renault 5 Turbo or R5 Turbo is a high-performance hatchback automobile launched by Renault in 1980. The car was primarily designed for rallying, but was also sold in a street version. A total of 3576 R5 Turbos (1 and 2) were manufactured during the production run. 

Although the standard Renault 5 has a front-mounted engine, the 5 Turbo featured a mid-mounted Turbocharged Inline 4, 1397 cc Cléon engine placed behind the driver in mid-body in a modified Renault 5 chassis, providing 160 PS (118 kW; 158 hp) and 163 lb·ft (221 N·m) torque. Though it used a modified body from a standard Renault 5, and was badged a Renault 5, the mechanicals were radically different, the most obvious difference being rear-wheel drive instead of the normal version's front-wheel drive. At the time of its launch it was the most powerful production French car. Top speed for Turbo 2 was 200 km/h (120 mph) and 0–100 km/h in 6.6 seconds. (wikipedia)

Renault 5 Turbo 1 (1980-83)

The first 400 production 5 Turbos were made to comply with Group 4 homologation to allow the car to compete in international rallies, and were manufactured at the Alpine factory in Dieppe. (wikipedia)

A total of 1,375 Turbo 1s were manufactured from 1980-81. In 1980, the first year of marketing, 804 units would be manufactured; 400 in metallic red paint, interiors with blue carpets and upholstery in red fabric streaked with blue. The remaining were of metallic Olympe blue paint, interiors with red carpets and upholstery in blue fabric streaked with red.

In 1981 the range of colors and interiors expanded with the release of new paintings in metallic gray Galaxie, metallic black, Metallic White Nacre and a new interior in Bronze color. In this year 571 units were produced. (mario-sequeira.supermano.com)

 

Renault 5 Turbo 2 (1983-85)

Once the homologation models were produced, a second version named Turbo 2 was introduced using more stock Renault 5 parts replacing many of light alloy components in the original 5 Turbo version. The Turbo 2 was less expensive, but had nearly the same levels of performance, top speed of 200 km/h (120 mph) and 0–100 km/h in 6.6 seconds. (wikipedia)

(Photos from classiccarsmagazine.co.uk)

(Photos from cartype.com, commons.wikimedia.org, supercars.net,

mario-sequeira.supermano.com, stelvio.dk & supercarfrance.com)

Renault Maxi Turbo 5 in Racing

In 1981, the competition variant of the Turbo 5, aptly dubbed the 'Cevennes', competes in the Group 4 class. In 1983, it was further developed and the 'Tour de Corse' model was introduced. The ultimate development came in the form of the 'Maxi' developed ahead of the 1985 season. It featured a wider body and larger engine, which sported an innovative anti-lag system. Fittingly, it would score a win in the Tour de Corse rally on the 5 Turbo's favoured tarmac. All the Maxi Turbos were based on the Turbo 1. The R5 Maxi Turbo in 1985 was a successful rally racing car based on the Turbo 1, with engine pushed to 350 PS (257 kW; 345 hp). Only 12 complete Renault Maxi Turbos were built. (wikipedia, ultimatecarpage.com)

(Photos from flickr.com)

(Photos from classicandperformancecar.com)