Valuable Classics Part 1: THE RENAULT R5 TURBO – THE SMALL BIG FRENCHMAN
It’s not just the wide arches that distinguish the Renault R5 Turbo from its next of kin. In contrast to its brother, the R5 Turbo is a true racer. Although some of its rougher edges were shaved off to make it road legal and meet homologation requirements, the Turbo was still born for speed.
Although the car was mainly built by hand at the Alpine plant in Dieppe, it was conceived within the Renault Sport department. The R5 Turbo is very different from the R5 Alpine Turbo, which like all R5s has a front engine. Pretty much everything is different about the R5 Turbo: engine lengthways and standing in front of the rear axle, rear-wheel drive, cylinder head made of light alloy, Bosch K-Jetronic with Garrett turbocharger, 93 liter fuel tank under the seats. The body may be based on the R5 series, but doors, roof and tailgate are made of aluminium, wings and bumpers of polyester, gutters and roof spoilers of polyurethane and the panes are made of thin glass. The interior also makes it pretty clear that this is not a normal R5. Futuristic and stylish seats, a dashboard with 10 instruments and bright red and blue colours.
RENAULT R5 TURBO – ORIGINAL PRICING
The R5 Turbo has always been worlds apart from the R5 series and the Alpine R5, not just technically but also in price. In 1981 Renault demanded DM 44,650 for the turbo; the R5 Alpine dented your wallet for a “mere” DM 14,625. But Porsche also asked DM 46,950 for its standard 911 SC at that time and the turbo was no doubt on par with the 911.
The Turbo 2, introduced in 1983, was a bit simpler and cheaper. Not much changed visually, but the body did without expensive aluminium parts and the interior was more minimalistic. It meant the price of the Turbo 2 could be dropped by 10,000 DM compared to the Turbo 1. As the driving performance was virtually identical the price tag was an important sales argument. And so 3,180 Turbo 2s were sold, in contrast to a mere 1,690 Turbo 1.
PRICE trends OF THE RENAULT R5 TURBO 1
Today the Turbo 1 models are the most coveted of the Turbos. Well-preserved early series R5 however are quite difficult to find. Despite the huge number that were produced, most lost the battle against the rust. Good Turbo 2 specimens are easier to find, especially the Alpine models as these vehicles were mostly in the hands of enthusiasts straight from the start.
Renault R5 Turbo 1, 1980-1982 – 1397ccm, 160 bhp, condition “good”
Price performance data courtesy of:
Photos Legends Automotive
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