Renault has come to the Tour de Corse retro racing event with a first public demo of its upcoming 5 Turbo 3E model. Don’t be misled, the “Turbo” has no place here because the three-door hatchback runs on electric power and nothing else. It will be released in a limited production run and will start from €160,000 before numerous customization opportunities.
Two 5 Turbo 3E models wearing nostalgic liveries made some demo laps during the Tour de Corse last week. The white-and-yellow paint scheme was a stylistic nod to the Corsican Rally as a whole, while the blue, red and white one was a more specific homage to the Renault Maxi 5 Turbo that won the championship in 1985 piloted by Jean Ragnotti. This time around, one of the cars was taken through its courses by pro rally driver and retro race enthusiast Julien Saunier.
The Renault 5 Turbo 3E is formally considered a continuation of the French automaker’s lineup number 5, but the electric car hardly has anything in common with its mass-produced ICE cousin. Among other things, it rides on its own platform composed from aluminum and carbon-fiber parts, takes advantage of dual-wishbone suspension at both ends, and utilizes a pair of motorized wheels at the back. These rev up to a combined 555 PS (547 hp / 408 kW) and 4,800 Nm (3,540 lb-ft) of torque.
With a powertrain like this, the four-meter (156-inch) long hatchback hits 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.5 seconds. A 70-kWh battery pack supplies it with enough electricity for 400 km (248 miles) of range. Topping it up from a sufficiently powerful outlet takes only 15 minutes (charging from 15 to 80%).
Only 1,980 examples will be made, a reference to the first production year of the original Renault 5 Turbo. Preorders are already running, and the company points out that it already has around a thousand reservations. Customer deliveries will only start in 2027.
