No joke: the Renault 5 Turbo is back, now as an electric car and with over 500 CV!

We dreamed of this the moment the Renault 5 Electric hit the market… and it’s as if Renault had read our minds. Exactly as it is presented, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E is how we imagined a possible retrofuturistic successor to the legendary Renault 5 Turbo. And the dream has come true: the French brand has announced the upcoming production version of the heir to the legendary “culo gordo,” known by that name for its distinctive exterior design, with a prominent rear end that, as could only be expected, is repeated on the new electric model.

Let’s recall that the original Renault 5 Turbo, the model that began to forge its legendary status in the early 1980s with its victory at the Monte Carlo Rally driven by French driver Jean Ragnotti, had in its road version a 4-cylinder turbo engine with 160 CV mounted in a mid-engine longitudinal position. In 1983, with modifications to homologate a Group B rally car, the Renault 5 Turbo 2 was launched, with the huge identifying decals on the sides that we now see on the new Renault 5 Turbo 3E.

As you may have guessed, the reference to the “3” is clear… and the “E” identifies it as a 100% electric E-TECH model.

Two motors, rear-wheel drive, over 500 CV

Now, in a masterful move, Renault has pulled the spectacular Renault 5 Turbo 3E out of its sleeve, which will generate plenty of talk not only for its brilliant reinterpretation -once again- of the original model in terms of design, with the historic rally livery colors and even the huge rear air intakes, one of which houses the battery charging socket.

The brand promises driving thrills thanks to a carbon fibre structure that will provide lightness… and two electric motors located on the rear axle, each driving one wheel -there’s no debate, it had to be rear-wheel drive, no question-, which will produce a system output of over 500 CV!

For now, that’s all we know about the successor to the legendary Renault 5 Turbo, and it’s not little. Well, the brand also announces a figure that gives us an idea of the potential of this new electric SPORTS CAR, in capitals: the R-5 Turbo 3E will be capable of stopping the stopwatch at 0 to 100 km/h in just over 3 seconds. There you have it.

Renault 5 Turbo 3E – Image Gallery