Renault’s latest offering is an electric R5 Turbo that was born to drift
Last week, Renault tease an electric R5 Turbo with giant wings and there’s not much else we can see. The mysterious rally monster is part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the brand’s iconic Renault 5 city car. also bring back as a future production EV. Today, we can finally get a better look at it. This is the R5 Turbo 3E.
The “3” refers to its predecessors – the Renault 5 Turbo and Turbo 2, which are an evolution of the original rear-wheel drive, mid-engined engine designed for the World Rally Championship in the 1980s. The “E” as you might have guessed, stands for “Electric”.
No Turbo (although yes Turbofans). Instead, it makes 380 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, generated by two electric motors that send power to each rear wheel. Yes – like its This widow manufacturer’s predecessor was also a two-wheeler.
It then tracks that the R5 Turbo 3E car is born to drift. It has a purposeful 50-degree steering angle, a large handbrake lever that juts out of the striking yellow central tunnel, and a number of driving modes, including one called “Donut,” which helps the car spin quickly in circle.
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While the R5 Turbo 3E doesn’t use any Renault 5 parts, the body panels are the same shape as the original car’s — just made of carbon fiber. The automaker said in a press release that the concept’s design was inspired by “gaming modes and pops”, with many “references” to video games, like so:
There are also bands of pink, blue, and yellow LED lights at the front and rear, which flash as the vehicle glides, adding to the feel of 1980s and 1990s video games. Vintage also provides inspiration for body decoration camouflage stickers. Finally, the Plexiglass windows are pink and a sticker that says “La vie en rose” on the rear left window adds a sweet je-ne-sais-quoi to the show car’s universe. this exhibition.
These references are not related to any particular title in particular; just a vague idea of the 80s and 90s that pervaded modern culture, which explains all that is brightlow and hot pink. If you actually go back and play them, especially the video games of the 90s are really grainy brown and more mixed. Alike By Konami Club GTI for example, there’s actually a Renault 5 Alpine in there. Now that will create a reference.
All the images Renault released of the R5 Turbo 3E on Thursday appear to be 3D sketches and renderings. However, the company says the actual car will debut later this week, at Chantilly Arts & Elegance 2022. Perhaps it will make a donut to mark the event.