The Renault 5 Turbo is hot-hatch fire: imagine if today's hot-hatches out-accelerated and out-handled today's mid-engine Ferraris. The R5 Turbo beat up on the contemporary Ferrari 308 — as well as every other supercar — by moving its turbocharged engine to the back, where rear seats used to be.

Compare that to enthusiast cars like today's Volkswagen Golf R, which is merely a GTI+. VW, too, built a mid-engine, rear-drive GTI, the W12-650. But the Germans built one as a marketing exercise. The French put their Le Supercar into production and sold thousands of them to the lucky public.

The photo car is a Renault R5 Turbo 2 Evolution, owned by Bring-a-Trailer cofounder Randy Nonnenberg. The Evo added back in the aluminum bits lost in the switch from Turbo to Turbo 2, and had a bespoke engine with a fractionally larger displacement. For homologation purposes, of course — because this was a WRC rally car.

And what a car it was.
---------------------------------------------
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for new videos every day! http://bit.ly/HagertyYouTube

Visit our website for daily automotive news, cars stories, reviews, and opinion: https://www.hagerty.com/media

Stay up to date by signing up for our email newsletters here: https://www.hagerty.com/media/newslet...


Follow us on social media:
Facebook |   / hagerty  
Instagram |   / hagerty  
Twitter |   / hagerty  

If you love cars, you belong with us. Hagerty Drivers Club is the world’s largest community for automotive enthusiasts. Members enjoy valuable automotive discounts, exclusive events and experiences, roadside service created specifically for collector vehicles, and a subscription to the bimonthly Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join Hagerty Drivers Club here: https://www.hagerty.com/drivers-club

Like what you see? Watch our other series including:
Redline Rebuild | Engine Time-lapse videos from start to finish http://bit.ly/RedlineRebuild
Barn Find Hunter | Tom Cotter searches the country for abandoned cars http://bit.ly/BarnFIndHunter
Chip Foose Draws a Car | Reimagining popular cars with new designs http://bit.ly/HagertyChipFoose

Contact us:
Suggest and feedback - [email protected]
Press inquiries - [email protected]
Partnership requests - [email protected]