VIVE LA RESISTANCE!

An electric drift machine invoking the spirit of the Renault 5 Turbo? Go on then...

- OLLIE MARRIAGE

BEST RETRO EV RENAULT 5 TURBO 3E

Has anyone ever created a wheelarch more outlandish and extravagant than the Renault 5 Turbo? Sorry, rhetorical question. Of course they haven't. You can keep the swollen humps of a Porsche 911 Turbo, the pumped flanks and wheelarch blisters of various hot Audis and BMWs, this little Renault owns the ultimate box arch. No wonder Renault has looked through its back catalogue and gone "you know, we should do something with that again". Clearly the announcement of the new all-electric 5 back in 2021 gave the designers all the excuse they needed.

And they've let their imaginations run wild. What a stonking set of arches the Turbo 3E wears. More shoulder on it than Hafthor Björnsson. Look at the proportions, the sheer width, the musculature of it. It's not only a proper celebration of what went before, but has more confidence and swagger about it than a supercar.

Ironically we have an early supercar to thank for the existence of the original Renault 5 Turbo. The Lancia Stratos dominated rallying in the mid-Seventies, taking over from the Alpine A110. It was a mid-engined, reardrive, purpose-built coupe that had been designed by Bertone, so Renault, wanting revenge, engaged the Italian design house, which - funnily enough - suggested taking the 5 supermini and putting the engine in the middle driving the rear wheels. Le reste est de l'histoire.

Unfortunately the Turbo 3E isn't going to be tackling rally stages just yet. As I'm sure you've worked out this is a concept car. The kind that can usually barely summon up the strength to crawl off a show stand. This one is different.