Blast off for Renault's uber-hot hatchback

FIRST RIDE We buckle up for couple of fast laps of Goodwood in what must be 2026's maddest EV

- Richard Ingram

THE world stood open-mouthed when the covers came off the production version of the Renault 5 Turbo 3E in late 2024.

Despite sharing its basic shape with the conventional R5, the two EVs have about as much in common as an Espace does with an Alpine F1 car. The 3E’s platform is bespoke – for now. Using an 800-volt architecture and in-wheel motors, the Turbo 3E offers insane performance, plus 350kW charge speeds. The 70kWh battery, Renault claims, is good for almost 250 miles of range – though presumably not at the same time as its 3.5-second 0-62mph time.

Production starts next year and 1,980 will be built, priced from around £135,000. But myriad colour packs and personalisation options will make each one unique to the owner's spec.

While we'll need to wait a little until we can drive one ourselves, Renault UK recently let us sit alongside test driver David Praschl for two hot laps of the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex. This is far outside a traditional EV’s comfort zone, so we were intrigued to see how it'd fare.

Before hopping inside, we were confronted with a tall race-car like sill to climb over, lowering ourselves into the seats and then being strapped in via five-point race harnesses. There's almost nowhere to put our feet, and we immediately hit the emergency stop button with our left knee.

This is still very much a working prototype, then. The cabin is stripped back and exposed; there's a visible roll cage and little in the way of creature comforts or sound deadening.