There aren’t many cars that are expected to sell out before anyone has even seen the interior, but the Renault 5 Turbo 3E could well be one of them.
Three years on from the concept launch at the Paris Motorshow in 2022, the anticipated hyper-hatchback and the electric reboot of the iconic Renault 5 Turbo and Turbo 2 has now been revealed—at least partly.
At a brand-hosted event at Renault HQ near Paris, the new hot hatch’s exterior was unveiled for the first time outside of renders, and, as seems to be increasingly the case with production versions of EV concepts, it looks every bit as bonkers as suggested—complete with the striking yellow and black livery of the 1982 Renault 5 Turbo rally model.
Photograph: Malcolm Griffiths/Renault
Renault has said this is its most powerful, most advanced car yet, going as far as to label it the world’s first electric mini-supercar. With its prominent bumper and rear wing extensions, the design inspiration the compact hot-hatch has taken from its namesake is clear, but it also borrows several elements from the Renault 5 E-Tech electric, including the rear lights and wing mirrors.
Unlike that car, though, the Turbo 5 3E is exclusively rear-wheel drive, and is built on a new platform that moves the windscreen back and extends the wheelbase out, giving it the width of a supercar in the length of a city car.
It uses rear in-wheel motors that, Renault says, will bring the Turbo 5 3E in line with the performance of supercars like the Ferrari Roma and McLaren Artura, delivering every bit of torque to the car’s 20-inch wheels immediately, with no loss and no lag time. The result? This car will not only be fast, it is apparently going to be a drifter’s dream.
The specs are impressive: 540hp, a maximum speed of 168 mph, and 0–60mph in 3.5 seconds, all helped by a lightweight, carbon fiber body. Renault says the 5 Turbo 3E will be capable of DC fast charging up to 350 kW with a 800-volt architecture, which should take 15 minutes to charge from 15 to 80 percent with the right charger.
Photograph: Malcolm Griffiths/Renault
Oddly, the one thing WIRED didn’t get to view was the EV’s interior, which Renault is promising will match the exuberance of its exterior, with bucket seats, six-point harnesses and a rally-style vertical handbrake. Indeed, buyers will supposedly be able to work with Renault’s designers to hyper customize the interior to their own specifications, alongside a range of exterior colors, too.
Although the Renault 5 Turbo 3E is pegged for a 2027 launch, pre-orders are set to open in a couple of weeks, and only 1,980 individually numbered units will be available—a nod to the year the original Turbo was released.
Official pricing hasn’t been announced, but estimates suggest an astonishing starting price of around £130,000 (about $168,000), with those extensive customization options taking that up to as much as £200,000 ($260,000)—which is Aston Martin money and more expensive than the McLaren Artura.
This means the math for Renault here works out that if it does shift all 1,980 of the 5 Turbo 3E, potentially before prospective owners even get to see what the inside looks like, this “mini-supercar” could net the automaker more than $500 million in revenue.
