There's A Good Reason This Renault Hatchback Costs From $180,000
Every so often Renault does something unexpected. There was the mid-engined, V6-powered Clio, for example, the wonderfully curious Avantime, and the Spider, a two-seat sports car without a windshield.
Now there's another beautiful misfit, and it's called the Renault 5 Turbo 3E. As the name suggests, this is the third generation of 5 Turbo and the E stands for electric.
Its styling resembles a steroidal upgrade on the standard Renault 5 – itself an electric city car that is as acclaimed as it is affordable – but in reality the two-door carbon body is all-new. It sits atop an equally new platform that comprises a 70 kWh battery, an 800-volt electrical architecture and a pair of electric motors.
But instead of fitting one motor to each axle for all-wheel-drive, Renault has done what it does best, and thought outside the box. The result is a pair of in-wheel motors that send power directly to each of the Turbo 3E's back wheels. Total output is a wild 540 horsepower – or, context fans, almost 3.4 times more than the original 5 Turbo from 1980.
Add that to a relatively lightweight body (it'll tip the scales at 3,200 pounds) and Renault claims a supercar-like 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time of under 3.5 seconds. Range is a claimed 249 miles, but naturally that'll depend heavily on how the Turbo 3E is driven. Given the outrageous styling, big power and huge, rally-style handbrake sprouting up between the seats, it's unlikely to be driven with hypermiling restraint.
Renault plans to build 1,980 examples, as a throwback to the launch year of the original 5 Turbo, and it'll be available in the UK and Europe (where it's priced from €155,000), plus Japan, Australia and the Middle East. Unfortunately it won't make its way to the US, so Americans won't get the opportunity to drop $180,000 on Renault's latest dose of hot-hatch extravagance.
That's also just the starting price. Renault says it expected Turbo 3E buyers to spend plenty more on customization, including paint jobs inspired by historic racing liveries, and personalized interiors.
Could this become a $200,000 Renault EV? I wouldn't bet against it. And while that is undoubtedly a lot of money, this could well become the first collectible electric car, except perhaps the first-generation Tesla Roadster. In that regard, the pumped-up Renault ticks a lot of boxes. It has outlandish styling and big performance, unique technology with those in-wheel motors, the possibility for high levels of personalization, and a strong back story.
The order book is open in the aforementioned regions now, with the first deliveries scheduled to begin in 2027.
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