Latest news with #Turbo2
TimesLIVE
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Limited-edition Renault 5 Turbo 3E pricing revealed
Inside, the minimalist cabin is focused on the driving experience. Two carbon-fibre bucket seats with six-point racing harnesses dominate the interior, complemented by a full roll cage. A pair of digital screens (10.1" and 10.25") provide all the key info, with a user interface paying tribute to the dashboards of the original 5 Turbo and Turbo 2. A variety of colour and trim options will be available, including retro-inspired finishes such Rouge Grenade and the iconic yellow, white and black livery of the 1982 Tour de Corse rally car. Production will be limited to 1,980 units — a nod to the original 5 Turbo's debut year — with availability confirmed for Europe, the Middle East, Japan and Australia. Each car will be individually numbered, with customers able to select their number during the order process. Reservations are open, with first deliveries scheduled for 2027.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why Can't We Have Nice Things? Renault 5 Turbo 3E Not Coming to US Ever
Renault revealed what may be the ultimate hot hatch with its R5 Turbo 3E, an all-electric 'mini-supercar.' About twice as long as it is wide, the electric screamer makes 540 hp and 3540 lb-ft of torque, all to push around a car that weighs just 3,197 pounds. It only offers 250 miles of range on the WLTP cycle, maybe closer to 200 SAE. No price was listed, but the car will not be sold here. Sad trombone. Our government is going to protect us from all those fun, funky European sports cars no matter what. At least for the next 25 years. Witness the new Renault 5 Turbo 3E, a two-seater super hatch Renault calls 'a modern, electric reboot of the legendary Renault 5 Turbo and Turbo 2 of the 1980s.' You may recall the original, built for the fast and dangerous Group B rally circuit, boasting so much horsepower that only a handful of drivers could ever survive behind the wheel, let alone win anything. The brief for the car was simple: 'A beast of a car built for rallying, drift and track performance, adapted for the road.' Renault says it's the most powerful and most advanced road car the company has ever made: 'This spectacular electric model embodies the spirit of the Renault brand and its passion for sport and competitive essence.' The new R5 Turbo 3E 'represents an entirely new class of vehicle, mini-supercars,' Renault says. This one offers 540 hp, good for a 0-62 mph time of 3.5 seconds. The new car sits between the Renault 5 E-Tech electric city car and the Alpine A290 sporty city car, vehicles you would know if you lived in France or subscribed to L'Automobile Magazine. It sports a 'carbon fiber superstructure' and 'in-wheel motors.' The new car draws heavily on its historic forebears the Renault 5 Turbo and Turbo 2 from 40 years ago. 'The main idea behind the project was to revive the iconic heritage of these two 1980s models, using cutting-edge technologies to showcase its modern credentials and optimize performance.' It rides on a new rear-wheel-drive platform with a striking length-to-width ratio. The car is just over 13 feet long and a little over six-and-a-half-feet wide. Twice as long as it is wide. That suggests handling scientists call, 'twitchy.' 'With these dimensions, Renault 5 Turbo 3E has the length of a city car for the width of a supercar,' Renault says. 'With its combined performance, it has created the category of 'mini-supercars.'' It looks like one. The aerodynamic splitter running around the front bumper and the large air outlet on the hood help to optimize downforce for a perfect balance between front and rear. To maximize air flow efficiency, the intakes on the sides of the bumper channel the air ahead of the wheels, while the side scoops on the rear wings channel the flow under the lights, behind the vehicle. The lower side scoops cool the brakes. The left-hand scoop also conceals the charging hatch. The electric motors were done by Alpine, which has recently done the electric A110 E-ternity, as well as the A290 and A390. The car rides on a dedicated aluminum platform which Alpine says is able to 'accommodate any architecture.' So maybe this will eventually work its way down to something we in the States can buy, who knows? For the powertrain, they put motors in each of the rear wheels that produce a claimed 3540 lb-ft of torque, Alpine says. The whole car weighs just 3,197 pounds, a figure that includes the 154-pound battery. With 540 hp, that means a weight-to-power ratio of just under six pounds per hp, or supercar territory. Weight-to-torque is somewhere less than one, which is downright otherworldly. Range is just under 250 miles on the European WLTP circuit, and might be closer to 200 miles on our SAE scale. That's on public roads and highways. On the track, Renault says the car 'will be able to complete several hot laps with a top speed of up to 168 mph (270 km/h), before initiating DC fast charging at up to 350 kW, thanks to its 800-volt architecture. No idea how many miles would be included in 'several hot laps,' but you might not be able to make it all the way to Newcomb's on Angeles Crest Highway, or Alice's Restaurant on Skyline Blvd., or back and forth on Tail of the Dragon too many times, sounds like. Say we use a famous French race track for mileage estimates, let's say Le Mans, which is 8.4 miles around: If 'several' is between three and five, you can go between 25 and 42 miles at full tilt. For overtaking, a button on the steering wheel provides a power boost, while another button sets regenerative braking to one of four levels. There are also four driving modes: Snow, Regular, Sport, and Race, which also includes a drift-assist function. No matter how you drive, charging the battery from 15% to 80% will take just 15 minutes, Renault promises, assuming you can find the right charger. Renault has not specified the new R5's charging protocol. Inside are Alcantara-lined carbon-fiber buckets fitted with six-point harnesses. Even the dash is carbon fiber. And there's a big drift- and rally-inspired handbrake. The Renault 5 Turbo 3E will be available in a range of exterior and interior colors, some reminiscent of the historic livery of the Renault 5 Turbo and Turbo 2, such as the Rouge Grenade seen on production models of the day, or the yellow, white, and black racing livery of the 'Tour de Corse 1982' rally model, for those who remember. You can do your own interior colors, too. Alas, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E will only be available in Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and Australia. Imagine the carnage that would ensue if these were sold here! A total of 1,980 units will be made worldwide—a tribute to the year in which the original Renault 5 Turbo was launched. Each one of them will be numbered and you can even choose your number. Look for the first deliveries to take place in 2027. That's plenty of time to decide what part of the world that offers these you want to move to. Whichever you chose, pick a country with fun roads and an extensive charging network.
WIRED
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- WIRED
The Renault 5 Turbo 3E, the World's First Electric Mini-Supercar, Looks as Bonkers As We Hoped
The electric return of Renault's iconic sports car has just taken a step closer to reality—and we got our first glimpse of it. Photograph: Malcolm Griffiths/Renault 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.
