Christmas has come early. Indeed, this might be a case of all your Christmases coming at once, because Renault has confirmed that the madcap 5 Turbo 3E will be built. I know, right? What a time to be alive.
Forgetting that this is the festive period, Renault says the ‘unexpected Easter egg’ will appear at the end of a new documentary series available on Prime Video, which is likely to be more entertaining than that new Christmas flick starring Dwayne Johnson.
Renault also says that the 5 Turbo 3E go on sale in limited numbers in 2026, and although it hasn't given a price, it's likely to cost nearly as much as a proper non-competition Renault 5 Turbo. You know, the Group 4 lunatic from the 1980s, complete with mid-engined rear-wheel drive layout and a build cost so high, Renault had to launch the production-friendly Turbo 2.
The 5 Turbo 3E will also be rear-wheel drive, but that name is as disingenuous as the ‘turbo’ in Fabergé's Turbo fragrance for men and Electrolux's Turbomatic vacuum cleaner.
And that kinda sucks, because Petrolblog would rather have a 1.4-litre turbocharged Gordini four-pot in the back, rather than a pair of electric motors sending 500bhp to the rear wheels.
Yes, you read that right: 500bhp. It means that the 5 Turbo 3E will hit 62mph in 3.5 seconds – roughly half the time it took the road-going 5 Turbo to complete the sprint. Still, that had ‘just’ 160bhp, although the competition cars produced significantly more.
In 1980, Motor Sport called the Renault 5 Turbo ‘astonishing’, labelling it a ‘saucy little car’. in conclusion, it said: ‘It's nice to see a motor manufacturer prepared to face the challenge of the times we live in rather than lie down and wheeze about old glories. Bravo.’
Forty-four years later, we could say the same thing about Renault and the 5 Turbo 3E. Yes, it's electric. And yes, it'll be too expensive. But just look at it. If nothing else, it's further evidence of a company that appears to have rediscovered its mojo.
The standard Renault 5 E-Tech is a bargain at £23,000, and you just know that it's going to be a joy to be let loose on the configurator for the 4 E-Tech. Dear Santa, can we have a Fuego E-Tech or a 25 E-Tech, please?
Renault will release more information on the 5 Turbo 3E in 2025, but for now we know it'll feature a carbon superstructure, a charging socket in one of the rear air intakes and more presence than a seven-figure hypercar.
Petrolblog will leave you with this profile image of the 5 Turbo 3E. Before you dismiss it for being electric and expensive, imagine what your five-year-old self would have made of it in December 1980. John Lennon was top of the charts with “(Just Like”) Starting Over”, although he'd be beaten to the Christmas number one by the St. Winifred's School Choir.
The 5 Turbo 3E would secure a place on your bedroom wall and you'd be asking Father Christmas to stick a miniature version of the car in your stocking. There's no one quite like Renault...
