Photo: Patrick Pieper via Instagram
There's something about the French and perky little cars. The Italians do the formula quite well themselves, but the French seem to be able to add a little bit more sportiness to raise them even higher up in the cool factor table than, say, a Fiat 500.
Take the Peugeot 205 GTI, for example. A mundane hatchback was instantly turned into a legendary car despite the fact it only had a little over 100 horsepower and, let's face it, a Peugeot badge. That power, however, combined with the tiny body and the low weight it brought plus the excellent handling made the GTI one of the most entertaining and engaging cars to drive at the time. At least on a budget.
And then we get to the Renault 5 Turbo (or the R5 Turbo, to its friends). This was a lot more than just a fun hatchback. It was Renault's answer to the Lancia Stratos dominating the rallying world back when a competition car had to have a very similar street version for homologation. Because, let's face it, not even the French would have made a street-going mid-engine hatchback if they weren't somehow forced to.
Yep, those air intakes just before the rear wheels aren't just for show or to cool some abnormally large rear brakes, but to feed the all-important air to the engine. The once tame Renault 5 now had a brother that looked like it had just gotten out of jail where it had spent all of its time pumping iron. If the Renault 5 had reasons to hate you, now was the time to be afraid.
There's no wonder the R5 Turbo quickly gained legendary status. Name one other car this size with rear-wheel-drive, a mid-mounted engine, and 160-odd horsepower, all crammed into a reasonably priced package. The only downside to it was that the rear seats were obviously nowhere to be seen, but given the size of the 5, it should have always been a two-seater if we're honest.
The R5 Turbo wasn't exactly a money fountain, though, and once the rallying interest went away, there was no reason for Renault to ever make something similar. The Clio V6 concept car back in 1998 showed everyone a glimpse of what could be, but it never went any further than that.
A digital artist by the name of Patrick Pieper clearly isn't happy with that and so took the matter into his own two talented hands. What he came up with is a modern interpretation of the classic model that stays very true to the original, adding just the right amount of contemporary cues to bring it into the 21st century. In short, perfection.
And then we get to the Renault 5 Turbo (or the R5 Turbo, to its friends). This was a lot more than just a fun hatchback. It was Renault's answer to the Lancia Stratos dominating the rallying world back when a competition car had to have a very similar street version for homologation. Because, let's face it, not even the French would have made a street-going mid-engine hatchback if they weren't somehow forced to.
Yep, those air intakes just before the rear wheels aren't just for show or to cool some abnormally large rear brakes, but to feed the all-important air to the engine. The once tame Renault 5 now had a brother that looked like it had just gotten out of jail where it had spent all of its time pumping iron. If the Renault 5 had reasons to hate you, now was the time to be afraid.
There's no wonder the R5 Turbo quickly gained legendary status. Name one other car this size with rear-wheel-drive, a mid-mounted engine, and 160-odd horsepower, all crammed into a reasonably priced package. The only downside to it was that the rear seats were obviously nowhere to be seen, but given the size of the 5, it should have always been a two-seater if we're honest.
The R5 Turbo wasn't exactly a money fountain, though, and once the rallying interest went away, there was no reason for Renault to ever make something similar. The Clio V6 concept car back in 1998 showed everyone a glimpse of what could be, but it never went any further than that.
A digital artist by the name of Patrick Pieper clearly isn't happy with that and so took the matter into his own two talented hands. What he came up with is a modern interpretation of the classic model that stays very true to the original, adding just the right amount of contemporary cues to bring it into the 21st century. In short, perfection.
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