The Renault 5 Turbo 3E Lives, And It Looks Excellent

There aren’t many upcoming cars – electric ones in particular – that we’re excited about as much as the Renault 5 Turbo 3E. A 533bhp Group B tribute with innovative in-wheel motors, a brand new aluminium chassis and the ability to do enormous on-demand skids, it’s the kind of thing we wish more manufacturers had the will and the resources to do.

So far, though, we’ve only seen it in renders and as a life-size but very much static styling model. It brings us great joy, then, to see that Renault now has a pair of proper working prototypes out in the open.

Making its debut ahead of the Historic Tour de Corse rally on the island of Corsica, the prototypes were hammered down a couple of stages by pro rallyist Julien Saunier. Better yet, one of them is bedecked in a new colour scheme, inspired by the red, blue and white Philips-liveried 5 Turbo Group B car that won the Tour de Corse in the hands of Jean Ragnotti in 1985.

That theme’s been carried over into the interior, which we also get a proper look at in something approaching production guise. As we’ve previously seen, the dual infotainment and instrument displays are shared with the much more pedestrian 5 E-Tech, but that’s largely where the similarities end. The regular 5, for instance, certainly doesn’t have a massive drift handbrake sprouting from the centre console.

Saunier had this to say: “I was blown away by the acceleration, which doesn't fade when you gather speed, the braking that’s ultra-powerful yet easy to modulate, and its ability to perform spectacular but controlled drifts. It was such a fun drive, with all sorts of new driving sensations.”

The car’s development may be very much in motion, but it’s still well over a year before it’ll begin to land with customers. Those who’ve put down deposits will be able to finalise their spec in the first half of 2027, before deliveries begin later that year. The company plans to make 1980 examples, a nod to the year in which the original 5 Turbo debuted as a concept, and there are still some allocations available, at a starting price of £140,000.