Radical Renault 5 Turbo 3E to get public debut by summer

Original Turbos are vanishingly rare and prices for the best examples currently push well past £150,000. 

“I don’t think the price will be a barrier,” said Cambolive. “As long as it’s fair, as long as the car delivers the power, the efficiency, the technology, the innovation and a very high-quality dimension, I think we’ll find our public – especially a public which remembers the ultra-sporty aspects of Renault in the past.”

The decision not to revive the dormant Renault Sport moniker used by previous Renault hot hatches is because “we are focusing a lot on product”, Cambolive said, “and speaking about Renault Sport without any products is not essential”. 

He did suggest, however, that there could be more performance models in the pipeline for Renault after this. “I prefer to speak about Turbo 3E, and after that to see what we can do on top of that if Turbo 3E is a success,” he said. “Let’s build our ‘sportivity’ step by step.”

Renault product boss Bruno Vanel recently promised the 5 Turbo 3E will deliver an “outstanding driving sensation, something completely unexpected” that is “agile like nothing else” as a result of its innovative drivetrain.

The two in-wheel motors enable more precise control of each wheel and the wheels can effectively “do what they want”, said Vanel. In-wheel technology – which, Autocar understands, has been supplied by British specialist Protean Electric – removes the need for an electronic differential or the type of simulated ‘manual’ gearshift used on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.