Renault 5 Remembered

The R5 became an instant hit for Renault - the French company sold nearly 5.5 million units around the world

Following on from writing about the largely forgotten Renault 3, the Renault 5 seemed to jump out at me. The R5 was notorious as far as European motoring for the masses was concerned and indeed I'm rather fond of it. My father also owned one, selling his second hand Triumph Herald convertible for a new R5 back in the early 70's. He noted how modern and easy to drive the French car was compared to the Michelotti styled Brit.

Like a few British cars, the R5 was conceived in private away from the knowledge of company executives. A Renault stylist, Michel Boue designed the car out of office hours. The Renault board were so taken by the finished renderings that they commissioned development of this small, radically designed hatchback with its sloping rear and neat proportions.

The finished article was shown to the public for the first time in late 1971 before being launched early the following year. Unfortunately Boue died from cancer before the car was launched.

The R5 was driven by the front wheels and featured torsion bar suspension with mechanicals coming from the similarly iconic Renault 4. Engines were derived from those found in the R4 and Renault 8.

The design was extremely modern in its day and still looks well proportioned now. I think it's stood the test of time and to me seems more forward thinking than the Austin Metro, a car that was launched much later in 1980

There were a number of neat features apart from the overall shape that made the R5 stand out. Early models featured a dashboard mounted gearstick, similar to that of the R4. The door handles were located in a cut-out in the door panel/B-pillar and most notably, the R5 was one of the first cars to feature plastic bumpers. This was very useful, especially in cities like Paris where such bumpers could easily absorb the endless knocks that Parisian drivers are rather used to!

Cabin space was decent helped by the gearstick's location and an engine/gearbox that was set well back in the engine bay meaning that the car's spare wheel could be fitted under the bonnet.

The initial three door body style was soon joined by a 5 door. A saloon was also manufactured in Spain, predominantly for its home market. Named the Renault 7, it featured chrome bumpers and an extended wheelbase.

Renault experimented with prototypes throughout the R5's lifetime, including this electric version. This form of propulsion is becoming de rigueur today

Today Renault have a whole range of electric offerings ranging from the two seater Twizy to the Fluence family saloon. The Zoe is the biggest seller, helped by its traditional five door hatchback body style.

Way back in 1974, Renault were looking at the feasibility of launching an electric R5. The prototype pictured above was powered by a UNELEC motor and 8 traction batteries each of which contained 6 volts. Packaging suffered somewhat as the rear seats had to be removed to house the batteries. Even so, it shows that cars such as the Zoe aren't that new in concept although understandably packaging, range and performance have all drastically improved since the days of this prototype. Alas, the R5 electric was never put into production.

Performance and motorsport have long been associated with Renault, certainly more so than electric cars. The Renault 5 Gordini was launched in 1976 and featured a 1.4 litre petrol engine that developed a spirited 93bhp. Named the Alpine in Europe, Renault had to use a different name in the UK as Chrysler Europe then owned the rights to the Alpine name, (they produced the rather bland Chrysler/Talbot Alpine, itself a version of the French Simca 1307).

By 1982 Renault had upped the ante with the R5 Gordini/Alpine Turbo. Featuring the same 1.4 litre engine as before but this time with a Garrett turbocharger, it produced 110bhp and became a popular car for those who craved more performance.

The Renault 5 Maxi Turbo became a hugely recognisable rally car in the Group B class. Up against cars such as the Metro 6R4, Peugeot 205 T16 and Ford RS200, World Rally organisers ended up banning this four wheel drive class due to a few notable high speed spectator accidents. Pic is from Goodwood 2013

The ultimate culmination of the performance Renault 5 came with the Turbo. Altered drastically from the standard car, the Turbo's engine was mounted behind the driver in place of the rear seats. A mid engined hot hatch was a pretty lairy concept and indeed Renault repeated it with the Clio V6 in more recent years.

As far as the more humble R5 was concerned, Renault took it Stateside! Known as the Renault Le Car, it was sold through American Motors dealers during the French company's ownership of the brand. It didn't sell quite so well as in Europe. Legislative styling and trim alterations didn't in any way improve the look of the car and production ended when it was replaced by the Renault 11 based Alliance.

The initial R5 was discontinued in 1985 when it was replaced by the second generation model, often referred to as the Supercinq. I won't cover the Supercinq in as much detail here as it was the pioneering R5 that earns a bigger place in the automotive history books. Although the Supercinq looked similar, it was actually based on an all new platform. Like its predecessor it sold well. Production lasted until 1996 by which time later models were known as the Campus and had became a budget alternative to the Clio, the French firm's replacement that launched in 1990.

It was during the Paris Motor Show of 2012 that a load of French showgoers gasped their pleasure at seeing the orange R5 pictured above. They evidently started to reminisce over their memories of the car, I expect a lot of them from personal experience. To me, it's not surprising why this little car is held in such high regard, particularly by its native audience.

Share your views. Do you have fond memories of the R5?......