RE: SOTW: Renault 5 GT Turbo
Discussion
All the rage when I were a lad. There was a gallows joke about 'Need to find an Oak Tree? Get an R5-T!' which did the rounds for a while as there was spate of lads my age wrapping them round a particular oak tree on the A24 between Kingsfold and Horsham.
Four fatalities and ten serious injuries from three crashes on the same corner over a two year period. All of three involving R5 Turbos and no other vehicle.
Four fatalities and ten serious injuries from three crashes on the same corner over a two year period. All of three involving R5 Turbos and no other vehicle.
Edited by Dunk76 on Friday 19th November 10:56
I'd say the FIAT Uno Turbo was the 5's main rival back in the day.
My mate had a 5 GT Turbo and I had an Uno Turbo I.E. (don't forget it was the Antiskid model)
We were regularly in competition to see who could make theirs the fastest!
The Renault was best on the corners on the standard suspension, but the FIAT's OHC engine always seemed more willing IMO.
Proper lightweight, back to basics hot hatches.
My mate had a 5 GT Turbo and I had an Uno Turbo I.E. (don't forget it was the Antiskid model)
We were regularly in competition to see who could make theirs the fastest!
The Renault was best on the corners on the standard suspension, but the FIAT's OHC engine always seemed more willing IMO.
Proper lightweight, back to basics hot hatches.
i'd have that in a jiffy! 
What a great car!
I'm 29 now so this is something very much from my era and although I didn't own one I had a few friends that did.
When I was 18 I had a Fiat Punto GT to scratch my turbo itch and we were all avid readers of Max Power. The obligatory modding took place, thankfully nothing more than new alloys and a lowering job externally and the rest of the money was spent under the bonnet.
The R5's always seemed more reliable than my Fiat which had 3 gearboxes, 2 headgaskets and a variety of electrical issues. That said the mechanical issues could well have been down to my addiction to increasing the boost pressure and my "enthusiastic" driving style that I had back then.
For some reason I was also in love with Series 1 RS Turbos that were totally standard externally but had a large outwardly rolled aftermarket exhaust. Oh the misgivings of youth!
I'm 29 now so this is something very much from my era and although I didn't own one I had a few friends that did.
When I was 18 I had a Fiat Punto GT to scratch my turbo itch and we were all avid readers of Max Power. The obligatory modding took place, thankfully nothing more than new alloys and a lowering job externally and the rest of the money was spent under the bonnet.
The R5's always seemed more reliable than my Fiat which had 3 gearboxes, 2 headgaskets and a variety of electrical issues. That said the mechanical issues could well have been down to my addiction to increasing the boost pressure and my "enthusiastic" driving style that I had back then.
For some reason I was also in love with Series 1 RS Turbos that were totally standard externally but had a large outwardly rolled aftermarket exhaust. Oh the misgivings of youth!
always wanted one of these but ended up with a red 3 yr old AXGT in 1996/7 I think it was as the 5 was beyond my budget. If you think the Gt turbo is tinny try on of these......blimey....was great for about 3yrs until it blew up. Got £250 from the guy who came and picked it up for scrap though. Then moved onto a brand new Vectra 1.8LS as a company car...now we're talking...
BriC175 said:
Marf said:
Gazzab said:
Lots of my friends also had them with lots of remaps
Love it when people talk about 'chipped' Renault 5's. Ive had one or two of these but only to sell on. I do still have a 9Turbo though and i'd never part with it, ever.
Great little motors save for the flimsy build and the fact you have to dislocate your hips to drive it if you're over 5'6"
I rapidly discovered that the 21 Turbo gave the same experience as the GTT but everything was magnified about three times over. Much much better cars.
Anyone who does a HG on one of these engines though deserves it. You look after it right (and yes, I understand that requires a bit of specialist knowledge) and they are absolutely rock solid engines....same goes for the 21 Turbo.
I think anyone with a spare 1k and a garage should snap that up. I don't think its going to really go down in value. You could take some time gradually doing it up. That would make a nice project. The more I read Posts like this more I feel I need to move to a new house that has a garage.
It's lovely to see something of that age that's been cared for and avoided chav ownership, but like an earlier poster here, I just remember friends having them, and constantly having to fix and fettle them. That was when they were relatively new.
Never one of my favourite hot hatches personally, but nice to see a preserved, unmolested one still going strong.
Never one of my favourite hot hatches personally, but nice to see a preserved, unmolested one still going strong.
DaveL485 said:
BriC175 said:
Marf said:
Gazzab said:
Lots of my friends also had them with lots of remaps
Love it when people talk about 'chipped' Renault 5's. Ive had one or two of these but only to sell on. I do still have a 9Turbo though and i'd never part with it, ever.
Great little motors save for the flimsy build and the fact you have to dislocate your hips to drive it if you're over 5'6"
I rapidly discovered that the 21 Turbo gave the same experience as the GTT but everything was magnified about three times over. Much much better cars.
Anyone who does a HG on one of these engines though deserves it. You look after it right (and yes, I understand that requires a bit of specialist knowledge) and they are absolutely rock solid engines....same goes for the 21 Turbo.
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