My French 80's classic
Discussion
king amazing; well jell!!Just found this post from PH back in 2012 from page 7 of this thread http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... while googling images looking for a brown one.
"I owned a Renault 5 Turbo2 for 5 years in the late 80s in Northern Ireland. Mine was a 1985 model in dark metallic brown with beige velour interior (yes, I know). I used it as my everyday car for most of that time, only taking some of the pressure off it in its later years by buying a Renault 4 GTL off Eddie Irvine's dad.
A lot has already been said by you guys, but I'll try to add some further info from an owner's perspective. I can also compare it with the Clio V6 255 as I also owned one of these in metallic Mars Red from new in 2004 and also used it as my everyday car for a few years.
Notes:
When I sold my Renault 5 Turbo2, it still had the protective plastic on top of the carpeted engine cover.
I used to transport my bass guitar amplifier on top of the engine cover, securing it with the 3 seat-belt style straps provided. Rear view was non-existent then.
I found my Renault 5 Turbo2 (and Clio V6) to be extremely reliable - perhaps due to being built at the Dieppe factory.
The only big jobs mine ever required were a replacement clutch at 20,000kms and a replacement brake hydraulic cylinder (can't remember master or slave).
The servicing work on mine was carried out by a bloke who worked at the local Renault dealership, but who had extensive experience working on the Alpine A110 of rally driver Adrian Boyd, whose co-driver Frank Main lived in my street.
I occasionally had a current world champion co-driver travel with me. Terry Harryman was a friend of my girlfriend's father and Ari Vatanen's co-driver. Ari used to post signed photos to me during his championship campaigns.
I stopped using the Renault 5 Turbo2 as my transport on the weekends of the Circuit of Ireland Rally. The reason for this was that my car was starting to attract more attention than the competitors, due to the demise of the Group B cars.
The main issue with using the Turbo2 as a daily driver is that it was very 'lumpy' from a standstill and didn't take kindly to being driven slowly around town.
That didn't stop me and the bangs, howls crackles echoing up narrow streets in my town were always appreciated. As were the occasional exhaust flash.
The other little 'bother' if I can call it that, was that the plugs needed a bit of a clean and gap set every couple of weeks - just to keep the car really sharp.
It was a bit of a pain getting at the engine as you needed to open the tailgate, undo the straps and use the little allen key with plastic handle which clipped up under the little stunted parcel shelf on the right hand side - I wonder how many of these are lost! On the plus side, however, was the fact that on the Turbo2 the pins could be removed from the rear side window catches, meaning that rather than opening just a couple of inches, both windows could be folded fully forward, giving 360 degree access to the engine if you folded the front seats forward as well.
I used to buy my spare parts at Radbourne Racing on the main street running through Wimbledon.
I found out accidentally one day that my Krook-Lok key happened to open the driver's door!
Oddly most of my documentation and handbooks etc. were in German. The little yellow plastic owner's folder sat in a tiny elasticated netted alcove between and behind the seats in the carpeted bulkhead in front of the engine.
When I stopped the car, there was an air intake fan which always went about its business quite noisily for a period of time.
When I arrived home of an evening one of my neighbours who used CB a lot had to turn his equipment off and go to bed as my car interfered so much with it.
With regard to the handling, in the dry when accelerating hard on the sharp corners exiting a roundabout, the grip was so good that as you flicked the car round the corner, you could easily jar your back. The seats were not sports seats. They were very comfy, but lacked any real lateral support.
In the wet, it was a different beast entirely. If you planted the accelerator in third on a straight road, you'd be snaking wildly when the turbo kicked in, if the road was greasy. I used my Renault 4 when I needed to cover distance quickly in the wet.
The standard fitment radio cassette (from memory) was a Philips unit.
The Clio V6 255 was much smoother and a lot easier to control. In the wet I never had any dramas. It sounded like a 911 when pushed hard. It lacked the explosive excitement of the Turbo2. And as well as the bite it lacked the bark!
I did once drive the original Clio V6 and thought it was an accident waiting to happen. The bloke who designed the suspension for it and the newer Clio V6 255 was on the phone to me one night and admitted that he'd got it wrong!
My Renault 5 Turbo2 felt quicker than the Clio in acceleration and I can confirm that VW Golf GTis and similar hot hatches were a disappearing dot in the rear view mirror. The Turbo2 was not great in terms of top speed. It felt nervous (probably due to being about as aerodynamic as Finland).
I still have a spare grille from the front of one of the rear arches. I frequently pick it up and the memories come flooding back. I was very lucky to drive this as my everyday car when I was 22 years old.
But there is always someone luckier!! I had a friend who owned a Ford RS200 and the Tornado Red Audi Sport Quattro from the Patrick collection. The latter is now owned by another chap who I know, who also owns Michele Mouton's works rally Audi Quattro and Franz Beckinbauer's Copenhagen Blue Audi Sport Quattro (which I very nearly bought myself in the mid 90s).
And there you have it. The Clio was a great car. I really enjoyed it. But the Renault 5 Turbo2 was something far far more than that. Words fail me when I try to describe how it felt to drive it back then amongst the Sierras and other dull cars. It pretty much defined me back then and I still have people saying to me "you're that bloke who used to drive that brown Renault...".
If you want to know anything else about Turbo2 ownership etc. please feel free to ask. And by the way, contrary to what someone said up above in the thread, my tax book definitely said Renault 5 Turbo2 on it :-)
I'd love to have it back.
Gary."
"I owned a Renault 5 Turbo2 for 5 years in the late 80s in Northern Ireland. Mine was a 1985 model in dark metallic brown with beige velour interior (yes, I know). I used it as my everyday car for most of that time, only taking some of the pressure off it in its later years by buying a Renault 4 GTL off Eddie Irvine's dad.
A lot has already been said by you guys, but I'll try to add some further info from an owner's perspective. I can also compare it with the Clio V6 255 as I also owned one of these in metallic Mars Red from new in 2004 and also used it as my everyday car for a few years.
Notes:
When I sold my Renault 5 Turbo2, it still had the protective plastic on top of the carpeted engine cover.
I used to transport my bass guitar amplifier on top of the engine cover, securing it with the 3 seat-belt style straps provided. Rear view was non-existent then.
I found my Renault 5 Turbo2 (and Clio V6) to be extremely reliable - perhaps due to being built at the Dieppe factory.
The only big jobs mine ever required were a replacement clutch at 20,000kms and a replacement brake hydraulic cylinder (can't remember master or slave).
The servicing work on mine was carried out by a bloke who worked at the local Renault dealership, but who had extensive experience working on the Alpine A110 of rally driver Adrian Boyd, whose co-driver Frank Main lived in my street.
I occasionally had a current world champion co-driver travel with me. Terry Harryman was a friend of my girlfriend's father and Ari Vatanen's co-driver. Ari used to post signed photos to me during his championship campaigns.
I stopped using the Renault 5 Turbo2 as my transport on the weekends of the Circuit of Ireland Rally. The reason for this was that my car was starting to attract more attention than the competitors, due to the demise of the Group B cars.
The main issue with using the Turbo2 as a daily driver is that it was very 'lumpy' from a standstill and didn't take kindly to being driven slowly around town.
That didn't stop me and the bangs, howls crackles echoing up narrow streets in my town were always appreciated. As were the occasional exhaust flash.
The other little 'bother' if I can call it that, was that the plugs needed a bit of a clean and gap set every couple of weeks - just to keep the car really sharp.
It was a bit of a pain getting at the engine as you needed to open the tailgate, undo the straps and use the little allen key with plastic handle which clipped up under the little stunted parcel shelf on the right hand side - I wonder how many of these are lost! On the plus side, however, was the fact that on the Turbo2 the pins could be removed from the rear side window catches, meaning that rather than opening just a couple of inches, both windows could be folded fully forward, giving 360 degree access to the engine if you folded the front seats forward as well.
I used to buy my spare parts at Radbourne Racing on the main street running through Wimbledon.
I found out accidentally one day that my Krook-Lok key happened to open the driver's door!
Oddly most of my documentation and handbooks etc. were in German. The little yellow plastic owner's folder sat in a tiny elasticated netted alcove between and behind the seats in the carpeted bulkhead in front of the engine.
When I stopped the car, there was an air intake fan which always went about its business quite noisily for a period of time.
When I arrived home of an evening one of my neighbours who used CB a lot had to turn his equipment off and go to bed as my car interfered so much with it.
With regard to the handling, in the dry when accelerating hard on the sharp corners exiting a roundabout, the grip was so good that as you flicked the car round the corner, you could easily jar your back. The seats were not sports seats. They were very comfy, but lacked any real lateral support.
In the wet, it was a different beast entirely. If you planted the accelerator in third on a straight road, you'd be snaking wildly when the turbo kicked in, if the road was greasy. I used my Renault 4 when I needed to cover distance quickly in the wet.
The standard fitment radio cassette (from memory) was a Philips unit.
The Clio V6 255 was much smoother and a lot easier to control. In the wet I never had any dramas. It sounded like a 911 when pushed hard. It lacked the explosive excitement of the Turbo2. And as well as the bite it lacked the bark!
I did once drive the original Clio V6 and thought it was an accident waiting to happen. The bloke who designed the suspension for it and the newer Clio V6 255 was on the phone to me one night and admitted that he'd got it wrong!
My Renault 5 Turbo2 felt quicker than the Clio in acceleration and I can confirm that VW Golf GTis and similar hot hatches were a disappearing dot in the rear view mirror. The Turbo2 was not great in terms of top speed. It felt nervous (probably due to being about as aerodynamic as Finland).
I still have a spare grille from the front of one of the rear arches. I frequently pick it up and the memories come flooding back. I was very lucky to drive this as my everyday car when I was 22 years old.
But there is always someone luckier!! I had a friend who owned a Ford RS200 and the Tornado Red Audi Sport Quattro from the Patrick collection. The latter is now owned by another chap who I know, who also owns Michele Mouton's works rally Audi Quattro and Franz Beckinbauer's Copenhagen Blue Audi Sport Quattro (which I very nearly bought myself in the mid 90s).
And there you have it. The Clio was a great car. I really enjoyed it. But the Renault 5 Turbo2 was something far far more than that. Words fail me when I try to describe how it felt to drive it back then amongst the Sierras and other dull cars. It pretty much defined me back then and I still have people saying to me "you're that bloke who used to drive that brown Renault...".
If you want to know anything else about Turbo2 ownership etc. please feel free to ask. And by the way, contrary to what someone said up above in the thread, my tax book definitely said Renault 5 Turbo2 on it :-)
I'd love to have it back.
Gary."
This was taken about a year ago inbetween all the work it needed to get the T2 right again......
Finding parts for these in the UK nowadays is virtually impossible, the majority of the parts came from French specialists, every mechanical area has been worked on & replaced where needed
Finding parts for these in the UK nowadays is virtually impossible, the majority of the parts came from French specialists, every mechanical area has been worked on & replaced where needed
wongthecorrupter said:
MarshPhantom said:
There was a garage in Cannock that used to always have two or three of these in, I used to go and drool.
Cannock automobiles, I nearly got my dad to buy one from themGassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff