Wednesday 24th January 2024

Renault 5 Turbo 2 | Spotted

Homologation specials are rare, sequels even rarer...

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So the Toyota GR Yaris is getting a follow-up. Well, a mid-life facelift at any rate. That’s standard fare for most cars given it helps manufacturers shift models that have been on the shelf for a few years, but less so for homologation specials. The whole point of them is to allow a company to go racing (or rallying), which has historically meant firing out as few examples as possible to scrape through the regulations. And while the GR Yaris never fulfilled its initial role as a rally special, it was conceived as such and probably isn’t making Toyota as much money as a regular Yaris would.

The same goes for almost every era of production-based rally cars. Audi built just 214 Sport Quattros (of which 164 actually reached customers), and while the official line from Lancia was the 037 and Delta S4 earned 200 road-going examples apiece, it’s widely believed real-world numbers were considerably lower than that. Why? Because they were expensive and, frankly, a nuisance. Renault, on the other hand, did things a little differently with its rally special. The French carmaker launched two versions of Renault 5 Turbo, with the second iteration serving a slightly different purpose to the first.

In a nutshell, the original Renault 5 Turbo was equipped with all the bells and whistles so that the French marque could scrape through the Group 4 homologation process. That included Bertone-designed wider rear arches with extra cooling for the mid-mounted 1.4-litre turbo four, lightweight bodywork and a bespoke interior that mirrored the rally car. But once the required 400 examples had been produced, Renault switched its attention to a follow-up model. The Turbo 2 wouldn't be a rally special for the road, it would be a slightly simpler and more attainable offering - and, crucially, easier to produce in greater numbers.

All the core ingredients of the R5 Turbo were retained for the Turbo Deux, including the mid-engine layout, boosty 160hp engine (albeit with a dip in torque) and blistered arches. The important stuff, then. It was, however, built on the same platform as the Renault 5 Alpine, meaning it did away with the lighter aluminium bodywork, rally-esque cabin and the unique Bertone seats. The cost-cutting measures resulted in a 70kg increase in weight, adding a smidgen over a second to the claimed 0-62mph time - from 6.6 to 7.7 seconds - but we still found it to be a properly engaging (and chuckable) sports car when we sampled one a few years back.

Despite that, Turbo 2s don’t have the same cache as original R5 Turbos among collectors. But that just means you can bag a quirky rally special with boxy arches for a sizeable discount over the near-identical-looking original. Take this 1985 car, for example. It’s covered just 28,195km (that’s 17,520 miles in our money) and looks about as immaculate as a near-40 French hatchback can be. The seller’s asking £89,995 for it, whereas you’ll likely need to find north of six figures to secure a Turbo 1 in as good a nick.

Admittedly, the condition of this Turbo 2 has come at a considerable cost to the previous owner (to the tune of over £60,000, so says the ad). It was discovered tucked in the back of a Japanese barn in 2020 and shipped to the UK for extensive restoration works. That included an interior re-trim, gearbox rebuild, and structural repairs - the works, basically. Only the bodywork was left untouched, with the seller claiming it still proudly shows its ‘original patina’. Whether you leave it as it is or take an electric polisher to it, it always makes us happy to see a car like this get rescued. Hopefully, that means there are plenty more years of sideways action left in it. 

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SPECIFICATION | RENAULT 5 TURBO 2

Engine: 1,397cc four-cylinder, turbocharged
Transmission: five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 160@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 155@3,250rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 1985
Recorded mileage: 17,520
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £89,995

See the original advert here

[Augustus Windsock]

Fantastic beasts but the original 5 Turbo with its whacky interior would be my choice.
I remember bidding on on at H&H Auctions around 2011 and the winning bid was £16k (yes, sixteen thousand pounds) which everyone felt was too much…

[wistec1]

90K. at that money there is no doubt a number of other holomgation options available which represent far better proposition some of which are still on the rise. Sunbeam Lotus comes to mind.

[LotusOmega375D]

They made 1820 Turbo 1s (not 400) and 3167 Turbo 2s, so 4987 in total. The performance of each was as good as identical. Many came with 185bhp (like my old one) or even 210bhp out of the box. The featured car looks like a standard 160bhp one. Other than the very bright interior, front indicator repeaters and aftermarket gear knob, it looks pretty good.

[Rough101]

These wer £10k in the early 90’s, about the same as a new Ford Escort..

[LotusOmega375D]

Rough101 said:

These wer £10k in the early 90’s, about the same as a new Ford Escort..

I paid £6k for mine in 1994 and sold for £13k in 2008.

[CKY]

Rough101 said:

These wer £10k in the early 90’s, about the same as a new Ford Escort..

Yes I remember, and I still didn't want one. Seem horribly compromised and yet stunted in terms of performance compared to the competition cars - I have a friend with one who loves it so I probably just 'don't get it', but it would be at the bottom of my list for '80s production rally cars. Hell, i'd even rather have one of the aforementioned Sunbeam Lotus - for less than half the price of this car too? Wow.

[PorkerHam]

I'm sure it's fantastic, and each to their own, but when I look at that I really don't see £90k.....

[Rough101]

CKY said:

Yes I remember, and I still didn't want one. Seem horribly compromised and yet stunted in terms of performance compared to the competition cars - I have a friend with one who loves it so I probably just 'don't get it', but it would be at the bottom of my list for '80s production rally cars. Hell, i'd even rather have one of the aforementioned Sunbeam Lotus - for less than half the price of this car too? Wow.

This seemed so much more exotic than s Sunbeam, but it was out of budget for something I could only use occasionally.

[Arsecati]

Sweet mother of divine jaysus....... £90k????? I can usually see SOME logic or reason for sky high prices for the odd rare and interesting motor, but £90k???? Nope, not a chance, not a hope, no way in hell can I see how this car is £90k........ no matter how cool I (or others) think it is.

(Anybody want to give me £50k for my 205 1.9GTi??????).

[Kerniki]

Jap import €80k? Love mine but that price for a jap import is waaaay too high imo.

Euro car 2 mths ago.

[WPA]

Lovely car but way overpriced

[s m]

Arsecati said:

(Anybody want to give me £50k for my 205 1.9GTi??????).

Well they might do if you were in France - not unusual to see them go for that much over there now if in tip top nick

[richinlondon]

sorry to be a pedant but those indicators on the wheel arches would have to go!

[Matt_T]

I guess the value of these are being pulled up by the crazy value of the other Group 4 / Group B homologation cars. S4 Stradales are now $1m, as are Audi S1s, RS200s are around $750k, 6R4s are $500k.

So £90k for this seems like a bargain...

Regrets - there was a replica of a RS200 for sale about 4 years ago, built using spare parts by someone competent, finished in full Belga livery that went for £65k. Seriously regretted not getting that!

[WPA]

Matt_T said:

I guess the value of these are being pulled up by the crazy value of the other Group 4 / Group B homologation cars. S4 Stradales are now $1m, as are Audi S1s, RS200s are around $750k, 6R4s are $500k.

So £90k for this seems like a bargain...

These were not built for rallying, Turbo 1 was the homologation special

[LotusOmega375D]

WPA said:

These were not built for rallying, Turbo 1 was the homologation special

That’s not strictly true. The Turbo 1 was originally homologated for Group 4 and won the 1981 Monte Carlo rally. By the time the first Group B car (Tour de Corse) came along, it was the 1983 season, which was when Turbo 2 production started. The ultimate incarnation was the Maxi 5 Turbo for the 1985 and 1986 seasons. This was homologated by a production run of 200 “8221” chassis Turbo 2s in March 1985. These were almost indistinguishable from the regular “8220” cars, but had a fractionally larger capacity for homologation purposes. 20 more were manufactured in full Maxi 5 Turbo rally guise, but maybe only 12 found their way out of the factory as completed cars. What is undeniable is that all of the works cars had Turbo 1 style dashboards.

[TikTak]

Both my brother and my dad are going to cry if they see the prices some of these cheap sporty run arounds that we've had in the family are going for these days.

[WPA]

LotusOmega375D said:

WPA said:

These were not built for rallying, Turbo 1 was the homologation special

That’s not strictly true. The Turbo 1 was originally homologated for Group 4 and won the 1981 Monte Carlo rally. By the time the first Group B car (Tour de Corse) came along, it was the 1983 season, which was when Turbo 2 production started. The ultimate incarnation was the Maxi 5 Turbo for the 1985 and 1986 seasons. This was homologated by a production run of 200 “8221” chassis Turbo 2s in March 1985. These were almost indistinguishable from the regular “8220” cars, but had a fractionally larger capacity for homologation purposes. 20 more were manufactured in full Maxi 5 Turbo rally guise, but maybe only 12 found their way out of the factory as completed cars. What is undeniable is that all of the works cars had Turbo 1 style dashboards.

Thank you for the information.

[Steveawm]

A very interesting and desirable car, but there are far better ways to spend £90k

[Muzzman]

LotusOmega375D said:

WPA said:

These were not built for rallying, Turbo 1 was the homologation special

That’s not strictly true. The Turbo 1 was originally homologated for Group 4 and won the 1981 Monte Carlo rally. By the time the first Group B car (Tour de Corse) came along, it was the 1983 season, which was when Turbo 2 production started. The ultimate incarnation was the Maxi 5 Turbo for the 1985 and 1986 seasons. This was homologated by a production run of 200 “8221” chassis Turbo 2s in March 1985. These were almost indistinguishable from the regular “8220” cars, but had a fractionally larger capacity for homologation purposes. 20 more were manufactured in full Maxi 5 Turbo rally guise, but maybe only 12 found their way out of the factory as completed cars. What is undeniable is that all of the works cars had Turbo 1 style dashboards.

Had a google, found this:

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1985-renault-5...