1981 Renault 5 Turbo
Discussion
1981 Renault 5 Turbo
A few days after the birth of my daughter (our second child) in 2002, when you'd assume I had better things to do; what I was actually doing was paying the balance and collecting this:
Old paper photo from 2002, scanned
Old paper photo from 2002, scanned - the Alfa Spider in the garage behind would have to make way for the Turbo.
My daily drive was an Audi 100 S4 quattro turbo Avant (shortly to be replaced with a Lancia Thema 8.32 - wasn't it great when cars were cheap!) and I still owned the 1963 Alfa Romeo Giuilia 1600 Spider that we had taken on two European road rallies before the children were born - the Alfa is in the garage in the picture above and it's place in my single garage has been taken by the Turbo in the picture below of the 8.32.
Lancia Thema 8.32 with space for the 5 Turbo in the garage; the Alfa has gone.
Quite how do you get to this?
Too much time on autotrader or eBay*, that's how. No one wanted old homogulation cars back in the 'noughties'; I reguarly checked for not only these mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo's but also Porsche 924 Carrera GT's amongst other things. You needn't spend more than £10,000 either. On one of my nocturnal searches I found the 5 Turbo located just 9 miles away on a trader operating from home. I think I arranged to see it the following day and put a deposit on it there and then. *Nothing has changed in the interim either - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
My recollection of the short, hot test drive was that the unassisted steering was very heavy when maneuvering although it becomes wonderfully light and direct at speed; it wouldn't tick over and would stall unless you kept the revs up; the clutch was heavy too; I kangarooed up the road with no power at all below 3,000 rpm and then a huge whoooooshhhhhhh, bang and a blur of noise and speed as the turbo kicks and a frantic snatch to get the next short gear. I loved it.
This 5 Turbo is a German car orginally and LHD as they came out of the factory, they were never officially imported by Renault UK although I believe Radbourne Racing did bring some in. Mine had been on display in a dealership in France for quite a while which would account for the low mileage and lack of rust. Freshly mot'd I took it home, as I say, four days after the birth of my daughter - could be worse, I did a 12,000-feet tandem parachute jump for charity when my wife was heavily pregnant with our first - and it sat in the garage; while I was waiting for my daughter to fall to sleep I used to go to the garage and gently polish the paintwork and listen to the radio. Did I say I loved it, my daughter too.
My insurers wanted an immobiliser so I found an auto-electrican locally and made an appointment; he shared a workshop with a mechanic called Scott who ran his own servicing and car preparation business - he had sub contracted for, amongst others, Dave Appleby Engineering which was mainly working with Metro 6R4's but in the later years Subaru WRC cars; so he was a perfect fit for looking after the 5 Turbo and he has done so ever since.
Interior shot - This is the original Turbo, so has a bespoke Bertone designed dashboard and space-age seats. The observant amongst you will notice something amiss about the colour scheme - we'll come to that soon - but I didn't know myself at the time. Built in Dieppe, France in the Alpine plant they weigh-in at 970kg and have aluminim doors, roof, boot and bonnet.
Open wide, where the back seats and the boot should be; here is the 1,397cc iron blocked, pushrod operated engine from any number of shopping trolley Renaults. These are transformed by having K-jetronic fuel injection, Garrett T3 turbocharger, air-to-air intercooler and run just over 12psi boost pressure to produce 160bhp at 6,000rpm and 155lbs-ft at 3,250rpm.
This is from Motor in April, 1981. I've had this magazine since new - I would have been 16 years old when I bought it for 40 new pence.
Although not bought exclusively to do track days I took it to Castle Coombe circuit on a rainy cold day and span it almost immediately at Quarry corner; I went out again later and it span when I had the cheek to change gear while going in a straight line and that brought the day to end. There was no damange done, except to my pride. The lack of grip probably had something to do with the Pirelli P7R tyres the car was wearing - undoubtably they were old and hard. We changed them to a set of new Yokohama AVS tyres on the Gotti wheels which are preposterously wide and expensive - 285/40 VR15's on the rear which cost £560 in 2004!
R5T - Gotti - rear
R5T - Gotti - front
I was hardly using the Turbo, two small children and my own mail order business took all of my time and looking back at the servicing records between 2003 to 2005 I only did just over a thousand kilometre's. Whereas the '63 Giulia was eligible and wanted for lots of motorsport or show events, I probably reached the lowest point in my ownership where I couldn't find anything to do with the Turbo. Constant issues with very difficult hot starting - I've had to push it off petrol station forecourts when it wouldn't restart and wait for it to cool down - accompanied by fuel leaks were souring my relationship with the car.
These are the fuel tanks, there is twenty gallons here in two interconnected tanks and just like a WWII fighter you sit on them. Helps to keep the weight inside the wheelbase.
I may have sold it but fate (and a lack of time) stepped in with a serious oil leak from the gearbox (which is from a Renault 30). It was decided that Scott would rebuild, balance & mildly modify the engine to somewhere between stage one and stage two, which ought to see it with around 185 bhp depending on spec; and have the gearbox resealed. Sourcing parts for these is not as difficult as you might expect, Meca Parts in France - http://www.mecaparts.com/ - cover a wide range of historic cars and later on 3S Developments - https://3sdeveloppement.fr/ - who specialise solely with the 5 Turbo have made almost everything possible.
My terrible French language skills are a hinderence but both firms have been helpful and efficient. The first of many orders was placed with Meca Parts in May 2006 and included liners, forged pistons, strengthened head gasket and a new water pump to start the build. Scott ported and polished the head, balanced the bottom end and then, well, everything stopped. I'm not sure quite why but the car remained in pieces with the engine partially rebuilt from 2006 to 2014. In that time, not only did they appreciate in value they also became eligible for many more events.
In 2014, the car came back out of hibernation and a long and spasmodic rebuild process began. I'll cover that in my next update.
Complete but riding high as engine, gearbox and most ancillaries out, 2014
A few days after the birth of my daughter (our second child) in 2002, when you'd assume I had better things to do; what I was actually doing was paying the balance and collecting this:
Old paper photo from 2002, scanned
Old paper photo from 2002, scanned - the Alfa Spider in the garage behind would have to make way for the Turbo.
My daily drive was an Audi 100 S4 quattro turbo Avant (shortly to be replaced with a Lancia Thema 8.32 - wasn't it great when cars were cheap!) and I still owned the 1963 Alfa Romeo Giuilia 1600 Spider that we had taken on two European road rallies before the children were born - the Alfa is in the garage in the picture above and it's place in my single garage has been taken by the Turbo in the picture below of the 8.32.
Lancia Thema 8.32 with space for the 5 Turbo in the garage; the Alfa has gone.
Quite how do you get to this?
Too much time on autotrader or eBay*, that's how. No one wanted old homogulation cars back in the 'noughties'; I reguarly checked for not only these mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo's but also Porsche 924 Carrera GT's amongst other things. You needn't spend more than £10,000 either. On one of my nocturnal searches I found the 5 Turbo located just 9 miles away on a trader operating from home. I think I arranged to see it the following day and put a deposit on it there and then. *Nothing has changed in the interim either - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
My recollection of the short, hot test drive was that the unassisted steering was very heavy when maneuvering although it becomes wonderfully light and direct at speed; it wouldn't tick over and would stall unless you kept the revs up; the clutch was heavy too; I kangarooed up the road with no power at all below 3,000 rpm and then a huge whoooooshhhhhhh, bang and a blur of noise and speed as the turbo kicks and a frantic snatch to get the next short gear. I loved it.
This 5 Turbo is a German car orginally and LHD as they came out of the factory, they were never officially imported by Renault UK although I believe Radbourne Racing did bring some in. Mine had been on display in a dealership in France for quite a while which would account for the low mileage and lack of rust. Freshly mot'd I took it home, as I say, four days after the birth of my daughter - could be worse, I did a 12,000-feet tandem parachute jump for charity when my wife was heavily pregnant with our first - and it sat in the garage; while I was waiting for my daughter to fall to sleep I used to go to the garage and gently polish the paintwork and listen to the radio. Did I say I loved it, my daughter too.
My insurers wanted an immobiliser so I found an auto-electrican locally and made an appointment; he shared a workshop with a mechanic called Scott who ran his own servicing and car preparation business - he had sub contracted for, amongst others, Dave Appleby Engineering which was mainly working with Metro 6R4's but in the later years Subaru WRC cars; so he was a perfect fit for looking after the 5 Turbo and he has done so ever since.
Interior shot - This is the original Turbo, so has a bespoke Bertone designed dashboard and space-age seats. The observant amongst you will notice something amiss about the colour scheme - we'll come to that soon - but I didn't know myself at the time. Built in Dieppe, France in the Alpine plant they weigh-in at 970kg and have aluminim doors, roof, boot and bonnet.
Open wide, where the back seats and the boot should be; here is the 1,397cc iron blocked, pushrod operated engine from any number of shopping trolley Renaults. These are transformed by having K-jetronic fuel injection, Garrett T3 turbocharger, air-to-air intercooler and run just over 12psi boost pressure to produce 160bhp at 6,000rpm and 155lbs-ft at 3,250rpm.
This is from Motor in April, 1981. I've had this magazine since new - I would have been 16 years old when I bought it for 40 new pence.
Although not bought exclusively to do track days I took it to Castle Coombe circuit on a rainy cold day and span it almost immediately at Quarry corner; I went out again later and it span when I had the cheek to change gear while going in a straight line and that brought the day to end. There was no damange done, except to my pride. The lack of grip probably had something to do with the Pirelli P7R tyres the car was wearing - undoubtably they were old and hard. We changed them to a set of new Yokohama AVS tyres on the Gotti wheels which are preposterously wide and expensive - 285/40 VR15's on the rear which cost £560 in 2004!
R5T - Gotti - rear
R5T - Gotti - front
I was hardly using the Turbo, two small children and my own mail order business took all of my time and looking back at the servicing records between 2003 to 2005 I only did just over a thousand kilometre's. Whereas the '63 Giulia was eligible and wanted for lots of motorsport or show events, I probably reached the lowest point in my ownership where I couldn't find anything to do with the Turbo. Constant issues with very difficult hot starting - I've had to push it off petrol station forecourts when it wouldn't restart and wait for it to cool down - accompanied by fuel leaks were souring my relationship with the car.
These are the fuel tanks, there is twenty gallons here in two interconnected tanks and just like a WWII fighter you sit on them. Helps to keep the weight inside the wheelbase.
I may have sold it but fate (and a lack of time) stepped in with a serious oil leak from the gearbox (which is from a Renault 30). It was decided that Scott would rebuild, balance & mildly modify the engine to somewhere between stage one and stage two, which ought to see it with around 185 bhp depending on spec; and have the gearbox resealed. Sourcing parts for these is not as difficult as you might expect, Meca Parts in France - http://www.mecaparts.com/ - cover a wide range of historic cars and later on 3S Developments - https://3sdeveloppement.fr/ - who specialise solely with the 5 Turbo have made almost everything possible.
My terrible French language skills are a hinderence but both firms have been helpful and efficient. The first of many orders was placed with Meca Parts in May 2006 and included liners, forged pistons, strengthened head gasket and a new water pump to start the build. Scott ported and polished the head, balanced the bottom end and then, well, everything stopped. I'm not sure quite why but the car remained in pieces with the engine partially rebuilt from 2006 to 2014. In that time, not only did they appreciate in value they also became eligible for many more events.
In 2014, the car came back out of hibernation and a long and spasmodic rebuild process began. I'll cover that in my next update.
Complete but riding high as engine, gearbox and most ancillaries out, 2014
Edited by TurboBlue on Saturday 2nd May 01:50
Electric blue Turbo 1 Love it !!
I should have taken the plunge in 04 on a gorgeous pearl white, Turbo 2 I was offered ( I think he still has it ) they were so £ cheap, back then, but I had only just bought my first 911 ( a lovely black metallic 1980 3 litre SC ) and didn’t want to have to sell that!
I’ve had probably 25 GT Turbos over the years, but as much as I really want a Turbo 1 or 2, @ today’s prices, they are just £ too expensive for what they offer.
I stumbled across this totally original white T2 in in France in Feb this year. I tried to buy it, but it’s near Neanderthal owner wasn’t interested !
I should have taken the plunge in 04 on a gorgeous pearl white, Turbo 2 I was offered ( I think he still has it ) they were so £ cheap, back then, but I had only just bought my first 911 ( a lovely black metallic 1980 3 litre SC ) and didn’t want to have to sell that!
I’ve had probably 25 GT Turbos over the years, but as much as I really want a Turbo 1 or 2, @ today’s prices, they are just £ too expensive for what they offer.
I stumbled across this totally original white T2 in in France in Feb this year. I tried to buy it, but it’s near Neanderthal owner wasn’t interested !
Edited by neutral 3 on Saturday 2nd May 02:01
Edited by neutral 3 on Saturday 2nd May 02:24
Super cool, love the colour too.
I remember seeing one of these demonstrated at Goodwood, driving up the hill the driver performed a pirouette, turning 360 degrees and continuing without ever coming to rest or putting a tyre off the narrow tarmac.
Look forward to hearing more about it.
Thanks for the comments:
https://youtu.be/TOZNARyAA_Q
Ragnotti drove the 5 Turbo and won the Monte Carlo Group 4 event in 1981, the Tour de Corse Group 4 rally in 1982 and the same event in 1985 in a Group B Maxi.
Here is is on the 1981 Monte Carlo event in a Cevennes Group 4 rally car.
https://youtu.be/BSIp5LrrkwU
January 1999 on the CRA Winter Challenge at the Val Thorens ice track in France. On the way up to the circuit, the temperature dropped so dramatically that all the electrics stopped working including wipers, lights, heater; the gauges all fell silent and when we stopped I dare not turn the engine off. Navigating the track in the snow with no functioning wipers was made easier by going sideways and looking out the passenger window. Was a bit cold though. On the way back down the mountain I had to fit snow chains to keep going and watched a Land Rover Discovery demonstrate the laws of physics by sliding into a Triumph TR3A.
R5T & Clio V6 both up on ramps (no wheels) - 2019
neutral 3 said:
Electric blue Turbo 1 Love it !!
Glad you all like the colour; you can see the olympic blue paintwork inside the engine compartment and throughout the front of the car but it would normally be matched with a predominately red interior (this one is beige) so the car had a little surprise for me when we stripped it right down.samoht said:
I remember seeing one of these demonstrated at Goodwood, driving up the hill the driver performed a pirouette, turning 360 degrees and continuing without ever coming to rest or putting a tyre off the narrow tarmac.
The acrobatics at Goodwood would almost certainly have been Jean Ragnotti in a Maxi 5 Turbo - here he is making driving this thing look like childplay at Goodwoodhttps://youtu.be/TOZNARyAA_Q
Ragnotti drove the 5 Turbo and won the Monte Carlo Group 4 event in 1981, the Tour de Corse Group 4 rally in 1982 and the same event in 1985 in a Group B Maxi.
Here is is on the 1981 Monte Carlo event in a Cevennes Group 4 rally car.
https://youtu.be/BSIp5LrrkwU
scottos said:
Live those alfas too, any pics of that? And kudos on the thema as well, lovely things!
It's my thread so a little derailment is allowed; 1963 Alfa Giulia Spider 1600, lhd, single twin-choke carburettor, drum brakes all round, fabulous to drive; my wife and I competed on two historic regularity road rallies in 1999 and 2000. A picture form each event and a little vignette.January 1999 on the CRA Winter Challenge at the Val Thorens ice track in France. On the way up to the circuit, the temperature dropped so dramatically that all the electrics stopped working including wipers, lights, heater; the gauges all fell silent and when we stopped I dare not turn the engine off. Navigating the track in the snow with no functioning wipers was made easier by going sideways and looking out the passenger window. Was a bit cold though. On the way back down the mountain I had to fit snow chains to keep going and watched a Land Rover Discovery demonstrate the laws of physics by sliding into a Triumph TR3A.
lukeharding said:
Bonkers! would love to know more about the Thema too!
Used the Thema 8.32 as my daily for about 18 months, was a lovely drive and quite reliable; had to come off the road when I couldn't find a replacement headlamp and was replaced by a Toyota Hiace van - but that's another story!dom9 said:
Thread delivers!! Would love one next to my V6 - amazing little things!
Here's an interesting picture - you can see the lineage! (the V6 is not mine, ha!)R5T & Clio V6 both up on ramps (no wheels) - 2019
TurboBlue said:
lukeharding said:
Bonkers! would love to know more about the Thema too!
Used the Thema 8.32 as my daily for about 18 months, was a lovely drive and quite reliable; had to come off the road when I couldn't find a replacement headlamp and was replaced by a Toyota Hiace van - but that's another story!
)Turbo 2 is superb - a mate had a Gordini R5 which we always thought was cool when we were kids
A friend runs a V6 Clio here on the Isle of Wight, bought new from our local Renault dealer LHD but registered in France as he spend half the year there, apparently servicing chepaer in the Uk but insurnace cheaper EnFrance - being on french plates he reckons he get sless hassle speeding ...
A friend runs a V6 Clio here on the Isle of Wight, bought new from our local Renault dealer LHD but registered in France as he spend half the year there, apparently servicing chepaer in the Uk but insurnace cheaper EnFrance - being on french plates he reckons he get sless hassle speeding ...
The Turbo had come out of long term hibernation in 2014, I hadn't driven it in eight years; the engine was on a bench and the gearbox on the floor; all the consumable and perishable items appeared to date from the original 1981 build and would really need to be replaced so we set about that.
In a bid to cure the failure to start when hot and poor running the K-jetronic fuel injection system was comprehensively renewed by Ken Mills Injection in December 2013; this included a new fuel distributor, warm up regulator, 4 injectors and fuel accumulator. The main electric fuel pumps are located inside the tanks, these were rebuilt but they were never a satisfactory solution and a much bigger project would be undertaken in late 2019.
It is in remarkable condition (this was taken in 2014 and it hasn't changed in the meantime) but the important thing to note here is the tube at the base of the void where the engine used to be. These GRP tubes were added as a form of crash protection to replace the kinetic energy the engine block would have dissapated in an accident. Obviously, if the tube is missing, it suggests that the car has had a front end accident. This was one of the few checks I actually knew about when I bought it.
Lots of pipework has to travel the length of the car, heating and cooling pipes have all been replaced with new.
With the bumpers off it finally became clear why we had a blue/beige colour scheme - at some point the car has been repainted; it started life in pearlescent white but somebody had gone to huge trouble to change the colour and it remains a quality respray even if was done last century; I don't have the inclination to paint it and I'm not sure what colour I'd choose if I did.
Has an Alpine (or Gordini if in the UK) steering wheel rather than the mad single spoke of the first generation. These single spokes were known to break in use so I don't miss it and if I really want one, 3S sell them new. Dash and dials are overwhelming, there is rarely any time to actually look at them.
The Garrett turbocharger had been refurbished as a joint lot with my BBR turbocharged Shogun (which was undergoing the same kind of long restoration as the 5 at the same time) and we'd raised the torsion bar front suspension and fitted a set of AVO dampers while I was still driving it as the front wing had micro cracks from where there wasn't enough wheel travel. The upgrade to the suspension on these is to lose the torsion bars at the front and fit Bilstein coil overs all round. These are expensive and have mixed feedback, they appear to make the front of the car quite twitchy. Now, the back of this is ready to swap over and lead the charge hedgewise without much warning (and I'm not Jean Ragnotti) so I've always been reluctant to go down this route. You may think it looks too high at the front, I'm very happy that it drives much better. One of the best things about the 5 is how the front end is sharp and precise yet absorbs bumps without complaint.
AVO front shock absorbers; it has had new disc all round since this photo
AVO rear shock absorder (these were fitted in 2019)
During it's time off road I'd scoured eBay for performance pieces for the Renaultsport stage 1 or 2 kits and been lucky enough to find the bigger Cevennes intercooler (it's about twice as deep as the standard item) and a Cevenne specification 4-into-1 exhaust manifold. I'd also bought one of the last, extremely loud, Devil exhausts from AccyPaul.
Larger intercooler fitted & Cevennes 4-into-1 exhaust manifold (this was taken in 2019)
Devil exhuast - it is LOUD
Not been dyno tested (not in a hurry to either as it's mid engined and runs very hot) but should be making an honest 185bhp. Sun International in the USA imported the Turbo in the early 80's and quoted the Stage one 185bhp kit as a $2,100 (USD) option. This made a useful difference to the performance figures and when tested by Road & Track magazine the 0-60mph time dropped to 6.7 seconds and the standing 1/4 mile to 15 seconds dead.
At some point prior to my ownership it has been fitted with a Matter roll cage and harnesses, which in classic 80's tradition the tubes are made out of aluminum; on top of the engine cover there is a box mounted which came filled with Facom tools and consumables. The tools were rusty and the foam liner had disintegrated so I cleaned them up and got a new foam liner from 3S Developments. Finished it off with some spare NGK plugs. I think it looks great but it is a shame that I don't have all the missing pieces.
Toolkit, before
Toolkit, after
There was another hiatus in the build at this point and the work stopped for another five years. It did make it into a Renault showroom again as a celebration of RenaultSport but it wasn't until I announced that I'd entered the Turbo in the 2019 Lombard Rally (non-competitive road rally) which took place in October 2019 that the final push to get it roadworthy really started.
R5T, Clio V6 & R5 Alpine - on show at Renault Trowbridge
In a bid to cure the failure to start when hot and poor running the K-jetronic fuel injection system was comprehensively renewed by Ken Mills Injection in December 2013; this included a new fuel distributor, warm up regulator, 4 injectors and fuel accumulator. The main electric fuel pumps are located inside the tanks, these were rebuilt but they were never a satisfactory solution and a much bigger project would be undertaken in late 2019.
It is in remarkable condition (this was taken in 2014 and it hasn't changed in the meantime) but the important thing to note here is the tube at the base of the void where the engine used to be. These GRP tubes were added as a form of crash protection to replace the kinetic energy the engine block would have dissapated in an accident. Obviously, if the tube is missing, it suggests that the car has had a front end accident. This was one of the few checks I actually knew about when I bought it.
Lots of pipework has to travel the length of the car, heating and cooling pipes have all been replaced with new.
With the bumpers off it finally became clear why we had a blue/beige colour scheme - at some point the car has been repainted; it started life in pearlescent white but somebody had gone to huge trouble to change the colour and it remains a quality respray even if was done last century; I don't have the inclination to paint it and I'm not sure what colour I'd choose if I did.
Has an Alpine (or Gordini if in the UK) steering wheel rather than the mad single spoke of the first generation. These single spokes were known to break in use so I don't miss it and if I really want one, 3S sell them new. Dash and dials are overwhelming, there is rarely any time to actually look at them.
The Garrett turbocharger had been refurbished as a joint lot with my BBR turbocharged Shogun (which was undergoing the same kind of long restoration as the 5 at the same time) and we'd raised the torsion bar front suspension and fitted a set of AVO dampers while I was still driving it as the front wing had micro cracks from where there wasn't enough wheel travel. The upgrade to the suspension on these is to lose the torsion bars at the front and fit Bilstein coil overs all round. These are expensive and have mixed feedback, they appear to make the front of the car quite twitchy. Now, the back of this is ready to swap over and lead the charge hedgewise without much warning (and I'm not Jean Ragnotti) so I've always been reluctant to go down this route. You may think it looks too high at the front, I'm very happy that it drives much better. One of the best things about the 5 is how the front end is sharp and precise yet absorbs bumps without complaint.
AVO front shock absorbers; it has had new disc all round since this photo
AVO rear shock absorder (these were fitted in 2019)
During it's time off road I'd scoured eBay for performance pieces for the Renaultsport stage 1 or 2 kits and been lucky enough to find the bigger Cevennes intercooler (it's about twice as deep as the standard item) and a Cevenne specification 4-into-1 exhaust manifold. I'd also bought one of the last, extremely loud, Devil exhausts from AccyPaul.
Larger intercooler fitted & Cevennes 4-into-1 exhaust manifold (this was taken in 2019)
Devil exhuast - it is LOUD
Not been dyno tested (not in a hurry to either as it's mid engined and runs very hot) but should be making an honest 185bhp. Sun International in the USA imported the Turbo in the early 80's and quoted the Stage one 185bhp kit as a $2,100 (USD) option. This made a useful difference to the performance figures and when tested by Road & Track magazine the 0-60mph time dropped to 6.7 seconds and the standing 1/4 mile to 15 seconds dead.
At some point prior to my ownership it has been fitted with a Matter roll cage and harnesses, which in classic 80's tradition the tubes are made out of aluminum; on top of the engine cover there is a box mounted which came filled with Facom tools and consumables. The tools were rusty and the foam liner had disintegrated so I cleaned them up and got a new foam liner from 3S Developments. Finished it off with some spare NGK plugs. I think it looks great but it is a shame that I don't have all the missing pieces.
Toolkit, before
Toolkit, after
There was another hiatus in the build at this point and the work stopped for another five years. It did make it into a Renault showroom again as a celebration of RenaultSport but it wasn't until I announced that I'd entered the Turbo in the 2019 Lombard Rally (non-competitive road rally) which took place in October 2019 that the final push to get it roadworthy really started.
R5T, Clio V6 & R5 Alpine - on show at Renault Trowbridge
Edited by TurboBlue on Saturday 2nd May 23:23
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