Renault 5 GT Turbo: Spotted
This French hot hatch hero has returned from Japan in immaculate condition
Ah, the 1980s - the golden age of the affordable performance car. The hot hatch really found its form in Thatcher's decade, didn't it? With pocket rockets like the Mk2 Golf GTI and Ford Fiesta XR2 providing laugh-out-loud thrills for a fraction of the price of a proper sports car. Many ended up going backwards into a hedge, sure. But you had a bloody good time right up to the point of impact.
The Renault 5 GT Turbo was among the most crashable cars to fall into this class. It was cheap - tin can French cars were some of the best value back then - easily tunable thanks to its addition of a blower, and a real handful when pressed. Survival rates were, to be frank, not good. The number of never smashed up, unmodified and well-kept GT Turbos is low, which is a shame.
But it does mean that the few which do still exist are liable to be in great condition. No longer is the 5 a car to be laden with big rims, sub woofers and decals, as per the 1990s; it's a modern classic with genuine driver appeal. That's in the old school sense, of course, because the 5 GT Turbo demands respect from its driver. It'll bite if not.
Even today, 122hp from a turbocharged 1.4-litre engine is worthy, as is 122lb ft of torque from 3,750rpm. But what really made this boosted Renault so exciting was the way in which it delivered that grunt - in one fell swoop, following a lengthy dose of lag. When the punch arrived, the car was quick enough to hit 62mph in eight seconds and sprint onto a top speed of 128mph. Plenty fast enough for a car with pencil-like A-pillars.
Torque steer, lift off over steer, cocked inside wheels were all up the 5 GT Turbo's sleeve, but it also cost peanuts to run, returning almost 40mpg if you stayed off the boost. Ok, it was loud, firm and loosely put together, but when it came to out-and-out thrills, nothing in this bracket could top it. Plus, it's got enough squared-off edges to look properly 80s cool.
Today's Spotted is a fine example - you only need to look at the redness of its paintwork and those spotless wheels to notice that. The interior is time machine-immaculate, while the engine bay... well, it's like someone has cleaned it with a toothbrush. Plus, the most recent owner of this near 24k-mile-old left-hand-drive car imported it from Southern Japan only last year, so it's spent most of its life in better climates, hence the lack of rust or corrosion.
Our 1989 hero also comes with its original pair of keys, owner's manual and even the factory-fit stereo. As far as originality's concerned, then, this hot hatch has got all boxes ticked. Perhaps it's destined for a collection, as so many of these 80s icons are. Although at £14,950, we'd hope it'll find a home where it's lairyness continues to be appreciated on the road - at asensible distance from the hedgerows...
SPECIFICATIONS - RENAULT 5 GT TURBO
Engine: 1,397cc, inline-4 turbocharged
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 122@5,750rpm
Torque (lb ft): 122@3,750rpm
MPG: 39.8
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1989
Recorded mileage: 26,000
Price new: £10,350
Yours for: £14,950
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi2dYkgbYpY
What's Yours Called?
Bought Uno Turbo instead, followed by another.Loved them - despite in/out clutch;breaking clutch cable every 10 k miles; random lecccy problems ; traction problems (wheelspin in 1-4 gears on wet roads) and awful ride. Forgive it anything for superb seats ; great dash and smooth and ultra responsive, virtually lag free engine with silly go .Drove it to San Marino GP in 87 - what a trip that was...
You would have thought with moder technology you could replace the turbo system with something to get much better linear performance out of it
I had and adjustable boost controller which was really just a bleed valve and my mates used to wind the boost up while I was looking the other way when pulling out of roads of roundabouts resulting in lots of wheel spin and torque steer.
It looked the part to with big 15" wheels, Clio 16v bonnet and a slighter bigger roof spoiler that Revs magazine photographed when it was fitted to use as a fitting guide and of course the massive drainpipe scorpion exhaust.
So simple, when compared to the cars that followed it.
You could tell a modified one, by the presence of a large jubilee clip around the intercooler to stop the plastic end caps blowing off.
happy times...
Sticking with the pop music theme, Brian Harvey of East 17 had one of these. 'Nuff said.
As for the price, I sold my Turbo 2 for considerably less than this. Although that was 11 years ago.
Can we please have a little more discipline in the grammar department and learn to use en or em dashes and not hyphens when inserting a tangental point within a sentence?
"It was cheap - tin can French cars were some of the best value back then - easily tunable thanks to its addition of a blower, and a real handful when pressed. Survival rates were, to be frank, not good."
Either the American usage—em dashes with no spaces—or the English usage – en dash with spaces – are fine, but please no-hyphens where they don't-belong.
As you were...
and im only looking at it
Low miles IIRC, had been laid up for a while as previous owner died and his widow didn't have the heart to sell. Only downside was occasional electrical gremlins. When it overheated I was told by the dealer that this was normal!
I traced it to dicky connections to the thermostatic switch for the fan.
Enjoyed the car, brakes especially finely controllable, could hold them just on the point of locking when needing max stopping.
Handling less so. Was too finely balanced, I was never sure which end was going to let go first.
I found an original example back in 2013 and its been in storage in the garage ever since, coming out for an annual service and MOT and the very occasional trip down to Goodwood.
Absolutely love them.
One of the greatest hot hatches ever in my opinion. When I got the one I have now, I was incredibly disappointed in how slow it was in comparison to my memories of having them when I was 18-19yrs old.
Its good for nostalgia and if looked after and driven with a bit of respect then they are pretty reliable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi2dYkgbYpY
What's Yours Called?
Yes these were rapid for the day to 60/70. I remember struggling to keep up with one in the late nineties in my 900T Sensonic down a slip road onto the A20.
I also remember the now ex wife giving me grief
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