The all-electric Renault 5, which looks awesome, promises to bring electric power to the masses and even has a baguette holder, is quite possibly my new favorite car. While you might have thought that the Alpine that’s based on this car was the perfect electric hot hatch, Renault has outdone itself with the new Turbo 3E.
The revived Renault 5 has been winning fans around the world since it premiered back in 2021. The boxy EV has since made it to production and been followed by a sporty version from Renault’s premium brand Alpine. Both cars promise to bring retro styling and fun EV performance to the masses, but now there’s a highly strung range-topping Renault set to put those two to shame.
Following in the footsteps of the Renault 5 Turbo and Turbo 2 of the 1980s, the new Turbo 3E takes the boxy styling of the new EV and runs with it. Officially called the Renault 5 Turbo 3E, the new hot hatch packs outlandish styling update and “performance worthy of a supercar” that Renault says makes it better than “adrenaline on wheels.”
That’s a pretty good description from the looks of the new Renault 5 Turbo 3E, which was teased as part of an Amazon Prime show looking into the reborn icon. From the exterior, the electric hot hatch is covered in angular flourishes throughout, including new squared off lights up front, a boxier bumper and some sharp intake vents down each side of the car.
The concept has also been shown off with some classic Renault colors and is decked out in yellow and grey to echo rally cars of old. There are also some slick R5 Turbo decals down the side to tie the look together.
Thankfully, the upgrades made to the Turbo over the standard Renault 5 are more than skin deep. The Turbo will be rear-wheel-drive with two motors delivering 500 hp to the back of the car. To keep the weight of the new car down, Renault has used a carbon superstructure that also ensures stiffness in the hot hatch.
This lightweight philosophy and extra power means that the hot EV will get from 0 to 62 mph in 3.5 seconds. Impressive for a boxy little city car.
The best thing about this reveal is that Renault has said that the 5 Turbo 3E isn’t just some design experiment cooked up by its teams in France. Instead, it’ll become a real life hot hatch for the road, and the automaker says further details about its specs, performance and pricing will be teased over the new year.
Is this the EV that will finally make you go electric? Or is that a title that has already been claimed by Hyundai and its fake manual gearbox?
