Renault unveils small electric sports car R5 Turbo 3E priced from $168,000

The transition to electric traction gives car manufacturers the opportunity to revive the sports legends of yesteryear in a new version, implying high dynamics and zero emissions into the atmosphere. The Renault R5 Turbo 3E concept, which plays on the likely nostalgia of old-timers for the company’s rally successes of more than forty years ago, will go on sale by 2027 with a not very humane price tag.

Image source: Renault

At least, as Wired notes, the French automaker promises to offer customers only 1,980 copies of the “hot” hatchback, whose powertrain will offer an unusual combination of rear-wheel drive with two traction electric motors with a total output of 500 hp. The small car with an elongated hood will be able to pick up speed of 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds, and the maximum speed will reach 270 km/h.

Fans of fast driving will also find attributes such as a carbon fiber monocoque frame, a vertical handbrake lever, anatomical front-row seats with six-point seat belts, and wheels on 20-inch disks. In pursuit of time, owners of such cars will not stand idle for long at charging stations, since the 800-volt architecture will allow the charge to be replenished from 15 to 80% in 15 minutes when connected to a 350 kW DC charging station.

Since the circulation of 1980 units is not large, and the starting price of $ 168,000 is humane, buyers of the Renault R5 Turbo 3E will be allowed to choose individual design elements in a fairly wide range, including body color options. Pre-orders will be accepted in a couple of weeks, but serial cars will not begin to arrive to customers until 2027. Considering how rapidly the electric car market is developing, this is an eternity that can radically change the intentions of the automaker. By the way, due to the options, the cost of such a hatchback can be raised to $ 260,000. Certainly, Renault with such positioning forgets about the existence of both Chinese competitors and more famous manufacturers of powerful cars with internal combustion engines.