Renault 5 Turbo

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Renault
Renault 5 Turbo (1980–1982)
Renault 5 Turbo (1980–1982)
5 turbo / 5 turbo 2
Production period: 1980-1985
Class : Sports car
Body versions : limousine
Engines: Otto engine :
1.4 liters (118 kW)
Length: 3660 mm
Width: 1750 mm
Height: 1320 mm
Wheelbase : 2430 mm
Empty weight : 980 kg
successor Renault Clio Sport V6 24V
Renault 5 Turbo 2 (1983-1985)

The Renault 5 Turbo was a sports car from Renault . It was based on the R5 and was introduced in March 1980. This model series was built in the Renault-Alpine plant in Dieppe north of Le Havre and not in the plant in Flins , north-west of Paris , where the standard Renault 5 series was produced.

The Renault 5 Turbo is a special form of this series and should not be confused with other turbocharged versions of the R5 (Renault 5 Alpine Turbo, Renault 5 GT Turbo).

history

In 1977, on the initiative of Jean Terramorsi, deputy director of the product department and responsible for small series at the Dieppe plant, the Renault internal project 822 Renault 5 Turbo was planned and implemented from 1980 with the approval of the Renault Board of Directors. Renault Sport, based in Dieppe, was successfully supported by Renault Alpine and the Renault parent company for production and private vehicle sales as well as vehicle use in motorsport.

Renault built a total of 4,870 vehicles of the mid-engine version R5 under the direction of their sports department, of which 1,690 vehicles were of the R5 Turbo type and 3,180 vehicles were named R5 Turbo 2.

The entire Renault 5 Turbo project was terminated in 1986, the reason being the termination of rally motorsport in Group B (homologation) due to a decision by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the world's top motorsport organization.

Vehicle specifications

The vehicle was equipped with a 4-cylinder mid-engine and a Garrett - turbocharger equipped type T3 (charging air cooler). The engine was installed lengthways in front of the rear axle and drove the rear wheels via a 5-speed gearbox plus reverse gear. With a displacement of 1397 cm³, it developed 118 kW (160 hp). The maximum torque of 210 Nm was measured at 3250 min -1 , reaches the turbocharger built a boost pressure of 0.85 bar. However, for this performance constellation the compression had to be reduced from 8.6: 1 to 7: 1. Due to the mid-engine, the Renault 5 Turbo was a two-seater vehicle in contrast to the other models in the R5 series with a front engine , which were built in both two-door and four-door versions. The cast iron engine has a light metal cylinder head, the mixture is supplied by a K-Jetronic injection system from Bosch. Renault used the five-speed transmission from the 30 TX model with the maintenance requirement that, like the engine oil, the transmission oil must be changed as standard every 7,500 km of driving. The rear axle ratio was 3,889: 1. The rear axle has double wishbones with anti-roll bar and coil springs, the front axle also has double wishbones, but with torsion springs, and was basically adopted from the R5 Alpine model with a few changes. The dual-circuit brake system has a six-inch vacuum brake booster, a brake force limiter for the rear axle and internally ventilated brake discs on all four wheels. The tire sizes are 190/55 VR 340 at the front and 220/55 VR 365 at the rear (street version, Michelin TRX system ). The body of the Renault 5 Turbo differed from that of the civilian R5 mainly by greatly widened fender were being integrated into the rear fender air inlets and outlets for water and oil cooling. As a result, the body width was 1750 mm compared to 1530 mm for the basic model. This optical peculiarity also gave it the name Backenturbo . The tailgate and the roof are made of aluminum. In addition to a speedometer and rev counter, the R5 Turbo had eight additional instruments. The spare wheel is under the front hood. The empty weight was given as 980 kg, with a max. 280 kg payload. The weight distribution is said to have been 390 kg at the front and 590 kg at the rear.

At the time, the performance of the Renault 5 Turbo was at the level of classic sports cars. The acceleration time from 0 to 100 km / h was 6.9 seconds and was therefore only 0.1 seconds longer than the Porsche 911 SC at the time . The top speed, however, was lower due to the poor aerodynamics due to the body shape and the vehicle concept . At 205 km / h, the Renault 5 Turbo clearly exceeded the fastest model in the compact class at the time, the VW Golf GTI (81 kW / 110 PS, 182 km / h), but a Porsche 924 with only 92 kW / 125 PS reached this top speed also.

The purchase price of DM 44,600 at the beginning was at the level of the entry-level model of the Mercedes S-Class at the time . The basic model of the R5, however, was already available for less than DM 10,000.

The Renault 5 Turbo was produced from mid-1980 to the end of 1982, after which it was followed by the Renault 5 Turbo 2 , which was built until the end of 1985.

Motorsport

Rally version of the Renault 5 Turbo
Version of the R5 Turbo 2 with road traffic approval (2018)
Rear view of the R5 Turbo 2 nicknamed cheek turbo (2018)
Jean Ragnotti in the Maxi 5 Turbo at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed

As a rally car of the Renault 5 Turbo was in 1981, according to FIA -Reglement Group 4 for participation in the World Rally Championship homologated, from 1,982 to 1,986 in the Group B . The vehicle won three world championship races: Monte Carlo Rally in 1981, Tour de Corse 1982 and Tour de Corse 1985. The driver was Jean Ragnotti in all three cases - in the first two victories with co-driver Jean-Marc Andrié, in 1985 with co-driver Pierre Thimonier. What is remarkable about the success of the Renault 5 Turbo as the overall winner in World Championship races is the fact that the vehicle with a displacement of only 1397 cm³ and a turbo factor of 1.4 was classified in the class up to 2000 cm³ and therefore not the highest-capacity advertised class belonged to.

The concept of building a mid-engined rally car on a small car or a compact class vehicle proved to be groundbreaking for this sport in the 1980s. Peugeot , Lancia and Austin Rover followed this path as well. In contrast to their cars - as well as the front-engined emergency vehicles from Audi - the Renault 5 Turbo lacked the all-wheel drive, the decisive technical feature that characterized the most successful vehicles of the Group B era.

Between 1981 and 1984 the Renault 5 Turbo or Renault 5 Turbo 2 formed the competition vehicle for a brand cup called Elf Renault 5 Turbo European Cup on the racetrack . As the name suggests, the series was advertised across Europe, with some of the races taking place in the framework of the European Formula 1 Grand Prix of those years. At the same time, the national championships of the R5 Cup, which was already steeped in tradition at the time, continued to be held with front-wheel drive Renault 5 Alpine Turbo vehicles. The Elf Renault 5 Turbo European Cup attracted a lot of attention, among other things through targeted guest starts by well-known drivers such as Jan Lammers or Walter Röhrl . As the reigning world rally champion, the latter completed the two premier races of the cup in 1981.

Towards the end of 1984, 200 R5 Turbo 2s were built as the so-called Maxi 5 Turbo Evolution version for approval in FIA Group B with the internal designation 8221. The Maxi 5 Turbo was presented at the Geneva Motor Show . The Renault Sport department, founded in 1976 and based in the Dieppe plant, later in Les Ulis , achieved Group B homologation, which allowed the use of wider tires. The basic engine of this small product series was the so-called C7K-700 engine with initially 1,430 cm³, which in the basic version of the only slightly "smaller" engine with a displacement of 1397 cm³ showed hardly any notable differences in the values ​​of power and torque. However, the competition versions of the vehicles then received 8-valve engines with 1590 cm³ displacement and initially 184 kW / 250 hp. Later, the engine concept was changed again for the operations in 1985 and the engine output was increased to 300 kW / 408 PS, which u. a. contributed to victories in the Monte Carlo Rally and the Tour de Corse .

Trivia

Web links

Commons : Renault 5 Turbo  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ M. Bartels: Motorsport vehicle Renault R5 Turbo . In: ATZ Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift . No. 7-8 1981 . Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart, p. 359 .
  2. ^ Walter Röhrl, Reinhard Klein, Wilfried Müller: Aufschrift . Memories of a world champion. 1st edition. Reinhard Klein, Cologne 2002, ISBN 978-3-927458-04-8 , pp. 251 .