Javi Martin
El Renault 5 Turbo, the “Fat Ass”, caused a huge impact in an industry that, at that time, was not used to creations like that. Sports cars were the stuff of high-end manufacturers, what is now called “premium”, while utility cars, like the Renault 5, were the stuff of the rest of the more “mundane” brands. But Sometimes, general manufacturers take their feet out of the woods and start with cars like the Renault 5 Turbo, whose spectacularity leaves no one indifferent. Can you imagine what it must have been like to see him in the late 70s, when he first performed? Renault released a similar car again decades later, the CLIO V6, but the impact was surely not the same.
When the Renault 5 was developed, there was no thought of competing, or at least, there was no thought of going as far as we did. The Renault 5 was a car, let's say, "cool", fashionable, innovative in certain solutions and, above all, very youthful, but it was not a car designed for racing. It is true that the Renault 5 Alpine and Alpine Turbo -the R5 Copa and Turbo Cup in Spain– were presented as really fast options, but the R5 Turbo was something else, although, curiously, it was a real meccano. The mythical “Fat ass” It was a car that was made with parts whose origins were very diverse.: the front axle of the Renault 5 Alpine -including the steering-, the rear suspension of the Alpine A310 Gr.4, the five-speed gearbox from the Renault 30 TX… and the engine from the Renault 5 Alpine.
The creation of the R5 Turbo was the work of two people, two enthusiasts who thought of a version for competition that was much more radical than the Alpine versions. It was known as project 822 and its development involved Renault Sport, Heuliez y Bertone. However, nothing suggested the legend they were about to create, although in reality, on a technical or technological level, the “Fat Ass” was never an innovative automobile. Without going any further, it did not resort to all-wheel drive, an element that was already almost mandatory in rallies. Yes it deserves the honor of being one of the first Renaults to use a turbocharged engine, technology that the French firm turned into its spearhead, both in competition and in street cars.
WHY NOT CREATE A VERY RADICAL VERSION FOR COMPETITION?
The Renault 5 was presented in 1972 and it was quite an event. Its conception, the target audience, the general configuration of the car, the options, the color palette... the approach was innovative, with its plastic bumpers - made of polyester -, the door handles hidden in the three-door body and its staging, with really inventive and fun marketing, they made the French utility vehicle an example to follow. And the starting point was the Renault 4!
It was obvious that it had been designed a car totally focused on a group of young users and also to the women's sector, another innovation that attracted a lot of attention at the time. Today it may seem like an anachronism, even disrespectful, but in the 70s no one thought about women when designing cars. Nowadays, all types of profiles and even different tastes in different regions of the globe are taken into account. However, When the car was shown for the first time, a sports version signed by Alpine was already planned., variants that came out of FASA, in Valladolid, like Renault 5 Copa -with slight differences, by the way-.
One day, while two people were completing a trip between Dieppe and Billancourt aboard a Renault 16, they came to the conclusion that it would be a very good idea to create a “show car” to enhance the image of the R5 range. Those two people were Jean Terramorsi and Henry Lherm, who, during that trip, discussed a very special Renault 5, a variant that could shine in competition and that, of course, could be equipped with a turbo engine. Back then, Renault was the champion of turbo engines in Europe, any opportunity was good to squeeze out the technology and the associated image, of course.
They had to convince those responsible for the management of Renault, for which they presented some sketches and ideas, which prefigured a Renault 5 with the engine placed in a central position and a very spectacular body, with a very wide rear part, riddled with intake of air. crazy and almost a monster compared to the cute and small Renault 5 that circulated through the streets of half the world. In 1976 Jear Terramorsi suddenly died, but the project continued, although it came under the control of Renault Sport.
PROJECT 822: THE PREGNANCY OF THE RENAULT 5 TURBO
The development of the Renault 5 Turbo was called, internally, project 822 and had to overcome some setbacks. For example, the budget was limited and the team assigned to the project was very small, although Gérard Larousse and Bernard Dudot, two big names in the world of film, were put in charge. F1. At least 400 units had to be manufactured in a year to be able to comply with the approval for Group 4 and in addition, It was necessary to prevent the weight from exceeding 950 kilos in the production version, since in this way the minimum in the category for two-liter engines, which was 850 kilos, could easily be reached.
It started with the idea of creating a competition version and then adapting it for use on public roads, but with the aim of saving costs and convincing managers, the course was changed towards a street car that, at a reduced cost, could be converted into a racing beast. Furthermore, Larousse, who was still on the development team, planned that the car, put on the road, would not cost more than 100.00 French francs at the time.
The first sketches were the work of Marc Deschamps, under the direction of Robert Opron, although it was later Marcello gandini, then at Bertone, who finished the design work. In fact, Bertone was the one who manufactured the first prototype, while Heuliez He was working on a second prototype in his facilities. Renault, at that time, did not have the capacity for small series production and had to subcontract some production phases. The final work was outlined and completed by designer Yves Legal.
The 1978 Paris Motor Show was the first event where the project was presented. It was a red unit, with wheels that would not make it to production, a roll cage in the cabin and no engine. The brand wanted to know people's reaction when they saw it and Her image, quite spectacular with her super-wide hips and the word “Turbo” on the doors, was a success.. A publicity stunt that served to achieve the objectives, which were clearly to benefit the image of the brand and, of course, the little Renault 5. We had to wait until the Brussels show, held in January 1980, to see the model. definitive, the one that would go into production, the result of laborious design work carried out by a new subsidiary created by Renault, the Exploratory Studies and Research Office, based in Dieppe.
AN UNCONVENTIONAL PRODUCTION
Production of the Renault 5 Turbo began on May 20, 1980. and the first 200 units quickly left the assembly line to comply with the approvals. The car was exactly the same as the one seen in Brussels that same year, presented to the public along with Renault 5 Alpine Turbo and Renault 18 Turbo, a movement that sought to enhance the brand's image in terms of high-performance technology and connection between production cars and competition cars.
The Renault 5 Turbo was not manufactured like any other version of the range. The bare bodies left the Renault facilities in Flins, and were transported by truck to the Renault facilities. Heuliez, in Cerizay. There the rear wheel arches were modified, the bodywork was lengthened by five centimeters and the firewall that separated the passenger compartment from the engine compartment was added. Heuliez was also responsible for replacing the roof, doors and tailgate with new elements made of aluminum. After this, the cars returned to Flins to be finished and then sent to the Alpine factory in Dieppe, where The construction process was completed by installing the mechanical elements on the same line as the Alpine A310. The polyester fins and hood and interior moldings were also installed.
Each car was subjected to road tests in the Normandy countryside and then to different quality controls., and then be sent to the relevant distributors to be delivered to their owners, who would have to pay 115.000 French francs, a price well above the objective set by the late Terramorsi. To give us an idea, a Citroen CX Prestige It cost 91.900 francs, an Alpine A310 cost 105.000 francs and a Porsche 924 Turbo cost 131.500 francs. The Renault 5 “Culo Gordo” was a very expensive car, with a very particular cabin, with a specific dashboard, a steering wheel with perpendicular spokes that were designed by Bertone.
TURNING WITH THE ENGINE
Very spectacular, without a doubt, and for those years, the benefits were even. Located behind the seats, a turbocharged engine that could have been very different. Of first, It was thought to use the 1.600 cubic centimeter engine from the Alpine A110 or the Renault 12 Gordini, since different configurations had already been tested and it was quite easy to “inflate” the block a little more to 1.800 cubic centimeters and obtain the 200 HP that was the goal. The 2.0 block manufactured by Française de Mécanique for Peugeot and Renault was also considered, a very modern engine and, it was said, very well designed, but it showed some drawbacks that caused it to be rejected. The other engine that was in mind was the V6 PRV, but it was one of the first to be discarded due to how unsatisfactory it was..
Finally, The four-cylinder 1.400 cubic centimeter type 840-25 of the Renault 5 Alpine was chosen.. The team of François Castaing, Philippe Chasseult, Serge Massé and Bernard Dudot reviewed the choice of engine, which allowed great savings in time and also costs, and could be easily boosted to reach 150 or 160 HP. To make matters worse, using a small engine helped keep the weight under control. The first tests showed that there were things to watch out for, so The cylinder head was reinforced, a stronger gasket was fitted, new valves with brass guides, new crankpins, a revised crankshaft, a more powerful oil pump…a series of changes that were completed with the installation of a Bosch K-Jetronic injection system, a transistorized ignition, as well as a Garret T3 turbo with air/air intercooler.
Power was sent to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox, which was borrowed from the Renault 30 TX, but with closer fifth gear. It was necessary to review the forwarding and the travel of the selector to reduce play and make it a little faster.
RENAULT 5 TURBO AND TURBO 2, A MYTH WITH TWO VERSIONS
Finally, when it reached production, the Renault 5 Turbo had an engine measuring 1.397 cubic centimeters - 76 by 77 millimeters for diameter and stroke, respectively - which, thanks to a turbo, produced 160 HP at 6.000 revolutions and 205 Nm of torque at 3.250 revolutions. Power that was applied to the asphalt through 220/55 VR 365 wheels - the front ones were 190/55 HR 340 - to achieve, thanks to its 970 kilos and its weight-power ratio of six kilos per horse, a maximum speed of 210 km/h, 0 to 100 km/h in 6,9 seconds, while completing the 400 meters with a stopped start in 15 seconds and the kilometer, also with a stopped start, in 27,8 seconds. Fuel consumption was 10 liters per 100 kilometers on average.
The tests of the time highlighted things such as the behavior of the front axle, made up of overlapping triangles and more rigid hub carriers, as well as oversized brakes. There was no shortage of criticism for the cabin and its peculiar color combination, it was criticized that the instrumentation dials did not look good and to make matters worse, the electric windows or tinted windows were optional – issues of homologation weight” said those responsible.
José Rosinski, a tester in Autopista magazine back in 1980, said in number 1.107 of said publication that The Renault 5 Turbo was one of those cars that are never forgotten for its formidable effectiveness and that its limits were far, far away on the open road
In 1983 the Renault 5 Turbo 2 appeared, which was basically the same model but, on the one hand, it had a more conventional cabin taken from the Renault 5 Alpine, and on the other hand, The bodywork stopped using polyester and aluminum elements and replaced them with others made of steel., which allowed costs to be reduced. The rest; suspensions, engine, transmission... remained intact.
Of the Renault 5 Turbo, 804 units were manufactured in 1980, another 571 copies in 1981 and 445 more in 1982. In 1983, as already mentioned, the Renault 5 Turbo 2 arrived, of which 24 cars were manufactured in 1982, 1.345 units in 1983, 1.497 in 1984, 182 cars in 1985 and a final 143 units in 1986. That is, a total of 1.820 examples of the Renault 5 Turbo phase 1, and 3.191 units of the Renault 5 Turbo phase 2. In total, 5.011 units.
THE RENAULT 5 TURBO IN COMPETITION
As one would expect, the Renault 5 Turbo ended up in competition, and it ended up being a real beast in its latest iteration, the Maxi Turbo. However, the R5 Turbo had different competition versions, some of them very forgotten even though, for example, Walter Röhl managed to drive one. Specifically, Walter Röhrl He drove a Renault 5 Turbo Euro Cup, a version for a single-brand cup that was held between 1981 and 1984 on European circuits with 12 events, some of them as opening acts for Formula 1: Hockenheim, Zandvoort, Monaco, Le Castellet, Zolder, Monza... In addition, it featured drivers from renown alongside Röhrl, such as Alain Prost or Jean Ragnotti.
Preparation for running was very limited, just a cage, fire extinguishers, more powerful brakes and a system to adjust the boost pressure to equalize the performance of all cars. Curiously, he did not win any of the "big" drivers entered. In 1981 the German Wolfang Schültz was champion, while Ragnotti was second. A year later, Gouhier won. In 1983 the Turbo 2 and the champion was Jan Lammers -who was also a Formula 1 driver and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Jaguar later, in 1988, as well as the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1990-. The last season, in 1984, the best in terms of competitiveness and excitement, was also won by Lammers.
Before the Euro Cup took to the track, Alpine launched a prototype in Group 5, which is known as Renault 5 Turbo Cévennes. A version that had the participation in its development of François Bernard and Bernard Tetu, who also participated in the Formula 1 program. It was based on the production car, but the regulations left room to modify the body and fit wider wheels. This same car, the R5 Turbo Cévennes was able to race in Group 4 when the brand completed production of the first 400 examples, which approved the car for the category. The debut in Group 4 took place at the Monte Carlo Rally, at the beginning of 1981, where Ragnotti achieved first position. He also won the 1982 Tour de Corse.
CORSE AND MAXI TURBO TOUR
For 1983, Group 4 was replaced by Group B and Renault Sport, with Patrick Landon at the helm, put the Renault 5 Turbo Tour de Corse into contention., still based on the Renault Turbo 1 phase 1. The regulations allowed the evolution of an existing model under the condition of manufacturing at least 20 units for homologation. The name Tour de Corse was in honor of the 1982 victory and received many modifications. For example, the front axle was 70 millimeters wider, a cage made of aluminum was mounted and a specific body kit was installed, with a front bumper with circular fog lights.
The engine, for its part, had a new Chausson air/water intercooler, which later became SECAM, the turbo had a new wastegate, a dry sump was used and, among other things, a probe taken from the Porsche 928. The power was 240 HP for the racing/customer cars sold at the beginning of the 1983 season, but the different evolutions led them to exceed 300 HP.. The units were assigned to important clients, 80% of them of French origin -DIAC, Renault Chartres, Renault Galtier, Mathon, Bouscary, Snobekc, Manzagol, Demeyer... -, while Renault itself was left with three units for Ragnotti and The rest were distributed throughout Switzerland, Portugal, Greece and Spain.
The most famous of all, without a doubt, is the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo, the most beastly version and the last competition variant that was developed. The Maxi Turbo was developed with the intention of competing with guarantees in Group B of Rallyes and that led it to change many things. The engine, for example, became 1.586 cubic centimeters, and added a Bosch injection system and a new Garret T4/T3 turbo -at 2,85 bars of pressure-. With that, The power shot up to 350 hp to move only 905 kilos - the weight-power ratio was 2,58 kg/hp..
He debuted in competition in 1985, too late to shine. That same year he won the Corsica Rally, but The cancellation of Group B in 1986 left the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo unable to demonstrate how far it could go.. However, as happened with other cars in Group B, it had a lot of prominence in the World Rally Cross, where, as a curious fact, it participated with an all-wheel drive system.
However, it is worth emphasizing that All kinds of replicas of the competition versions have been made, some very successful and others not so much, but they do not have, as might be expected, the same cachet as the originals. Furthermore, logically, they do not have the same value either.
BONUS TRACK: THE RENAULT 5 INDY PACE CAR AND THE 5 TURBO PRODUCTION
The history of the Renault 5 Turbo is enough to write a book about, both for what it meant for the brand and for fans or the industry in general. It is a car that broke many molds, as many as the model on which it was based, but sometimes, we forget some versions that are as spectacular as the Maxi Turbo.
Thus, for example, we must mention the Renault 5 Turbo Production, a version developed for circuits based on regulations that allowed a lot of technical freedom. The cars had to be based, as usual, on a production version and Patrick Landon led the team to create what was the most powerful Renault 5 Turbo of all: 370 HP, extracted from a block with 1.419 cubic centimeters and in charge of moving 1.060 kilos. He achieved some success in the hands of Jean-Louis Bousquet and with Ragnotti. He also won the Superproduction Championship with Erik Comas - the R5 Turbo Production achieved six victories. Only a total of six examples were manufactured.
However, the most spectacular, and least of all the Renault 5 Turbo, was the version that made the Pace Car at Indy – we know the Pace Car in Europe as a Safety Car. Was the Renault 5 Turbo PPG Pace Car and was present in the Indy Championship in 1982. PPG -Pittsburg Plate Glass-, a manufacturer of automotive paints and glass, was the main sponsor of the Indy Car and to offer spectacle and promote its brand, each year it asked brands to create a car for safety car duties. .
In 1982 he contacted AMC, which at that time was owned by Renault, and they proposed a special version of the Renault 5 Turbo 2, a car that only "four" fans knew about in the United States. The project is put in the hands of Dick Teague, vice president of design at AMC and was subcontracted to an external specialist for the creation of the car: Synthetex. The characteristics were very particular: single-block bodywork, windows flush with the bodywork, vertically opening doors. –the opening system was borrowed from a De Lorean–, BBS wheels and Goodyear tires. The result is, to say the least, striking, but the resemblance to the Renault 5 Turbo is quite limited because Teague wanted to modernize the general design of the car by eliminating folds and volumes that overloaded the car.
The engine, however, was the same 1.4 turbo with 160 HP as the original model.. They wanted to have mounted the propeller of the Le Car Turbo IMSA GTU, which produced 260 HP, but in the end the change was not made. At the end of 1982 the car was dismantled and stored in a warehouse and It is currently in Spain, in the collection of Teo Martín.
THE RENAULT 5 TURBO IN SPAIN
In our country, The R5 Turbo competed in the Spanish Rally Championship since 1981 framed in the official FASA team, which returned to the championship. Eugenio “Genito” Ortiz He was in charge of his debut in the 1981 Príncipe de Asturias Rally, which ended with victory for the popular Cantabrian driver. At the end of the year, he would also win the Catalonia Rally. With such a letter of introduction, it was not surprising that in 1982 Genito fought for the title against Antonio Zanini's Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, having to settle for runner-up. despite achieving six wins to the champion's five. Renault introduced the Turbo 2 evolution which was not enough to beat Zanini.
In 1983, Genito Ortiz and the Renault 5 Turbo simply swept away the competition, winning no less than nine victories in the thirteen rallies he competed in. FASA introduced and ran the Tour De Corse, already approved as Group B, although Ortiz alternated this version with the Turbo 2 Group 4. Changes in the regulations caused the R5 to lose competitiveness in 1984, the year in which Genito Ortiz could only achieve one victory in the Villa de Llanes Rally.
Looking ahead to 1985, the team FASA Renault opted for the then young promise Carlos Sainz, who reached the runner-up position, achieving three victories and five podiums. At Villa de Llanes, he debuted Renault 5 maxi turbo, the most powerful evolution of the model, which would be the one used in the 1986 championship. This again ended with a second place, despite the fact that Sainz added six victories to the four of the champion Salvador Serviá. The victory in the Valeo Rally, the last of the year, was the finishing touch to the participation of our protagonist in the Spanish sections.
