Renault 5 Turbo: Mid-Engine Madness and the Birth of the Extreme Hot Hatch

The Renault 5 Turbo took a humble supermini silhouette and filled it with rally-bred violence: a turbocharged engine behind the seats, rear-wheel drive, swollen arches, and an attitude far beyond anything the phrase “hot hatch” had implied before.

1980Production began at Dieppe
158 hpRoad-car output from the 1.4-litre turbo engine
970 kgApproximate curb weight in early road trim
~5,000Total Turbo 1 and Turbo 2 production combined