Renault 5 Turbo 3E Review 2025

Pore over automotive press releases that reference models from a manufacturer’s back catalogue and you’ll soon spot that few words are as overused — often with insufficient justification — as ‘icon’. When an historic model truly is revered, there’s an outpouring of interest — plus a healthy dose of scepticism — when a new interpretation of it is announced, especially if the latest take is electric. Ladies and gentlemen, behold such a model — the Renault 5 Turbo 3E.

Five years ago a change of senior management at Renault brought about an immediate rethink of the French brand’s future products. Electric cars would remain central to its mission but using models from its past to inject an element that was hitherto missing — desirability. First to arrive was the Renault 5 E-Tech together with its hot hatch alter ego, the Alpine A290, with the more practical Renault 4 E-Tech arriving later in 2025.

So, what’s the Renault 5 Turbo 3E all about? Let’s start with what it isn’t as that asserts its place within the range.

Alpine is Renault’s performance car marque, so it makes sense that the quickest versions of the front-wheel drive, five-door 5 E-Tech small hatchback carries a different name to benefit from marketing associations with the brand’s involvement in Formula 1 and Le Mans-type endurance racing.

Alpine’s existence isn’t mutually exclusive from Renault’s desire for a halo model with its rhombus logo front and centre, of course. Its own modern history has witnessed occasional forays into a special kind of sports car territory. Take the essential styling of its contemporary three-door small hatch, ditch the back seats and site a high performance petrol motor driving the rear wheels there instead, while remembering to inflate the wings to accommodate massive wheels and air vents for the engine.

Most recently, we’ve seen this formula manifest as the Renaultsport Clio V6 Phases 1 and 2, but the OG was the Renault 5 Turbo and its follow-up, the Renault 5 Turbo 2. Those cars, unsurprisingly, are what this new Renault 5 Turbo 3E pays homage to, albeit not slavishly so.

Nods to the original 5 Turbo and Turbo 2 include the trio of horizontal slots cut into the chunkier front bumper, cooling vents on the trailing edges of the rear wings next to the angled tail lights and a fresh take on the twin air ducts just ahead of the back wheels.

Although it looks like a far more muscular version of the 5 E-Tech, very few of the Turbo 3E’s components, inside or out, are interchangeable. Also note that this short yet wide mini-supercar, to quote Renault, has unique underpinnings clothed with three-door carbon bodywork to amplify its sporty credentials.

There’s a stripped-down race car sense to the interior, with a pair of sculpted seats to hold you and your passenger firmly in place. The dashboard’s shape mimics that of the 5 E-Tech although the on-screen graphics are tailored to the Turbo 3E.

Labelling an electric car as ‘Turbo’ when it’s nothing of the sort doesn’t seem to have caused the Porsche Taycan any issues beyond the initial scoffing, so there’s no reason to assume it’ll be problematic here. Rather than a single electric motor behind the front seats, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E has two — one located in each rear wheel.

Full homologation is some way off, but Renault’s provisional figures indicate that the 5 Turbo 3E will have 540PS for a 167mph top speed, while its sub-1450kg heft will allow it to dart from nothing to 62mph in just 3.5 seconds.

Electrical energy is stored in a 70kWh battery which should provide a WLTP Combined cycle driving range in excess of 248 miles — assuming you can resist the urge not to maximise its performance at every opportunity. A 350kW on-board DC charger will allow it to zap from 15%-80% charge in just 15 minutes when hooked-up to a sufficiently powerful ultra-rapid connection.

Renault is limiting production of the 5 Turbo 3E to just 1980 units which, combined with its specific underpinnings and carbon-intensive construction, ensures a high price. The first 500 signatories can ensure that they benefit from an introductory price of £135,000, before plundering the options list.

That means the 5 Turbo 3E is significantly more expensive than the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and closer to the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore and Porsche Taycan GT Turbo with Wiessach Package, the latter of which is also a two-seater.

Those looking to be one of those 500 preferential customers can sign-up from April 2025 before confirming their orders in early 2026.

At that point they can then decide whether to have their 5 Turbo 3E in one of the historic colour schemes, such as the one in the photos which is in tribute to the livery of the original Renault 5 Turbo that won the 1982 Tour de Corse rally of go bespoke with bodywork and interior finishes chosen by them. Customer deliveries are expected to get underway in 2027.

Keep this page bookmarked for further news and to read our comprehensive Renault 5 Turbo 3E review in the future.