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The firecracker: refine your Renault 5 Turbo 2 knowledge

12 June, 2016

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“After watching an excellent video by Petrolicious, we thought it appropriate to brush up on our Renault 5 Turbo 2 trivia”

There are some videos out there on the internet that just leave you wanting more. After watching the video below about Christophe Guerin and his stunning red Renault 5 Turbo 2, we thought it appropriate to brush up on our Renault 5 Turbo 2 trivia. There’s no denying that they’re a staunch-looking little hatchback, with those bulbous wide rear arches, grills, and rear tyres. But, with these little terrors, it’s what lies beneath that gets us most excited. 

It was 1980 when Renault released to the world, at the Brussels Motor Show, their first 5 Turbo model. It came at a time when rally was the ultimate, and Lancia and Peugeot were building similarly equipped machines, built for the dirt and tarmac courses throughout Europe. It was in fact Renault’s Vice President of Production, Jean Terramorsi, who first sent the request through to Marc Deschamps to build a mid-engined sports version of the Renault 5 Alpine supermini. 

With some serious modification, Renault designers and engineers were able to graft in an engine, mid-mounted into a Renault Hatch shell. Instead of running the somewhat underpowered engine that propelled the Renault 5 Alpine supermini, a Cléon-Fonte 1397cc turbocharged engine was used. In the initial Renault 5 Turbo, power sat comfortably at 118kW (158hp) at the flywheel. Power remained the same in the Turbo 2 model, however, for motorsport use, power rose considerably to 200hp, then 300hp, finally finishing at 375hp, although with an increased capacity of 1527cc.

In 1987, with the introduction of Formula One–derived water injection into the intake tract, Renault were able to strangle 385hp from the small engine. An impressive number even by today’s standards, and, considering the Renault 5 Turbo only weighs in at 970kg, they’re apparently quite the rocket! How fast were they really, though? Well, 0–100kph only takes 6.9 seconds, and top speed was found to be 200kph. 

Unfortunately, the Renault 5 Turbo didn’t see too much success with two-wheel drive when in competition, with the only notable win being in 1981, when Jean Ragnotti won the Monte Carlo Rally. Soon after this, the much quicker all-wheel drives soon proved their dominance, putting an end to such rear-wheel drive beauties. 

More to the point

6 March, 2026

This Daimler SP252 is so rare, few people know it exists. It’s one of a kind. It’s the only surviving, in fact the only SP252 ever completed; the would-be successor to the SP250 Daimler Dart. It is also the last sports car to have been designed by Jaguar’s legendary founder, Sir William Lyons.
Perhaps one of the original Dart’s biggest problems was it’s somewhat-divisive looks. It certainly went well enough to win fans, although Sir William wasn’t among them. It crushed the opposition in the Bathurst six-hour race, finishing five laps ahead of anyone else, and it was snapped up by police forces in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, as it was the fastest thing on the road.
So you’d think a stunning new body with the magic Lyons touch would have been a surefire success. Why this car never made it into production is still something of a mystery, as the official explanations barely stack up.

Polishing to perfection

26 February, 2026

The secret to a show-stopping finish is colour sanding, no matter which paint system you use. Even a good painter, no matter how experienced or talented — like my mate Bruce Haye, CEO at Ace Panel and Paint in Whitianga — can’t shoot to a perfect mirror finish. To get that level of perfection, you need to colour sand.
It used to be called ‘rubbing out’ or ‘cutting’, and it was done with pastes that came in cans. They worked — sort of — but the compounds really just rounded off imperfections instead of eliminating them, and they removed a lot of paint in the process. But now your new finish can be made flawless, thanks to microfine sandpapers that come in 1000, 1500, 2000, and even 2500 grit ranges, and Farecla G3 polish — available from automotive paint suppliers.