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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. 

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.