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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. 

Coaching from the bench: Casting plastic knobs and rubber parts

16 July, 2026

Casting rubber items is simple if you have a good original to work with. The item doesn’t have to be perfect. You can use plasticine to smooth out cracks, and you can even make whole prototypes out of low-fire modelling clay available from craft stores if you need to. Prototypes can also be made of wood or metal.
You will need mould dams to contain the liquid urethane moulding solution until it cures. You can build boxes out of strips of wood, but I have found that small plastic boxes and bowls such as those you would use for leftovers in your fridge work well if you spray them with a mould release agent.
Temperature is important to the chemical processes involved, so work in an area that can be maintained at around 20 degrees. You will also need adequate ventilation because the fumes can be dangerous to breathe. And you will want to wear latex gloves to protect your hands.

Fraser Cars – low flying into the fourth decade

10 July, 2026

With almost three and a half decades under its belt, Fraser Cars is one of New Zealand’s longest-surviving car manufacturers. The company first opened its doors for business in 1988, during the boom time for kit manufacturers. During the ’80s, around 40 different companies were building kits and turnkey cars for this niche market. Of those, only Fraser and Almac Cars (established 1981) are still in business today.
Most of the new kit car companies were killed off in the cradle by the threat of new legislation that never eventuated and definitively by the sudden availability of high-performance Japanese cars when the floodgates to second-hand imports were opened. The now long-retired founder of the company, Neil Fraser, first came across Lotus Seven replicas while racing Lotus Cortinas in the early ’80s. He regularly found himself racing against a little Caterham, a Lotus Seven–styled car built in England. He was very impressed by its simplicity and handling. In 1986 Fraser built his own Lotus Seven–type car, using the knowledge he had gained from several close looks at the Caterham.