Renault 5 Features, Photos and Videos

The Renault 5 is a four passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by Renault over two generations 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also called Super 5 or Supercinq). The R5 was marketed in the US as Le Car, from 1976 to 1983. The R5 spawned the Renault 7, a four door sedan variant manufactured from 1974 to 1984 in Spain by Renault's subsidiary FASA-Renault and exported in limited markets.

The Renault 5 became the best-selling car in France from 1972-1986, with a total production exceeding 5.5 m over a 14-year period, and making it France’s most popular car.

Images and details of the Renault 5 were published on 10 December 1971, the car's formal launch following on 28 January 1972.

The Renault 5 was styled by Michel Boué, who designed the car in his spare time, outside of his normal duties. When Renault executives learned of Boué's work, they were so impressed by his concept they immediately authorized a formal development programme. The R5 featured a steeply sloping rear hatchback and front dashboard. Boué had wanted the tail-lights to go all the way up from the bumper into the C-pillar, in the fashion of the much later Fiat Punto and Volvo 850 estate / wagon, but the lights remained at a more conventional level.

It was launched onto the right-hand drive UK market in the autumn of 1972, where alongside the recently launched Fiat 127 it competed as an imported but more modern alternative to British Leyland's Mini and Chrysler Europe's Hillman Imp; there was still no competitor in this sector of the market from Ford or Vauxhall.

The 5 narrowly missed out on the 1973 European Car of the Year award, which was instead given to the Audi 80.

Boué died of cancer in 1971, just months before the car he designed was launched.

The R5 borrowed mechanicals from the similarly popular Renault 4, using a longitudinally-mounted engine driving the front wheels with torsion bar suspension. OHV engines were borrowed from the Renault 4 and larger Renault 8: there was a choice, at launch, between 782 cc and 956 cc according to price level. A "5TS/5LS" with the 1,289 cc engine from the Renault 12 was added from April 1974. As on the Renault 4, entry level Renault 5s had their engine sizes increased to 845 cc in 1976 and at the top of the range later models had the engine sizes expanded to 1,397 cc.

It was one of the first modern superminis, which capitalised on the new hatchback design, which Renault had patented on its R16, launched in 1965. It was launched a year after the booted version of the Fiat 127, and during the same year that the 127 became available with a hatchback. The R5 was launched three years before the Volkswagen Polo and Vauxhall Chevette, and four years before the Ford Fiesta - new superminis which met the growing demand for this type of car in Western Europe. British Leyland was working on a new modern supermini during the 1970s, but the end product - the Austin Metro - was not launched until 1980.

Although the mechanical components came from earlier models, body construction involved floor sections welded together with the other body panels, resulting in a monocoque structure. The approach had by then become mainstream among many European automakers, but represented an advance on the mechanically similar Renault 4 and Renault 6 both of which used a separate platform. The monocoque structure reduced the car's weight, but required investment in new production processes.

The Renault 5 was targeted at cost conscious customers, and the entry level "L" version came with the same 782 cc power plant as the cheaper Renault 4 and drum brakes on all four wheels. In 1972, it was priced in France at below 10,000 francs. However, for many export markets the entry level version was excluded from the range and front wheel disc brakes were offered on the more powerful 956 cc "Renault 5TL" along with such attractions under the bonnet/hood as an alternator, and in the cabin reclining back rests for the front seats. From outside the "TL" was differentiated from the "L" by a thin chrome strip below the doors.

The early production R5 used a dashboard-mounted gearshift, linked by a rod which ran over the top of the engine to a single bend where the rod turned downwards and linked into the gearbox, which was positioned directly in front of the engine. A floor-mounted lever employing a cable linkage replaced this arrangement in 1973. An automatic version, with the larger 1,289 cc engine, was added in early 1978. At the time, the automatic usually represented just under five percent of overall Renault 5 production. Door handles were formed by a cut-out in the door panel and B-pillar. The R5 was one of the first cars produced with plastic (polyester and glass fibre) bumpers, which came from a specialist Renault factory at Dreux. These covered a larger area of potential contact than conventional car bumpers of the time and survived low speed parking shunts without permanently distorting. This helped the car gain a reputation as an "outstanding city car", and bumpers of this type subsequently became an industry standard.

The R5's engine was set well back in the engine bay, behind the gearbox, allowing the stowage of the spare wheel under the bonnet/hood, an arrangement that freed more space for passengers and luggage within the cabin. The passenger compartment "is remarkably spacious" in comparison to other modern, small European cars. The Renault 5 body's drag coefficient was only 0.37 (with most European cars going up to 0.45).

Other versions of the first generation included the four-door saloon version called the Renault 7 and built by FASA-Renault of Spain, where virtually all examples were sold. A five-door R5 was added to the range in 1979, making it one of the first cars of its size to feature four passenger doors. The three-speed Automatic, which received equipment similar to the R5 GTL but with a 1,289 cc (55 bhp) engine, a vinyl roof, and the TS' front seats, also became available with five-door bodywork. In March 1981, the automatic received a somewhat more powerful 1.4 litre engine, which paradoxically increased both performance and fuel economy at all speeds.

The Renault 5 Alpine was one of the first hot-hatches, launched in 1976 - going on sale two months before the original Volkswagen Golf GTI and two years after the Simca 1100Ti. The right-hand drive version was shown at the British Motor Show in 1978 and was officially on sale from 4 April 1979 in the UK and was sold as the Renault 5 Gordini because Chrysler Europe already had the rights to the name "Alpine" in the UK and it had just been introduced on the Chrysler Alpine (UK version of Simca 1307) at the time. This was still months before the right-hand drive VW Golf GTi which also took three years to be converted by the factory to RHD. Use of the name Gordini was from Amédée Gordini, who was a French tuner with strong links with Renault and previous sporting models such as the Renault 8. This (and the later Alpine Turbo models) were assembled at Alpine's Dieppe plant, beginning in 1975. UK launch price was £4149, nearly a third more than the previous top model the TS at £3187, showing the considerable changes to the car over the 64PS TS which could not reach 100 mph (161 km/h) compared to the 93PS Gordini which could reach 110 mph (177 km/h).

The 1.4 L (1397 cc) OHV engine, mated to a five-speed gearbox, was based on the Renault "Sierra" pushrod engine, but having a crossflow cylinder head with hemispherical combustion chambers and developed 93 PS (68 kW; 92 hp), twice as much as a standard 1.1 L (1108 cc) Renault 5. The larger engine and its various performance parts meant that the spare tire could no longer fit there and was relocated to the boot. The Alpine could be identified by special alloy wheels and front fog lights and was equipped with stiffened suspension, but still retaining the torsion bar at the rear with added anti-roll bars. Renault quoted a top speed of 110 mph (177 km/h) and tested in the July 1979 issue of UK magazine CAR, it achieved a top speed of 110 mph (177 km/h) and 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 9.7 seconds The UK car magazine Motor road test figures quoted top speed of 104.7 mph (168.5 km/h) and 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 9.7 seconds.

The Renault 5 Alpine Turbo was launched in 1982 as an upgraded successor to the naturally aspirated Alpine. In Britain, the car was still called Gordini rather than Alpine. Motor magazine undertook a road test of the Turbo in 1982 and while they appreciated the performance (top speed 179.9 km/h (111.8 mph), 0 to 97 kilometres per hour (0 to 60 mph) in 8.7 seconds), they were critical of its high price as it was £2 more than the larger Ford Escort XR3.

The 1.4 L (1,397 cc) was the same as the Alpine, but with the addition of a single Garrett T3 turbocharger increasing the power output to 110 bhp (82 kW; 112 PS). Sales continued until 1984 when the second generation Renault 5 was launched, and the release of the Renault 5 GT Turbo in 1985.

The Renault 5 Turbo should not be confused with the Alpine Turbo or GT Turbo as it was radically modified by mounting a turbocharged engine behind the driver in what is normally the passenger compartment, creating a mid-engined hot hatch and rally car. It was also driven by the rear wheels rather than the front wheels. The Renault 5 Turbo was made in many guises, eventually culminating with the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo.

The North American Renault 5 debuted in 1976 as the Le Car, as part of American Motors Corporation's partnership with Renault at the time. AMC marketed it through its 1300 dealers where it competed in the United States against such front-wheel-drive subcompacts as the Honda Civic and Volkswagen Rabbit. It was described as a "French Rabbit" that "is low on style, but high on personality and practicality".

Complete article available at this page.