- With Alpine’s input, the new R5 Turbo 540 hp packs
- It will be one of the first production cars with in-wheel engines
- Renault’s Halo Model is limited to only 1,980 units
We call it: The price of the wildest electric vehicle in 2025 has already been scooped up by Renault’s 5 Turbo 3e-a Allelectric Tribute to a 1980s icon that tore up racing tracks and rally circuits while adorning the walls of Hot Hatch and car-tank fanatics around the world.
But despite having created a serious amount of humming when it was only teased at the end of last year, the full extent of its performance, innovation and complete jaw rescue appearance has been kept under packaging so far.
We now know that it will have an 800V electric architecture that allows it to charge from 15 to 80% of approx. 15 minutes from a 350 kW charger.
Phillipe lasted, one of the most important engineers on the project, says it will control about 20 minutes of track time before it requires a charge of 20 minutes before it happily goes back to the circuit again.
In terms of performance, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E dictionary definition of a pocket rocket is where the two-seat Hot Hatch using two innovative in-wheel engines packing most of the drift train inside the rear wheels.
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Motorcycle-style brake calipers provide the stop power, while the two 200 kW (540 hp) engines have enough power to power the sub 1,450 kg hatchback to 62 km / h from a standstill in just 3.5 seconds … and then on to 168 km / h.
But more than just a linear performance pony (aren’t most EVs?), Renault has leaned on the expertise of the sister company Alpine to create a real driver’s vehicle.
The super structure with carbon fiber helps to keep structural stiffness high and the weight down, the battery packs are mounted as low as possible for an optimal center of gravity, while aerodynamic dividers, spoilers and siding helps to channel the air to help down and improve aerodynamic efficiency.
Snow a look through the windows and you will find an interior that happily plays on Renault’s quirky heritage, but also drives the brand into the future. There is even a vertically mounted handbrake that helps the driver’s initiation operation and other rally maneuvers.
“We didn’t just want to look back and create something retro,” Gilles Vidal, Design Vice President at Renault, told us at the exclusive revealing event in France. “This had to appeal to our children as much as it did to fans of the original cars.”
It nails the short and then some that take lots of styling signals from the even more Banzai concept vehicle of 2022, but pairs it with a modern and practical interior … if you look past the roll cage.
There is a 10.1-inch driver screen and a 10.25-inch OpenR infotainment system available in the Standard R5 E-Tech Electric Hatchback that houses a tailor-made digital dial design but still offers Renault’s AI assistant.
Analysis: Renault ramps the EV tension
The French mark has already won some serious accolades for its R5 e-Tech model, which I felt after driving.
More importantly, it has continued to win several global awards for its appearance, affordable prices and everyday practicalities, while snapping the sales crown from Tesla’s Model Y in his homeland France last year.
Based on this Brummer, Renault is now bending his design and innovation muscle, proving that electrical platforms have the potential to produce really exciting and interesting vehicles that have the power to bust genres.
Renault 5 Turbo 3e is the same length as a practical city car, but sits as wide as most modern supercars. Its innovative in-wheel electric engines provide blistering performance, yet its engineers say it can still control an electrical range of almost 250 miles and be driven to stores every day.
In that sense, it is the epitome of the coveted hot hatch yesterday – a pragmatic “shopping cart” that could also prove an absolute explosion on the right roads. But since this is a demonstration of Renault’s technological skill, it packs the performance figures that would make most modern sports cars cry.
Unfortunately, only 1,980 will be available when the order books open later in the year, with the first deliveries expected to land in 2027. It will also be very More expensive than the standard model on which it is resolved based on.
That said, Renault’s Design Manager Gilles Vidal claims that his team will be available to help create really unique cars for customers, with completely tailor -made paint tasks, ‘Gentleman Racer’ Liveries and Wild Interior finishes for discussion. “If you want a Hello Kitty scheme, we can help with that,” he joked.
Above all, it feels like Renault and its current CEO Luca de Meo has unshakable belief in electrification, to the point where it is comfortable to experiment. Just look at the R17 concept or Filant Record 2025 Rolling Laboratory as examples.
At a time when a number of producers are busy backtracking on Pure EV plans, it’s a bold attitude.
