RENAULT 5 TURBO 1980

PRICE THEN/NOW: £12,000/£75,000

TARGET AUDIENCE: People who didn’t give a damn where the engine was ‘supposed’ to go.

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? Back in the late Seventies, Renault witnessed Lancia’s success in rallying with the Stratos, and wanted a piece of that sweet mid-engined action. Trouble was, Renault didn’t have a mid-engined car to take rallying. What it did have, however, was the distinctly front-engined 5 hatchback. So pourquoi pas, thought the Renault bosses, just rip the engine and the rear seats out of the 5, and insert the former where the latter used to be? Pourquoi pas indeed?

Thus was established the dynasty of mid-engined, slightly crashy hot hatches, a dynasty that remains one of TG’s favourite dynasties. About 5,000 5 Turbos were built. Approximately 4,000 of these can still be spotted, upside down, in ditches across France.