The £135,000 Renault 5 Turbo 3E is the most expensive hot hatch ever
At £135k R5 Turbo 3E had better be a supercar slayer, given it costs the same as a used McLaren 720S or Ferrari 488 GTB
It’s no secret that high end, high performance electric cars are a tough sell these days, but Renault doesn’t seem to be put off. Soon, it’ll be silling its radical electric interpretation of the iconic Renault 5 Turbo. Called the Turbo 3E, the new model promises supercar levels of performance and a huge dose of fun to go with it, being a 533bhp rear-drive hot hatch built for track driving – and drifting. It’s available to order now, via a ‘dedicated reservation system. It will cost from £135,000 ( which surely makes it the most expensive hot hatch ever sold), with first deliveries beginning in early 2027.
Despite looking like a fantasy concept, the show car in these images is very close to the final production car. Renault names the Lotus Emira (£89,500), the Caterham Project V (sub-£80k) and the Nissan GT-R among the Turbo 3E’s potential competitors, although there’s currently nothing like it on the market.
That’s because the Turbo 3E is a highly bespoke electric hot hatch that shares almost nothing with the base Renault 5. The exterior mirrors, door handles, tail lights, windscreen (albeit cut down) and the infotainment system are the only major shared components, with the Turbo 3E getting significantly widened, redesigned carbon bodywork and a unique aluminium EV platform. At 4.08 metres long and 2.03 metres wide, it’s as short as a supermini but the width of a supercar. The final design will see minor tweaks to improve aero performance, but by and large, what you see here will reach showrooms.
Like the original 5 Turbo, the 3E is rear-drive, but its source of propulsion couldn’t be more different. Being an EV it swaps the classic’s midship turbocharged four-pot for batteries and motors, with a 70kWh pack mounted in the floor powering a pair of rear e-motors with a combined 533bhp. In a first for a production EV, these are in-wheel items mounted within 20-inch rims and forming part of the sprung mass of the car, with the suspension pick up points and arms (double wishbones all round) reinforced and the dampers tuned accordingly. They supposedly provide even more instantaneous response than a conventional EV drivetrain and no transmission losses, and allow for torque vectoring across the rear axle.
The engineering of the Turbo 3E is being carried out by Alpine, despite the car wearing a Renault badge. Reducing weight has been key in its development, with the 3E tipping the scales at 1450kg – about the same as a Honda Civic Type R – with a 47:53 front-to-rear split. That helps it achieve a 3.5sec 0-62mph time and a 168mph top speed, with 249 miles available from a full charge.
Part of the Turbo 3E’s brief is to perform several hot laps on track between charges, with 20 minute sessions followed by 20 minute recharges. Thanks to an 800-volt architecture, the peak charging rate is 350kW which tops up the battery from 15 to 80 per cent in 15 minutes, with vehicle-to-grid and external device charging available too. As well as being capable of fast laps on track, the Turbo 3E has a wilder side, accessed via a drift mode and hydraulic handbrake.
Inside, you’ll find elements from existing cars (a steering wheel borrowed from the Alpine A290 and the R5’s dual display panel, for example) baked into a redesigned cabin architecture. There’s a new dashboard, door cards with fabric pulls and a high central tunnel sprouting a vertical handbrake lever.
The seats are carbon buckets with six point harnesses, and the driver is presented with a digital dash display that mimics the original 5 Turbo’s square dial pack. You also get a boost button marked OV (for overtake) on the wheel, as well as a switch to cycle between four regen modes and a button to change from Snow, Regular, Sport, Race and the aforementioned drift mode. Being a strict two seater, the Turbo 3E features netting and a half cage behind the seats, and a surprisingly generous luggage area (made possible by the compact in-wheel motors).
The £135,000 (including VAT) figure is described by Renault as an ‘introductory price’, which suggests there is headroom for expensive customisation and a suite of options to choose from. The so-called ‘dedicated reservation system’ that goes live today is where buyers will start their R5 Turbo 3E ownership journey, which involves completing a form and selecting their preferred dealer. That dealer will then contact them to make an appointment at their nearest showroom, where they’ll sign a reservation form and place a deposit (though what the deposit figure will be is unknown). Priority delivery slots will be allocated to the first 500 signatories, who will be able to pay extra for their preferred numbered car from the 1980-car run.
Come early 2026, buyers will begin the final order and personalisation process. In addition to historic Renault 5 Turbo colours and racing liveries, buyers will be able to chose from a range of ‘gentleman driver’ options where specification is concerned. They can also work with Renault designers to commission their own exterior and interior liveries and decide on material and finish choices. Once the spec’s squared away, it’s a wait until the first half of 20207 before deliveries begin.
For all our hesitation around performance EVs, the Turbo 3E so far seems every bit as mad and intriguing as the original 5 Turbo – we can’t wait to drive it.
