The Renault 5 Turbo 3E, the World’s First Electric Mini-Supercar, Looks as Bonkers As We Hoped

There aren’t many cars that are expected to merchantability retired earlier anyone has adjacent seen the interior, but the Renault 5 Turbo 3E could good beryllium 1 of them.

Three years connected from the conception motorboat astatine the Paris Motorshow successful 2022, the anticipated hyper-hatchback and the electrical reboot of the iconic Renault 5 Turbo and Turbo 2 has present been revealed—at slightest partly.

At a brand-hosted lawsuit astatine Renault HQ adjacent Paris, the caller blistery hatch’s exterior was unveiled for the archetypal clip extracurricular of renders, and, arsenic seems to beryllium progressively the lawsuit with accumulation versions of EV concepts, it looks each spot arsenic bonkers arsenic suggested—complete with the striking yellowish and achromatic livery of the 1982 Renault 5 Turbo rally model.

Renault has said this is its astir powerful, astir precocious car yet, going arsenic acold arsenic to statement it the world's archetypal electrical mini-supercar. With its salient bumper and rear helping extensions, the plan inspiration the compact hot-hatch has taken from its namesake is clear, but it besides borrows respective elements from the Renault 5 E-Tech electric, including the rear lights and helping mirrors.

Unlike that car, though, the Turbo 5 3E is exclusively rear-wheel drive, and is built connected a caller level that moves the windscreen backmost and extends the wheelbase out, giving it the width of a supercar successful the magnitude of a metropolis car.

It uses rear in-wheel motors that, Renault says, volition bring the Turbo 5 3E successful enactment with the show of supercars similar the Ferrari Roma and McLaren Artura, delivering each spot of torque to the car’s 20-inch wheels immediately, with nary nonaccomplishment and nary lag time. The result? This car volition not lone beryllium fast, it is seemingly going to beryllium a drifter’s dream.

The specs are impressive: 540hp, a maximum velocity of 168 mph, and 0–60mph successful 3.5 seconds, each helped by a lightweight, c fibre body. Renault says the 5 Turbo 3E volition beryllium susceptible of DC accelerated charging up to 350 kW with a 800-volt architecture, which should instrumentality 15 minutes to complaint from 15 to 80 percent with the close charger.