√New-age Renault 5 Turbo hot hatch is an electric drift machine

One of the wildest cars to wear a Renault badge is born again as a 21st-century electric drift star.

Drift king Ken Block and his car partners at Audi have been put on notice by Renault, as the French company brings its iconic mid-engined R5 Turbo hot hatch back from the dead as an electric drift car, called the Renault R5 Turbo 3E.

The 50th anniversary of the Renault 5, and its revival as a city-sized electric car in 2024, has sparked a wild rebirth of the hottest car to wear a Renault badge.

The original R5 Turbo was a mid-engined rally star in the 1980s, when its flame-spitting turbo engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, and the skills of its driver – French stunt star Jean Ragnotti – made it a stand-out against the original all-wheel-drive Audi Quattro rally racers.

The revival rocket has all the right ingredients for a new-age drift star, promising a 0-100km/h sprint in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 200km/h.

It quotes 280kW and 700Nm with a 42kWh lithium-ion battery, weighs 980kg, and has rear-wheel drive with individual electric motors for each wheel.

Renault says the front wheels can turn more than 50 degrees from straight-ahead, so the driver can steer the car through big drifts.

The body and chassis are bred from motorsport, with a tubular steel safety cell and a flat floor, topped by a giant Le Mans-style rear wing over carbon-fibre bodywork.

“This pure electric ‘drifter’ demonstrates that electric cars can also be fun with incredible performance,” said the design director at Renault, Gilles Vidal, in an official press statement.

Retro touches on the car run from bright LEDs in the nose and tail, to pink-tinted plastic windows and a fake air scoop in the bonnet that covers the electric charging port.

The Renault R5 Turbo 3E is being unveiled at a car show at Chantilly, just outside Paris in France, with the driver and crew wearing special suits created for the occasion by a French fashion label, La Fameuse – noted for its ‘upcycling’ of used clothing.

It will then star on the Renault stand at the 2022 Paris motor show from October 17-22.

“Its digital double will spring to life in the universe of virtual games in the Web3, the decentralised Internet where online platforms and services use a model based on blockchain,” said Renault in its press release.

The post New-age Renault 5 Turbo hot hatch is an electric drift machine appeared first on Drive.