Renault’s R5 Turbo 3E Drift EV casts a HALO glow ahead of new Renault 5 EV’s arrival

The Renault R5 Turbo 3E Drift EV arrives as a one-off to celebrate 50 years since the arrival of the Renault 5 and cast a halo on the new Renault 5 EV.

It’s 50 years since the Renault 5 arrived – and getting on for 30 years since it disappeared into the Renault graveyard in the sky – but the Renault 5 badge is on its way back as a sub-£20k EV in 2024.

Most of the target audience for the new budget R5 EV probably weren’t born when the R5 went out of production, so Renault is casting a halo glow on the yet-to-arrive new R5 EV with this, the Renault R5 Turbo 3E Drift EV, as well as celebrating 50 years since the R5 arrived.

Looking like a 21st-century take on the original homologation special Renault 5 Turbo 2, the Renault R5 Turbo 3E Drift comes with a bonkers body kit and huge back wing and, because this is 2022, an electric powertrain.

The EV powertrain consists of a 42kWh battery and 375bhp motor with 516lb/ft of torque driving the rear wheels good, say, Renault, for a 0-62mph sprint of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 124mph.

But the EV powertrain is really there for gymkhana fun, with a trio of modes – Turbo, Track Invader and Donut – offering Drifting, track fun and Donuts respectively. Also, again because it’s 2022, Renault is generating a collection of NFTs based around the car.

Renault’s Design VP, Gilles Vidal, said:

Renault 5 TURBO 3E combines ultra-tech design and wilful exuberance with numerous references to the world of car racing and video games. This combination propels the show car into modernity and technology, and it’s at the frontier between the real and virtual realms. This pure electric “drifter” demonstrates that electric cars can also be fun with incredible performance!