Renault unveils electric car that it believes will turn even the most devout gearheads into an EV fan

Renault took the world by surprise when it announced the return of the Renault 5, and then it went one step further with the Renault 5 Turbo 3E.

Supercar Blondie had the chance to test it in person and the verdict is in.

This is a cool car.

And the fact that it is electric is just a detail.

The Turbo 3E is a track-ready beast

The Renault 5 Turbo 3E is a limited-edition version of the Renault 5, coming in with 555 horsepower from its two motors – one for each rear wheel.

Despite being electric, the car only weighs 1,400 (give or take) kilograms, which means the power-to-weight ratio is exceptional.

It is the sort of thing you’d expect from a 2000s hot hatch.

And this, in a way, is indeed a hot hatch.

Aside from the motors, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E is easily recognizable thanks to its massive splitter at the front, a huge diffuser at the back, the iconic rally-style wheels, a rear lip spoiler, and the sizable wheel arches, one of which actually hides the charging port

Inside, you’ll find Alcantara upholstery, a gigantic drifting handbrake (right next to where the baguette holder, believe it or not, would be in the ‘standard’ model), and carbon fiber bucket seats.

It isn’t cheap, though.

Renault capped production at a limited run of 1,980 units – a nod to the birth year of the original 1980 Turbo – and it starts at around $180,000.

Renault has made it clear: this is a cool car, and whether it’s electric or not shouldn’t matter

When it comes to EVs, Renault has a clear direction, and it’s saying the quiet part out loud.

In a 2024 interview with Motor1, Renault’s marketing boss Arnaud Belloni said the thing everyone’s thinking but no one wants to admit.

“I think many manufacturers made a mistake with electric cars, imagining that BEV buyers didn’t like cars,” he said.

He clearly wasn’t pulling any punches that day, because he went one step further.

“They made models with an ugly design, they look like fish. Why? Because they didn’t believe in the electric car. I always thought that if we want people to buy electric cars they have to be more desirable, better, more beautiful than combustion cars. That is our strategy.”

Then he explained how this applies to Renault 5.

“With the Renault 5, you are looking at a beautiful car. And it is electric and since it has no other powertrain you will buy it that way,” he said.

He does have a point.

EV skeptics don’t like the fact that this icon has gone electric, while other car buyers don’t mind, but no one has a thing to say about the look because it looks great.

What Belloni said makes perfect sense.

He’s essentially saying: make the car cool, and people will but it, whether it’s electric or not.