Very few mid-engine hatchbacks have ever been built, and most were restricted to various racing series, particularly rallying. The Renault R5 Turbo2 is one of the few which was sold in street-legal guise so it could be driven on public roads – and Jay Leno recently had the opportunity to check one out.
This particular R5 Turbo2 is a 1985 model owned by Randy Nonnenberg, a co-founder of Bring A Trailer. The potent mid-engine hatchback was never sold new in the United States and would ordinarily be subject to the 25-year import rule. However, this particular example is a little different.
Hot hatches don’t get much more desirable than this
Nonnenberg notes that it was actually brought into the United States as a grey import and was one of three examples purchased by the original owner for sale in Southern California. As the car was imported before the 25-year import rule was introduced, it was modified to pass California smog requirements and can be driven legally on the street.
Powering the small Renault is a mid-mounted 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder delivering about 158 hp, but it can churn out more with small modifications. Making the car even punchier is the fact that it only weighs about 2138 lbs (969 kg). There may be plenty of turbo lag low down, but that’s the price you pay for a performance car of this vintage with forced induction.
During the car’s six-year production run, just 3,167 examples of the Renault R5 Turbo 2 were built, in addition to the 1,820 units of the earlier Turbo 1.