1985 Renault R5 Turbo2 - Jay Leno’s Garage 

This "Renault R5 Turbo 2" and the "Peugeot 205 turbo 16" are both most legendary car here in France. 🇫🇷

i dont care if you have a vette, or an 800HP mustang, if you think that this car is old crap, you are not a car guy...

My mom had a Renault alliance. That was our car until I was 10-12. 1985-92. Served us well. Lots of good memories

Those homologation specials from 80's and 90's are the coolest cars ever made in history!

As a Frenchman I admire how much this man took care of his car... so many Turbo2s ended up in ditches or wrapped around trees in here

I have one of these in yellow, love it!! 1/32 scale

One thing I like about jay is there no crazy editing. No sponsor ship stuff like hello fresh audible all outher b.s.... jay needs more subs then he really has

The car that I wanted more than any other. I test drove one and will never forget the experience. I've never clicked so rapidly for any other car. This was special. Thank you Jay.

1.4 liter 200 hp.. that sounds like 2019 specs. Impressive stuff.

We had a Renault 5 back in the 90s. The color was kind of between yellow and orange. We drove it a lot in canyons and twisty mountain roads and it has a special nostalgic place in my memories. It is definitely a good looking car.

This car is designed to be driven and enjoyed on small curvy roads not on these kind of streets

I really appreciate Jay's genuine love for French cars ; hello from Paris

I grew up loving this car. There was a Brazilian guy lived on my street in Sevilla that owned one. I loved the sound.

I absolutely love this car. I'm British. My first car, at 17 years old. Was a Renault 5 GT TURBO. The insurance cost more than the car cost!! I had 3 over the years. Not the turbo 2 obviously. But makes me smile just seeing you feature thus car. I wish I had of kept one of mine! As in the 90's-2000's, the most I paid, was £5k. Now, a rough one is at least £10k here in the UK. I still may try and buy one again. Magic little cars. For how long they lasted. As usually about 2 months before you blow the 1.4 litre engine!!! Thanks for bringing back some happy memories.

I love how Jay says that he wanted this car so much when he was a "kid" , but in reality, he was already 35.

"Bring a Trailer" never ceases to impress me as a brilliant name/brand. Genius

Fast French cars of the 80's were superb. Renault 5 Turbo, 21 Turbo/Quadra, Citroen AX GT, BX 16 valve, 205 GTi, 309 Gti, 205 Rallye, to name but a few, and my own favourite the Peugeot 405 Mi16 (which I am also an owner of)

I love R5 Turbos, there were some misinformation in the video though. The original Turbo, (Turbo 1) is lower volume, aluminum panels with a crazy interior. This Turbo 2 were built in more examples. It was steel panels and the same interior as the fwd Alpine turbos, which the engine is an upgraded version of. The first 400 cars of the Turbo 1 were built to homologate the car for Group 4 rallying in 1980. When group B started a few years later, Renault built the complying R5 Maxi Turbo with improvments. They competed with it in Group B 1985. Look up "R5 turbo 1 interior" on Google :)

Legend. In 30 years, everybody will still respect the owners of that king of car.

On my first trip ever to the US (California), I was extremely surprised to see one parked in the streets of Santa Cruz. It was grey/silver. I tried to explain to my friends what an incredible car it was but they were dubious. In the evening, as we were driving back to the bay area, it just flew past us, possibly clocking close to 200 Kph!

Love the variety of cars on JAYS channel

This and Peugeot 205 t16 are probably my 80s favourites

Jay! You were not a kid in 1985.

My uncle owns one here in Virginia, best car in his collection from my opinion. Identical to this one but quite a bit of performance upgrades.

This is probably one of the best sounding car 4 cylinder engines i have ever heard

Learned about these on the Autobahn, very surprised when it passed me by like a much faster better known car.. I was doing 220kph.

Sold Peugeot and Renault cars in San Antonio, Texas in the late 70s...the 205 GTI 1.9L was a real surprise! Loved it!

This channel does a great job of capturing the sound of these cars. Thanks for the great content.

One of my favorite 80s cars, I've ALWAYS wanted one of those, they pop up now and then, but they are difficult to find

When you know that some Mercedes models are equiped with Renault engines and that Renault is multiple times F1 world champion, you know what you're dealing with.

Thanks Renault for building this car! It led to owning 2 Omni GLH Turbo cars, still have one with 400hp.

Group B - Greatest Time in Rally History! 😎

Next, the 205 GTI 1.9L. I know where there is one in Texas if you want to do an episode.

1.4 l engine, 200HP... and all of that back in '85. The very definition of a hot hatchback. I always wanted one.

What a car ! My late brother Had the first version, Then got the turbo 2. But then this was a guy That owned a mirafiori 131, capri 3.1 pinto, ford Escort rs2000. Had good Taste my brother bless im. Thanks jay 👌

next step: review a Clio V6 when they become legal!

I had one for 8 years - it was displayed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2003 - awesome....

Saw one of these fully restored at my local Car n Coffee Meet on Saturday....Pretty DOPE!!

As a 23 year old in 1993 I picked up my 3 year old Renault 5GT Turbo for £3200 and it was one of the fastest cars I’ve ever owned with a simple 120 hp and a dry weight of only 853 kg (1876 lb) Fast forward 27 years and I now nearly 50 and now I have the new Renault Megane RS 300 Trophy and it’s simply awesome.

It's one of the most exciting cars I've ever driven. It feels completely different to any other car. It's not the power, or the speed, it's the sensations that this car produce. I own a Renault Super 5 GT Turbo from 1985 and driving the Turbo 2 was like meeting the bigger brother of mine.

Merci Jay de t'intéresser à nos voitures françaises !

That engine actually was based on the one used in the R5 Alpine and was an evolution of the one previously used in the R8 in the 1960s. Its turbo installation was designed by Pierre Masset and Philippe Chasselut while the very concept of the car was due to Jean Terramorsi and his assistant Henry Lherm.

This car was created when passion moved the car’s world. Amazing engine, line, sound...and tons of fun. I love it!!!

Hello Jay, please, Could you test the Renault Alpine A110 anytime?

It would be great if Jay could get hold of an MG Metro 6R4 and a Peugeot 205 T16

Love these cars, but the Turbo I was really the ultimate, with its over-the-top "showcase" interior and light ally component. Truly OTT, they were assembled at Alpine to comply with Grp 4.

In 1984 I actually owned an ultra-rare (Gray Market) R5 Turbo 1. It had an ALL Aluminium body and was a fire-spitting dragon of a pocket rocket car. I flew into Cocoa Beach Fla. from Atlanta GA and bought it from Sun International as they were going out of business and it was the last Turbo 1 they had out of the 21 they had imported into the US. I paid the guy cash for the Renault on a Friday night and proceeded to take 1-75 North back to Georgia. The little red race car was such a wild looking vehicle at the time, that 5 of the 7 times that I was stopped was not for speeding but the Troopers just wanted to get a look at the unique thing! I was stopped a total 7 times before I made it back to Atlanta, 4 times by the Florida Highway Patrol Troopers and 3 times by The Georgia State Patrol Troopers all of them mesmerized by the little French Rocketship that shot fire out about 3 feet out of its tailpipe! So much so, that of the 2 speeding tickets that I picked up... the first one radar clocked me 125 and the second (using the old VASCAR system) at 107 MPH! Now you don't mess with those "Good Ole" Boy Southern Troopers down there, so when the Blue bubble gums light up I just instantly pulled over and waited for them to catch up. And in BOTH instances (One Florida Trooper and the Georgia Trooper) the first thing out of their mouths was: "What the hell kind of car is this!?!" With the most bewildered look on their faces to accompany the profound question! LOL I drove it in and around Atlanta and Buckhead as my daily driver for 2 years before selling the hot hatch for a handsome chunk of change and bought a Porsche 928 with the proceeds. To this very day, it still remains the biggest regret of my automotive passions to have let that brilliant R5 Turbo 1 go. I've never seen another R5 Turbo 1 on the streets again and I've only seen one Turbo 2 in 36 years. Thanks, Jay for showing us this wondering little French car that put a smile on your face and reminded me just how lucky I was to have actually owned one of the true gems of the automotive world.

This car whas insane when IT came out its a real monster 🔥💯

I had the standard R5 fo 7 years whilst working in Ethiopia from 1976 to 1983. We went all over the country on fishing trips etc. Into areas most people would only go in a 4x4. The little car never let us down! The early R5 followed on the toughness and reliability of the R4.

Great car, now you need a peugeot "205 T16 serie 200" ! Always a pleasure to watch your vids.

Definitely at the top of the list of cars in my mind from the 1980s. I always think of the Renault R5 Turbo 2.

Jay still makes Quality Content I watch in the bedroom.

I had one of these, converted by Skip Brown engineering, to 250 BHP. Awesome car!

That chase scene in "Never Say Never Again"... Always loved this car!

Living in Belgium, i had one of these GT 5 turbo we called it "coffin of death" it was too fast for a little car

Bulma drove one of these in dragonball too!

"I've got a very rare Ford Granada the only one with wire wheel hubcaps....." LMAO . Jay you still got it.

Renault R5 Turbo vs. Ford Festiva Shogun! We need this matchup very, very soon. Bring it, Mr. Leno!

Also, the 1.4 liter engine is in fact the Cléon-Fonte engine used in the standard Renault 5 (Le Car in US), but of course modified. It was also used in the Volvo 340, built in the Netherlands.

My father had the "civilized" version of this R5 back in 1984. He turned it over to the Renault dealership, still running perfectly, in exchange for a Clio plus a bag of money, back in 2001.

Pocket Rocket cars are always so much FUN! Thanks for sharing Jay!

The Renault 5 GT turbo and the Clio Williams where very good too

In 1992 when I was 19 . I had a 88 Renault 5 GT turbo . A 1.4 front engine 4 seater car . An I couldn’t get enough of the turbo lag and then the boost . It was the most fun car I’ve ever owned . Not the most reliable though . I blew a couple of turbos , and head gaskets . I do miss that car though .

Some of the Renault mk2 turbos came with digital display loved them

I have the Clio-mid engined RS 3.0 V6 wich is my baby, i’ve got since 2002, it still is a headturner and you have to be carefull not to overdo it because she might surprise ya!

This show has been wonderful to watch and learn from. It's like the Mr. Roger's Neigborhood of cars. So glad Jay was into this so we have something to watch now that the late night shows are hollow without you.

As of the time I posted this, there is one loser who gave this video a thumbs down. Obviously, anybody who is giving this a thumbs down is leading a miserable life.

What a marvelous car. I had an 80s Ford Fiesta. That thing drove so nice. Very tourqy. 4 cylinder. But these were turbo. Sweet

Would love to see some more Renault on this channel. My father and I restored a ‘70 R10 in the mid 90’s for my first car. Not that the R10 was a landmark car, but it was cool to have 4 wheel disc’s, child safety locks, and a water cooled, rear engine design in a car that old. Renault certainly had other more significant vehicles from the 60’s and 70’s. And then, there’s the Gordini engine options...

"Welmanotherpisode of Jay Leno's Garage..."

The early econo-box R5's, with the engine in the front, were mid-engined too, as the whole engine was behind the front axle center-line.

Everyone Who loves Cars u In Europe knows this car

Renault Le Car was the only one I remember(here in California) from the late '70s. They were everywhere then gone.

Love this episode. An awsome looking car, make me smile the whole episode.

One of the coolest cars ever made.

Just got home from family Easter Dinner and this is what i get to watch before i go to sleep. Life is great!

It brings back so much memory, you have no idea. I guess if you grew up in Europe during the 80s you know about this car. It was a real driver car, not that the quattro was not but that pocket rocket RWD and its turbo lag and turbo kick was unreal back then. So many people raced those on track and on tarmac rally. I'm not sure, but the 5s Turbo were probably assembled at Alpine, now Renault Sport in Dieppe in the North of France. They are now the guys behind the new A110 from what I've read. Anyhow great stuff Jay, it was quite a trip down the memory lane for me. First time a car put a smile on face when I was a kid, I remember when the turbo kicked :). Few years ago I was cycling through Provence down in the South East of France, and had the pleasure to pass by one of the go-to-guy for that car and the other Alpines. That guy had a 5 Maxi Turbo, which is like 'THE' Turbo 5.

Incredibly cool small hot hatch... hilarious to drive... if you're suicidal that is because they're absolute deathtraps... structural rigidity of a soda can, they will completely disintegrate when you crash them, doesn't even have to be at high speed. Also you're constantly fighting rust because they would rust before your eyes, it wouldn't show immediately because the panels are aluminium, but you noticed when your bumpers started to fall off. Friend of mine owned two years ago when they were still affordable... first got stolen and they crashed it... second one he crashed himself and it's still a miracle he survived... he literally had the engine in his lap and the hood crushed his head... half the front of his skull is made of metal now.

Amazing. Here, in France, we have made a few legend race car. The most and rarely legendary car for us is this r5 turbo 1. The second one is 205 turbo 16. After that alpine and venturi. Renault tried a new super sedan with renault safrane bi turbo in 90's. After that, there is no french sports legend. Whitout reborn of alpine two years ago. Thanks Jay to present our most legendary car in amazing country with best cars ever.....USA 😉

Oh man that car is beautiful!! Love the R5 turbo!

This is one of those magic, precious, most iconic cars ever created. One that us, having grown up in Europe at times when Walter Röhrl and Michelle Mouton had reached god like status, made us drool mouth open in front of our family crt, and just could not believe what was shown to us. This, and the Lancias, the Audis, the Fords of that 80s Rallye world are so much more worth to me than any other boulevard cruisin' piece of snobbism. This is as raw and ill as it gets. Today I would not get into drooling over this anymore, I am proud to say not to be ashamed shedding a tear or more even in public.

Very cool! I saw a white one at Bobs Big Boy in Burbank one Friday night... only one I’ve ever seen in the wild. I always wanted to see more if it👍.

Renault 5 Turbo (1, 2, Maxi) won some races in World Rally Championship, like Monte-Carlo (1981) and Tour de Corse (82, 85). Great race car, but with a handicap : only two wheels drive, when the others had often four. So it was possible to race for the win only on dry tarmac.

I love renault 5 as much as I love datsun 510 , this two car are so comun to see in 🇲🇽, brings back memories.

YESSS THE BADDEST LITTLE FRENCH CAR IN RALLY ♥

OMG I did not know that several Renault 5 Turbo 2 exist in the USA ! And they have been adapted to US regulation ! My favorite is the Renault 5 Turbo 1981-1982, commonly called Renault 5 Turbo 1 (but it's not official). I love it's new and futuristic dashboard, seats, specific colors ! The Turbo 2 1983-1986 will have a vulgar Renault 5 interior ! Are there some Renault 5 Turbo 1 in the USA ?

I grew up in Austria mom had a more normal version of this car lol. She also drove Citroen's.

What a beauty, those flared arches, eye candy.

I used to have a Renault 5 turbo and that was pretty mental back in the day

This is a beauty! But it needs to go on mountain roads, that's where it thrives.

Wow it was great to see one of these in Jay Leno's garage. I owned a beautiful blue 1980 R5 Turbo Renault with a wild interior. It was an early homologation special S/N 0012 originally owned by Francois Castaing - head of Renault Sport. Lots of modifications, big intercooler, balanced and blueprinted engine with 22 lbs. of boost putting out 280 H.P. Wicked fast and a real head turner !!! I owned it for over 12 years and sold it to a guy in Japan to buy my Panoz Roadster.

I smile and cry every time i see one of these.. Want, want, want.

Great video- I worked for a Renault agent in the UK from the early 1970's to the 1990's and remember these well, although they were pretty rare- I had 2 of the later R5 GT Turbos (1989) which were normal configuration front mounted, front wheel drive and loved them but they needed to be looked after properly to keep them reliable - Great days.

They were fairly common here in the UK at one time..i owned 2 of them over the yrs..including a A renault 5 gordini Turbo..but the Peugeot T16 was the ultimate toy.

Along with 205 GTi one of the best cars ever made and don't forget Fiat turbo too

M. LENO, vous êtes un vrai connaisseur.

In 2022, this is STILL cool AF! This can't be said about most anything made in the 80's.

The black molding around the roof was prpbably an expansion joint since the aluminum roof would expand and contract more than the steel roof.

I’ve owned around 70 vehicles the R5 was the most fun on winding European roads

My first thought: “You don’t have the roads for this”