Unbelievably brilliant car. On a family holiday to France as a kid, we had a Fiat Uno (or something) hire car. It got broken into over night, trashed. The French police in the town were brilliant; they phoned up Hertz to explain the situation, and also did us the kindness of asking Hertz for a replacement. The Hertz guy was very apologetic but they'd got no more cars available. The French policeman explained to the Hertz that that was not an acceptable solution, and insisted that that a replacement was provided. We ended up with the Hertz branch manager's own R5 Turbo (presumably, a company car?), which was an absolute hoot in the French Alps. Always held the French police in high regard, after that!
Thanks Ian, really appreciated the whiteboard explanation. Lovely way to visualise what's going on. Love your vids as always. Always a highlight of my Sundays, best wishes.
Back in my youth I was hitching in the Pyrenees and got a lift north onto France in a 5 Alpine, back before there was a blown model. The driver was keen and the hills were hilly. Even in a fairly asthmatic atmo 5 Alpine it was a memorable drive. This was before people really spoke of hot hatches. We now imagine that everyone had a Golf GTi by 1979, but there were really quite rare. And the (slower, but still lively) 5 Alpine/Gordini was rarer still in the UK. I still remember that slightly scary hitched ride over the Pyrenees. Narrow tyres, soft springs and a light body. Wonderful...
Not forgetting the SAAB 99 Turbo in 1977. 145BHP from its 2.0 8v engine with K Jetronic. In my younger years i had a 1981 Renault Fuego Turbo, which was a 1.6 pushrod engine with a carb and turbo. I think that was 135bhp. It was fairly quick for the day. It could be a nightmare to hot start as the fuel would boil in the carb.
Right. And quick enough to quite well on the rally circuit. Finally out-doing itself with their 96 competition model. I did have a '78 Turbo for a very short time, but preferred my 96 & 95s (mountains of them!)
Superb fun. A friend of mine had an R5 Turbo and it is still revered among us to this day, some 30yrs after. And this is the thing about useable classics: they're dynamics (or limits of) are so accessible. It was the same with my Fuego Turbo, MR2 mk1 and MX5 mk1. Useable and fun without hitting silly speeds...
Who else nerds out over the windows... Thanks for another fascinating video on a car that I didn't know existed. Also I loved the whiteboard explanation of the turbo systems. Keep them coming, Sunday mornings would be considerably less interesting without you.
Never seen so much piping and tubing in such a small engine bay before. And still quite a modern looking car design too. The later facelifted version even more so! A great little classic nowadays. And that Jaeger turboboost gauge…posh! 😆
🤣 Haven't had so much fun in ages! "approximate" brakes... French gateau... what a laugh, and what a sweetheart of a car. BTW now that you've mastered gallic carbs, have a crack at my '68 Caravelle! Another great episode, perfect nerdiness.
Lovely video and an absolutely awesome car! Some facts worth mentioning also. The engine is longitudinal and sits behind the front wheels making it mid engined funny enough. The air filter housing has a valve, if you close the valve the air is sucked through the front gap and the red hose. This setting is used in the winter and prevents the carb from freezing. During summer time you open the valve preventing hot air being sucked in and prevents heat soak when it's really hot. The only electrical part on the carburator is a switch actuated when the second stage opens. The switch is connected to the ignition and delays it by a few degrees under full load to prevent knocking. If you use a good quality modern fuel (Shell V-Power, BP Ultimate) you can disconnect this switch and add some extra HP on the second stage by preventing the delay. It is possible to relatively easy weld in the gear mechanism from a 5 GT Turbo which makes shifting as good as a modern car. You can off course keep the original system for original sake but if you drive the car a lot the GT mechanism is just a good idea and makes life a lot easier. Suspension is both front and rear torsion bars, the front ones are longitudinal mounted. This means you can adjust the ride height very easily. Also on the front are double A arms which off course helps very well with the handling. As you say they have become quite rare but are very fun to drive, if you have any technical questions just send a message, my dad owns one (a "coupe" --> cup in fact, with racing history).
Another Sunday evening delight. Wonderful. The renowned Gordini engines are such twinkling stars in their own realm. Even a Renault Dauphine could be fitted out with one, then the Renault 8 (R1130), and they've continued the formula so many times over, adding a turbo later etc. All car brands using standard Renault engines could be rather easily fitted with a Gordini as far as I'm aware, turning a trivial average day mom's and dad's car into a serious little nipping darter on the road, of course with upgraded brakes and suspension as well. Profound joy on the Autobahn I can imagine, hahah. Thank you so much Iian for another superbly articulated lecture on turbo technology as a welcomed bonus; they are so straightforward to process in a most relaxed manner 🙂
I learned to drive in my parents 1978 Honda Civic and then owned a 1979 Civic myself. I drove that car like I was racing most of the time and as with this Renault, one of the funnest ways to drive is low limits/high drama! You don't have to drive at insane speeds to explore the limits of cars like this and the first gen Civics. Positively LOVE those wheels too! Oddities are just as interesting, if not more so, than supercars because in many cases, they are in reach of mere mortals like myself! Cheers from the middle of the USA!!
The reason French cars of the period had lots of suspension travel is because the roads of France in the 1970's bear no resemblance to the roads of most of France today. I worked for Watersfield garage in Pulborough in 1983, we had one of these in as a trade in, anyway, I was asked if I would like to take it out for a test drive......I said I am not interested, what a dunce.
Citroen were the first car company to produce a hatchback in 1938 with the 'Traction Avant 11cv Commercial,' which also got the first modern, one piece hatchback after WW2. Hence I would imagine they'd be absolutely furious if their arch rivals, Renault, patented the idea over two decades later.
6:56 One thing I would add regarding early turbocharged cars...I believe first production cars to use this tech were the Chevrolet Corvair and Oldsmobile Jetfire - all the way back in 1962. That said, the turbo certainly gained mainstream popularity in the late '70s and into the '80s.
My mother had a few Renault 5s when I was young. However they were not fast nor particularly reliable. I remember several cold mornings when it wouldn't start and me and my brother had to push start it. But I always dreamt of the turbo versions, especially the one with the engine at the back. But this version is probably more suitable for everyday use. What a lovely little car.
Brothers mate had a convertible version, in the early 90s. Deafening wind noise on motorway. Written off after a 7 series rear ended it at low, low speed. Edit: it had Recaros with speakers in the headrest too, iirc, super impressive for a 12 year old
The original R5 wrap-around bumper has a significant flaw - when it was freezing weather if it got nudged it would shatter and to clear the resulting fragmented pile literally had to put it into a bucket - I KNOW THIS because many tears ago, whilst manoeuvring, I nudged a R5 bumper, in my Riley Elf mk3 (chromed steel bumpers), at the M3 Fleet services petrol station east-bound and it cost me drastically on my insurance premiums ! ... it is etched on my mind !!!
wonderful little thing,and finally everybody should have such a tiny little "préciosité" in his collection like the Autobianchi A 112 Abarth as well.Many thanks for the very detailed explanations to the turbo-system as well
I really enjoyed this video. I love the engineering and quirkiness. I also like your enthusiasm about a car that when compared to your usual Lamborghini and Ferrari, is pretty mundane.
I remember seeing one of these as a kid around 1981. On the autoroute, returning from a camping trip to the south of France, it passed us at an outrageous speed before hopping to the inside and surging ahead, weaving between cars as though playing Atari. Never had I seen something so small move so fast - and in such a cheeky way. Emblazoned with Turbo stickers and badges it seemed to epitomise the era.
OOOOO - now we're talking.... I had a black Gordini Turbo back in the day - FEA444Y never forgotten and always remembered as "fear"..... It planted the seeds to what came later - A proper, mid engined 5 Turbo 2 - mine being ex Peter Stringfellow. Had that for 6 glorious years with the Group B club - displayed on the cricket pitch at the Festival of Speed in 2003. The philosophy was simple... More air = more fuel can be added. More boost = more air etc, etc........ Glorious...👍👍
Wow, a car I've actually driven in Iain's workshop. Who knew! I had a quick blast around the Suffolk lanes in the early eighties in a car that I was thinking of buying at the time. I can't remember exactly why I didn't buy it but, oh well, another one that got away.
I don't know what you were hearing up against the engine when you were setting the idle screw, but on my crappy laptop speakers I was hearing a distinct phasing in the sound when the mixture was rich, which disappeared when you nailed it. Tuning indeed! Bringing your musical ear to the day job (I'm a musician who records a lot, so I hear these things). Still, as you've said, the internal combustion engine is a powered air pump, and music is the decoration of time with sculpted air. My mate's older brother had one of these from new, have to say he didn't look after and ragged seven bells out of it. But, by the standards of the day at that price point, it was up there. Great video as always!
The atmo Gordini R5 version was in fact a 1.6 L block with 93HP compared to the 1.4 L for the Turbo version and 110HP. The Gordini name was recycled from earlier 1960’s Renault cars with sport credentials. Amédée Gordini was a French race driver turned engineer responsible for tweaking Renault engines transforming cars into pocket rocket well before the GTI era. The French version of the car was named R5 Alpine and Alpine Turbo, with a pretty and distinctive A5 logo. The Alpine name, was from the Renault division based in Dieppe (Normandy) where they manufactured and assembled the Alpine Renault A110 berlinette and later on the A310 sport cars. However a UK copyright on the Alpine name owned by Sunbeam / Simca / Talbot that merged into the Peugeot Group in the early 80’s prevented the name to be used this side of the channel.
This is why I will never part with my 2005 MINI R50, which I've owned from new. Not powerful, but fun as heck, and destined to be a future classic. Even now, I get nods from guys in classic 911s.
Loved that ❤ thanks Ian. The French got such a bad press in the car community in the 80s but being an alfa man I've also owned a lot of renaults and Peugeots and have enjoyed every one of them 😊
Quite complex this engine! ANY engine can make HP with a turbo charger most engines only reach 40% efficiency ( so up to 40% of the combustion chamber gets used ) the turbo means More can efficient use of the available space can be used meaning MORE power!!!!!
Located in Austria my father drove a R5 Alpine Turbo back in the days. Thanks for the reminder. Our car was blue - but what I read it was basically the same or at least very similar. It was succeeded by a R5 GT Turbo.
Another really great Tyrrell workshop this time focussing on a car quite a distance off the "normal" scope we see in your garage! Thanks for all the details you share! I love this!
Nice story, in Europe this R5 was sold as Alpine and Alpine Turbo. The used 1397 CC engine has the Gordini cross flow head, in comparison with the normal head which has inlet and exhaust on the same side. Typically for the R5 (as well as R4, R6 and R16) is the placement of the gearbox in front of the engine. This is while early R5's had the gearchange in the dash.
I'm sure the Gordini Turbo is a great little firecracker but my R5 1.1 was dreadful with it's gutless 45bhp and 5 speed box. Show it any hill and speed would plummet. The 4 in to 1 exhaust box mounted under the nsf wheel arch was awful. Comfortable voiture though.
You have taken me back into my "time machine"..... I had a 1st gen R5 called a le Car here in the States that had the 1.4L Gordini engine, 5 Speed trans and the Gordini wheels. Carburated of course with a Wber 32/36 DGV. Maybe, MAYBE 100hp on a good day. BUT, I used to beat up on the flaccid American Muscle Cars with it as it weighed 1800lbs+. Years later, circa 1986, I rented a 2nd gen version of this car whilst in the south of France. It was a HOT ROD! I could cruise the left lane along the A8 and only get be beaten by a Big Merc or a Honda 1000R..... I love this car!
Very very nice clip Thank you’re really a car guy. Love you tell about all cars build outside the box not just the high price range rich toys. Thank you for that. Tommy from Germany
I remember when the original non turbo 5 Gordini was released , about 1979, they advertised it as a modern Cooper S . Looked particularly eye catching in their traditional metallic blue livery and Gordini motifs.
It’s great to see you bringing in cars like this as well as the exotics. One car I owned that I would love to see in your workshop videos is a Daihatsu Charade GTti. It was a 1 litre 3 cylinder turbo and was very entertaining to drive. They were out around the time of the newer version Renault 5 GT Turbo.
My uncle Ian had one of these back in about 84/85 I think. I’ve still got a photo of it when he came to our house in it. I remember the turbo boost gauge which I think said Jeagar on it which is probably right. But it was in blue and it was a rare thing and it was really nippy.
I had the plain, non-turbo, Gordini in black with the ‘loco’ style slotted alloy wheels in the early 80’s. I did get the wheels off the ground on a tight corner (ambition over experience) fortunately the overhanging grassy bank on the other side of the B road tipped me back up and on track. Not a scratch on it, my trousers and ego a different matter.
I love your videos Ian. I really enjoy the learning journey you creat and the white board is a great way of explaining the workings. Please keep doing them.
My stepson was showing me a photo of a local barn find series 1 GT Turbo this afternoon, and I got to reminiscing about these being my fave hot hatch, and how around 15 years ago, there was an even older Gordini turbo parked up locally just rusting away. I even Googled an image for him to see, only to find this posted when I got home! Fantastic coincidence, and such an interesting article for me.
I miss my Renault 5 Gordini Turbo. Sold it a year or two ago. The long intake tract and the plenum under the carburettor are very problematic. Mine would often not start after a short drive. The solution was to wait for the fuel in the plenum under the carburettor to evaporate, or to draw it out with a vacuum pump through the top of the carburettor. Also, the spark plugs are prone to fouling, particularly if the car isn't given an Italian tuneup almost every time you drive it.
Another super informative video. Reminds me of back in the day when I had a friend who fried his turbo by not letting it cool down, those were the days. Found the whiteboard session fascinating, would love to see a Turbo / Supercharger compare and contrast whiteboard session.
Along with the Vitesse, this is your best video yet! I always thought these were a blow-through (pressurised carb) system like the later R5 GT Turbo, rather than having the carb before the turbo. How in God's name can it meter the mixture accurately with the fuel having to be spun through the compressor before it enters the cylinders???! Obviously, it works but all that piping is hilarious. I own a 1983 Mitsubishi (Colt) Lancer turbo and the turbo system is light years ahead by comparison.
I always found it much more entertaining to drive a slow car fast, rather than a fast car slowly. Plus you can be absolutely caning a car, and the cops will barely notice.
The white board explanation of how a turbo works evoked early Saturday mornings circa-1978 watching Open University maths lectures on BBC2. I didn't understand them either but enjoyed watching nonetheless.
I owned one in the early nineties. It was red with those very comfortable front seats. Did a few track days in it and it didn’t embarrass itself. I sold it in 1992 when I bought a 5 Turbo 2. They were called Gordinis in the UK as the Chrysler group had the ownership of the Alpine name.
My first car which I bought in my final year at university in 1991 was a black Gordini Turbo. Previously owned and upgraded by a Cosworth engineer it was ridiculously fast. You got pushed back hard into your seat when you accelerated which put a big smile on the faces of first time passengers. It’s main issue was that it would often stall if you braked hard all the way to a standstill. It had a number plate which ended in POO and the previous owner had WINNIE written in the back window. It also had a diesel badge on the back. When I asked about the badge the guy said “would you steal a diesel car!?” It was so much fun to drive and overtaking anything happened so quickly. I had fun racing a few boy racers in their Peugeot 205GTIs and XR3i who didn’t stand a chance. I paid £800 for it and my insurance was £2000. It did about 15 miles to the gallon and you could visibly watch the fuel gauge move. As a result I sold it after a few years for £500 and bought a “sensible” car. I cannot believe how much these cars have gone up in value. Thanks for this video. It fondly reminded me of my younger days.
Fabulous content as ever. Love ‘to The White Board’ segments. It’s great to understand how things work and why! Brilliant all over and the enthusiasm from our Sir Tyrrell is a fantastic and infectious as EVER!!!
Oldsmobile and Chevrolet had turbocharged gasoline-powered cars in the 1960s. The Oldsmobile Jetfire and the Chevrolet Corvair Monza were introduced in 1962. Both models were short-lived but they were first.
Speaking of French cars heeling over quite severely in corners - once long ago I heard someone mention they'd managed to scrape some of the chrome off their Citroen's door handles on the road...
My uncle worked at Renault Switzerland and he had all these cars. The first R5 Alpine was in the 70is non Turbo and I think 1980 came the Alpine Turbo (as it was called here) and had 107 PS. That was a seriously fast car then. Later he also had the R5 GT turbo the Alpine 310, Alpine V6 Turbo and the Alpine Le Mans. All very cool cars.
Love it. Over the years, I have had 6 Renault 21 Turbos. They should not have been special but they were. Especially the Phase 1s. French turbo - accessible and fun.
The Gordini/Alpine cylinder head dragged the ancient Renault engine into the modern [!] era. The first time I saw under the bonnet of a turbo, I did the where the hell does the air go routine like you. Don't lean on that nsf wing after a run though, there's a silencer directly underneath!
And it's a pushrod engine too, the Renault. Although this version had the crossflow head. They built the group B engines from this basis BTW. The later transverse 1.4 Turbo had a more simple counterflow head. On the mid engined 5 Turbo they used this engine here but with multi point fuel injection and other detail developments.
Lovely stuff. there was a particularly fetching metallic French racing Bleu colour on the Gordini that I love. Looked so damn suave. The roads around there look shocking....
I used to love Renaults. Never had a 5, but we had 4 x 25s on the company fleet, all of them V6 injections. As I was the boss I wanted a V6 Turbo but the waiting list was too long so I got a Carlton 3000GSi 24valve, in fact the first one in Gloucestershire G200BAD The Renault 25 was a super car but not for servicing. There was a small water hose, some 3 inches long at the back of the engine which was weakened due to its position and had to be changed frequently. The hose cost about £3 and about £1500 to change it...the engine had to come out. Thus I never bought Renault again. Loved the video as always Iain. Superb explanation of the various turbos. Many thanks. Cheers, Bob
Nice one Iain. The carb setup had a big advantage over fuel injection. By mixing the fuel into the air and allowing it to fully evaporate you can drop the intake temperature by about 20 degrees C. Makes a big difference to the potential maximum horsepower if you haven’t the space for an intercooler.
The downside being uneven air fuel ratio / fuel distribution per cylinder. I've measured it on different engines and yes the charge is much cooler, but it's not worth the pain of air fuel ratio variance in each cylinder.
One doesn't often get to correct Mr. Tyrrell, but here goes: General Motor's first hatchback model was the Chevrolet Vega launched in 1970, which means it predated both the Fiat 127 and Renault 5. Ford's first hatchback was the Pinto, launched in 1971, the same year as the Fiat 127 and ahead of the R5. When it comes to pioneering turbo cars, we also have to turn to the US. The first two production turbocharged cars were the Turbo version of the Oldsmobile Jetfire with a turbocharged version of the Buick aluminum 215 which would become the Rover V8 motor, and the Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spyder which had a turbocharged, air-cooled, flat-six, rear-mounted engine (sound familiar ?). Both of these cars were launched in 1962.
It made me smile as soon as I saw it. However, the Austin A40 Farina was the first hatchback and it just happend to be my first car, which I was given for nothing by a work colleague. The guy who gave it to me said "I wash it once a year if it needs it" I loved the video Iain. The car reminded me of my BMW 323i (E21) which was a second faster to 60.
Excellent explanation of how the turbo system works and I always find it fascinating when you have a somewhat "everyday" car in the workshop among the usual high end vehicles.
