Tiff Needell is, and shall always be, one of my most favourite motoring journalists. He has quiet class and confidence and exudes essence of gentleman. A very, very classy man.
I like the episode when they drove the Lexus IS-F and the BMW M3 around the track to see who could scare the girls the most. Tiff was driving around with the girls as if he's 25 years old. A cop stopping him and seeing that it's not a kid would be in complete shock! Very funny episode for anyone who hasn't seen it.
Yes, he is... but my mom, she is 84, drives better and has no problems with shifting and switching on and of the wipers (instead of turning off the engine!) ;-)
I can't stop thinking about the future, to be honest. I wonder what is happening in schools these days. What progress is being made towards personal refinement? Personally, I think that excessive civil rights are breaking the social fabric itself. The bombardment of foreign culture without control, means that the identity of any great society would ultimately be lost. We should consider the simple yet powerful notion mentioned by @thenotanclan. #kudos @tiff for keeping it together.
This brings back memories! The steering gives you a proper workout on these, and the wiper stalk seriously is tiny. No torque steer as the driveshafts are equal length because the gearbox and engine are longitudinal despite being fwd. This one looks very healthy ☺️
My father who worked a lot on sport renaults and alpines says R11 turbo had the same engine as a 5 GT TURBO. Not this one . Different engine code . The alpine 5 turbo uses a C6J engine the R11 turbo and 5 GT TURBO use C1J engine
My 2nd car was a Renault 5 Gordini turbo, in 1995. Red and black with a beige interior. Think it was on a C reg. Very rare even then, never saw another one in the flesh. Paid £650 for it.... would have been worth a bit more now!....Should have kept it 😏
First memories I've got of a car was of my parents light blue R5 Alpine... My Mom let me sit on her lap as a toddler to steer it into our garage... After seven years of ownership the party was over, as rust had almost entirely devoured its rear suspension... So for me, old definitely beats new 😉
Back in the 90s I walked quite a few miles too and from the garage I did my apprenticeship at. Over the two years my boss gave me a Renault 11 TSE. basically the non turbo version the Reno 5 Turbo engine. It had a head gasket issue which I fixed and had it skimmed and ports along with valves all cleaned up . It had a huge steering wheel, was super comfy and in the 7 years I owned it , it never let me down or had any rust anywhere It also had a 666 number plate which was cool . I traded it against a 89 Pontiac Trans Am plus cash . I still think about that 11 today and when I see those Reno turbo 5 cars it reminds me how much fun I had in mine
I had no idea Tiff had another channel. Subbed and liked before I listened that’s how much respect I have for the man. At 68 years old He is like a mate you meet at the pub and chat about cars. Except he talks and I listen.
I had blue 5 gordini, it was so much fun to drive I loved it, it fell to bits from rust, lost most of the rear end on the way to work one day, replaced it with a silver 5 Gordini turbo, fantastic car, miss it so much.
Used to pass one of these that had been sat on a drive for years in 1992, it was a french LHD 1983 Alpine import in blue, that a student doctor brought to the UK from France, that had been driven over and left for the tyres to go flat. After a few attempts i managed to buy it for £250! eventually got it running and stupidly sold it for £750 about 6 months later
This car had a chassis trick that made it run in corners as if it had some heavy ground effect. It's like : U don't need to prepare anything, I will turn for you.
We had a little blue Gordini Turbo in the early 90s, what a fun car! I eventually got a GT Turbo in 99 and ended up running the GTT Owners Club for a bit in Scotland as well as doing some Crail runs! C648 Nxx is at least still alive last time I checked, one day I will get another!
Always wondered why it’s Gordini Turbo in the UK….now I know….I had one and loved it….the NA version was sold as the Alpine in UK though…er……😅….loved mine against the XR2 and 3’s….loved the interior UK spec over the fords too…..beige velour corduroy recaros in mine, lovely orange on black dials…….lol😅
110bhp as standard. I owned one for 22 years. Fantastic car - miss it very much indeed! And I know one of the UK owners of this car, although it's been in a few people's hands since then. So many people make mistakes in the facts when reviewing these cars, unfortunately. Tiff was spot on, thankfully! Although I'd loved to have had more of an in-depth review of the car and its dynamics.
It was 850Kg, from memory. Haha just checked. I got it right! And yes, it was a good amount. Quick for its day, and still reasonably rapid today! But the way it accelerated was the exciting thing. Very torquey off boost, but as the revs rose, the turbo pressure rose, quicker and quicker, until you felt you were flying! Lots and lots of fun, and very quick in gear. 50 to 70 was deceptively fast, for instance.
I think it was 110bhp, but something around there. When I looked at putting a 1.7 engine in my 1.5 Ti Alfasud, which weighs the same, 839kg, the 118bhp 1.7 would’ve given it a power to weight ratio the same as an original Lotus Elise! But would’ve ruined it with torque steer. So this little Renault, will fly 💙🤍❤
I've got an 5 for sale in Finland. 1,7 and big Turbo. Reg. as new car in ( EU ) 2001 with Kemira competition katalysator. New engine in 2001, 5 shift Scenic box, 4 times discbrakes and a good stereo... No cage. Civil drived by me after ~ 3 years of 8h runs on tarmac raceways.. 4900 euros.
There was lad near us had one of these, Mummy & Daddy bought it brand new for him as his fist car from the fortunes they were making producing frozen dog food...!?! Ahhh, the 80's........
Lovely bit of nostalgia. Had a 5 GT Turbo back in 1988. E71 MJD I think. Would love to know if it still exists. Was fab to drive. Needed to let warm up before kicking the turbo in and was proud when the dealer did service that they said I was driving it correctly. Used to leave Porsches and Ferraris at the lights ...well at least those that did not know how to drive properly. Stuck to the road like glue. Once got pulled over by Police....they only wanted to know what it was like to drive 😁
Thanks for that. sort of. Oh dear. Yes, only had it briefly as was a company car. Left the job so handed it back. Imagine some idiot then crashed it. what a shame. Guessing not many left. @@FMFGUF
What EV future Tiff ? Private motorists aren’t buying EVs because they expensive,impractical, not kind to the environment and depreciation is horrendous. Loved the video. Any chance of testing a Renault 12 Gordini?
Love the A5 Turbo and Gordini. Something about the shape. Changing the rear plug is a nightmare. Part of my dream garage with a Renault 11 Turbo phase 2, clio Williams and 182 (I do have that one)
Used to daily one of these in the late 90’s. Great fun and very wheelspiiny due to turbo shove combined with odd back to front longitudinal engine gearbox layout meaning no weight over the front driven wheels. Steering was a bit awkward feeling like the joints were going through their maximum angles. Never turned off the ignition while driving 😂
My father had one and he said it had huge turbo lag due the very long inlet piping and big turbo ( bit to big for the power it makes) , but steered pretty good . And it has 110hp wich is pretty much for a car wich weighs 850kg and a 5 gt “only” had 120hp
subscribed.I'm not saying I'm a Tiff stalker but I have missed him, he's the sophisticated Clarkson we all need. I was always a Ford man when the 5 came out but I loved the turbo. Can you get the synthetic fuel out on a masses? Would it mean that old sports cars we have in our garages can get past ulez?
2:07 - Only 500 hundred were made? I owed one from 1988 to 1995. I drove it hard all those years, motorways, mountain roads. I ended up blowing the turbo valve and the gasket and then sold it for almost nothing.
Wanted to hear a bit more about the car than the general chat it mostly had ( this video) luckily tiff had the facts right with being the first hot hatch
A lad I worked with bought 2 x Giordini turbo's to make one decent car out of. When he got it the inner wings were full of water & it handled like a fire engine. I think the finished car was more filler than metal :D
I can answer that. On loose stuff. the T16. On Tarmac a Maxi Turbo would spank it. Personally, I preferred the simplicity of rear drive only. Having said that I did once dabble in the ratified atmosphere of 6R4's....
As carbon neutral as the electric,not even close,the electricity won't be made from carbon neutral sources and will be a lot higher to produce than that little R5 was so a lot better than the polluting electric car
The Renault 5 Turbo is an iconic car. I have only heard of the Alpine name in conjunction with BMW cars that have been tuned-up and are desirable. As always you get lots of insider motoring and racing information with Tiff: Perhaps he would explain what 'heel and toe' is and why is it used, especially in down shifting gears and 'rev matching.' I asked Vicky Butler Henderson on her 'The Car Girl' channel about the new BMW M2. She never replies or comments on my posts on her channel.
@@DRIVENByTom Doesn't really explain why it's done. I know the lower gears have more 'mechanical advantage' and can take more load to start a car moving and overcome inertia and in over-taking manoeuvres, but the trade-off is the revs increase. I realised later that it's Alpina with BMW. They could have mentioned it too.
@@ducatisp5ed888 I realised it's the easily misquoted 'Alpina' later, perhaps Tiff should have mentioned it. They should definitely reply to comments! He, VBH, Harry Metcalf AKA Harry's Garage all have the same attitude: It's a sausage factory and money making enterprise and they couldn't GAF about the followers.
Great video & car. Shame the government didn’t spend the money on the synthetic fuel insert of shitty cameras, signs & other ulez waste of money. Surely that would have been better money spent & meet net zero.
@@NeedellTiff Feel guilty for “outing” you now. Watching some old Fifth Gear episodes. VBH pronouncing Murcielago! Same problem different day. Keep up the great work Tiff. One of the most entertaining presenters on motors.
Mmmmm, not sure about that, The 6R4 had around 400hp, the Maxi 5 around 350- 375hp but was a bit lighter. On the loose stuff, yes the 6R4 was a slightly quicker car - and it was slight. On a tarmac rally like the Monty the 5 would kill it - and the T16..@@christineayres7199
Lol it is a cool car by design! Agree with the point about rose tinted vision of how good it was and this is exacerbated by greedy collectors buying them all up then talking up the prices. No normal people can afford these so called classic cheap hatches anymore and they’re bought by wealthy people who can afford better and should know better, that’s the real joke!
@@KOL630 My point was, having been brought up in France in the 70's, I've never seen one. Figures show over 5.2 million R5 built between 1972-85 and about... 24.000 of the R5 Alpine Turbo variant.