Renault 5 GT Turbo Phase 2

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“Renault's 5GT Turbo may not be the fastest hatchback on the road but what distinguishes the car is its exhilaration. Never has a little car offered so much poke, so much entertainment, so much agility. On a winding A or B road, there are few cars - even when you move up to Porsche or Ferrari money - that offer more fun, or produce more usable speed.”

As this contemporary road test reveals, the 5GT caused quite a stir when it was launched in 1985. The 1.4-litre turbo engine packed a hefty wallop - 115bhp is a lot in a Metro-sized car weighing just 830kg – and was good for a top speed of 125mph with a 0-60 time of 7.5 seconds. It was also easily tuned to 200bhp+ as many enthusiasts were quick to discover.

In 1987, the facelifted Phase 2 was launched. Major changes included installing watercooling to the turbocharger, aiding the Phase 1’s oil-cooled setup, which extended the life of the turbo. It also received a new ignition system which permitted it to rev 500 rpm higher and boosted power to 128bhp. Externally, the car was revamped with new bumpers and arches that reduced drag significantly while the ride height was dropped by 5mm and the front geometry tweaked.

“Incredibly easy and fun to drive hard, the GT Turbo has the qualities we want in all great hot hatches. It’s exciting, it’s addictive, it goads you into driving it harder, and when you do it’s on your side rather than trying to bite your arm off”, said Evo magazine in a recent test. No wonder the GT Turbo made it into Autocar’s ‘Top Ten of the Year’ in both 1987 and 1988.

As the car is so tunable, it is not easy to find original and unmolested R5 GTs but this August 1989 example is relatively unscathed in that regard. The engine has not been remapped or tuned apart from the addition of an aftermarket blow-off valve and a stainless steel Scorpion exhaust. The suspension has been slightly lowered and it rides on Valbrem 15” alloys but the bodywork is otherwise totally standard as is the highly original interior.

It has covered just under 103,000 miles to date and comes with a good history file comprising all the original handbooks, a service book stamped three times and a stack of maintenance invoices. Over the last year or so it has had almost £2,000 spent including four new OEM shock absorbers, a new fan, replacement turbo actuator, new exhaust manifold gasket, replaced osr brake caliper and rear pads.

A recent full service included belts, fuel filter, oil filter, gearbox oil, new battery, brake hoses, coolant change and new radiator. Said to run and drive well it has an MOT until May 2017with the only advisory being “front tyres worn close to the legal limit”.

Eighties hot hatches are just beginning to come on to the collectors’ car radar and this relatively unmolested example could be turned back to standard easily enough if desired and could yet prove a shrewd investment at the sensible guide price suggested.