1984 Renault 5 Maxi Turbo Ex-John Price

• This is the only genuine ex-Works Maxi5 Turbo in the UK, recognised as such by Origine RS, Renault Sport, etc.
• Developed from 1985 Works Car #16 by UK rally legend John Price with assistance from Renault Dieppe
• Presented in immaculate condition, and winner of the Concours at Origine RS at Brooklands
• Includes original Matter aluminium Group B roll-cage
• Winner of a number of important rallies and class honours at Prescott Hillclimb 2011
• Twice recorded for Sony Playstation, 2009 and 2018 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bym4xHsFqGOjZTMwNmYzNjUtOWQyZi00OGFhLWE1ZDctNmRmZmExMmQ3YzMz/view
• Sadly, https://www.renault.co.uk/renault-sport-news/john-price.html

For those maybe not familiar with the legendary John Price, see this link to his achievements, a remarkable life devoted to rallying. RIP John. https://www.ewrc-results.com/profile/13826-john-price/

We understood from JP and his son Steve that JP competed in excess of 880 events that required a formal (paid) entry, as well as many more informal events worldwide. So, arguably, JP was the most successful of all British Rally drivers from the late '70s until his retirement from professional driving after the Prescott hill-climb of 2011, when JP won class honours driving his favourite R5T EXI 1465!

By the summer of 1976, Lancia was already well on its way to claiming its third consecutive World Rally Championship manufacturers' title, the legendary Stratos having again proven its superiority where it mattered. Renault had topped the manufacturers' table with its sublime Alpine A110 prior to the Stratos' arrival, but the A110 was already becoming long in the tooth and could trace its roots back to the late '50s. The French company wanted revenge and would stop at nothing to return atop the podium.

In order to be competitive, Renault would need a new model. Jean Terramorsi, Renault's vice-president of production, outlined his requirements. To keep costs down, the new car would need to be based on an existing production model and would need to be small, light, and agile, requiring only minor modifications to go from road-going trim to full rally spec.

The answer came from Bertone's Marc Deschamps, who penned a radically reworked version of the Renault 5, with the engine mounted centrally (much like the Stratos) and driving the rear wheels rather than the fronts. Terramorsi was sold on the idea and immediately gave the go-ahead for a prototype to be created. Sadly, he passed away soon thereafter, but his successor, Henry Lherm, shared his passion for a mid-engined R5 and ensured that the project went ahead as planned.

With the company's Renault Sport division busy with Le Mans commitments, the project initially fell to a team of just four engineers, who set about creating the first Project 822 prototype in a small workshop at Renault's Alpine facility in Dieppe. At first, the plan was to build the car around a spaceframe chassis, but this solution proved far too complex-and needlessly expensive-so a hole was cut in the rear floor of the 5's monocoque and a tubular frame constructed to support the engine and transmission.

A number of engines were considered. The 2,664-cubic centimetre V-6 from the Renault 30 was dismissed for being too heavy and complicated for rallying; the 1,995-cubic centimetre inline-four from the 20 TS was too long to fit. A turbocharged version of the Alpine A110's 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine would have proved perfect-Renault was about to pioneer the use of turbos in F1, so could use its knowledge for the new rally car-but after this engine's capacity had been multiplied by the equivalency factor of 1.4, it would move the car out of the 2,000-cubic centimetre class and into 2,500, where a heavier minimum weight requirement would ensure the car failed to play to its strengths.

That left the 1,397-cubic centimetre unit from the Renault 5 Alpine (known as the Gordini in the United Kingdom). Using a modified Lancia Stratos as a testbed, work began on increasing its output from a normally aspirated 93 brake horsepower to a turbocharged 162 brake horsepower. The most highly developed