1984 Renault 5 Turbo 2

In 1980 Renault introduced the new R5 Turbo as a pure homologation special to compete in Group 4 racing and international rallies. The 5 Turbo was based on the production Renault 5 Alpine, but Renault engineers scrapped the standard front-engine, front wheel drive layout in favour of a mid-engine, rear-drive set up. In 1981 Jean Ragnotti and his co-driver Jean-Marc Andrie won the Monte Carlo Rally outright for Renault, and the following year Ragnotti won the Tour de Corse. In 1984 Group B homologation was sought for the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo to enable it to contest the World Rally Championship. Ragnotti added another Tour de Corse win with the 5 Maxi Turbo in 1985. After the first batch of 400 road cars had been made to satisfy Group 4 homologation volume requirements, a second generation, known as the Turbo 2 was to follow. This 1984 Turbo 2 was brought to the UK when it was only a year old in 1985, and has had only four owners in total. The third owner purchased the car in 1988 and owned it for the next 26 years until 2014. He used the car sparingly for the first 11 years, then put it away in storage for the following 15. The current mileage stands at 89,000kms (55,000 Miles) and a file of previous MoTs confirms this mileage to be correct. Our vendor bought the car in 2014, and immediately wasted no time in getting it fully recommissioned, sourcing a number of rare parts carefully from "5 Turbo" specialists in France.

The brakes received a complete overhaul, with all four callipers being fully rebuilt and new handbrake cables were installed with new discs and pads all round. All the water pipes were changed along with a new thermostat, radiator, water pump and fan belt. The engine was brought back to life with an injection system refurbishment carried out by specialists KMI Injection. The injection metering unit was stripped, rebuilt and refitted with 3 new fuel pumps, fuel accumulator, fuel pipes, fuel relay, injectors and a warm up regulator. As well as the mandatory service items such as air filter and oil filter, all the electrical components were changed including spark plugs, coil, HT leads, distributor rotor and cap. The fuel tanks were removed and cleaned with new fuel level senders fitted. A new set of Michelin TRX tyres were fitted and, as you would expect, the car now runs and drives exceptionally well. Too much work was carried out to list in full, but suffice it to say that nearly £10,000 was invested in this Turbo 2 to ensure that it is mechanically sound. Externally, the car can only be described as being in "unmolested' condition and the paintwork is still factory original, although some of the French lacquer has made a bid for freedom! Whilst not a 'Concours Queen', this definitive Group B pocket rocket has patina in droves and a huge amount of character. With less than 50 Renault 5 Turbo 2s estimated to remain in the UK, they are a rare sight on British roads and rarely come up for sale.

Supplied with a UK V5c and an MoT until August '16, this Turbo 2 has been subject to a significant amount of expenditure and has had all the important recommissioning work already carried out. This is a chance to own what is surely one of the original and definitive "hot hatches' from the eighties, and not an opportunity to be missed.