In early 1972, the Renault 5 made its appearance. The mischievous city car and the Supercinq, which succeeded it, left their mark on a whole generation until the arrival of the Clio. A past that has clearly inspired Renault to build its future. Meeting between the R5 of yesterday and tomorrow.
In early 1972, my predecessors, journalists at The argus of the automobile and locomotions discovered the Renault 5. At the time, they had ample opportunity to detail in large format, in the edition of February 3, this city car which would later become emblematic. ” The Renault 5, a long-distance urban car perfectly adapted to modern traffic,” they said in the preamble.
Fifty years later, the heir to the R5, the Renault 5 Prototype, has just received the special Jury Prize at the Trophies The argus 2022. For the occasion, we have brought together the Renault 5 of yesterday and that of today… or even tomorrow since this concept car will give birth, in 2024, to an electric R5.
If for the moment we are dealing with a “remote-controlled” style model to be able to move on the carpet of the shows, its bodywork is already more than 96% faithful to that of the future production car. A promising machine in more ways than one.
Back to the original R5
But before talking about a future that will be multiple and electric for Renault, let me take you on a journey through time. The genesis of the Renault 5, which began at the end of the 1960s, in the wake of the events of May 1968, was rapid, less than 5 years, and perfectly took into account the change of era that was taking place. To meet new needs, the car is compact (3.52 m), equipped with a very practical tailgate and is protected by plastic shields, a technology never seen before at this level of the range. The R5 is a revolution! By its colorful shades: sunflower yellow, Andalusian orange (here at the rendezvous) or even garden green, it is immediately noticeable in traffic. With its orange-yellow body, sprinkled with a zest of mother-of-pearl for modernity, today’s Renault 5 Prototype takes up the torch. She can be seen from afar!
Small on the outside, big on the inside
Before boarding this Renault 5 TL which takes us back to the seventies, the long doors give good access. On the driver’s side, it is not necessary to tilt the backrest, an adult of my size (1.70 m) can slip into the rear seats without forceps. Anyway, on the passenger side, the chair tilts in its entirety and allows all sizes to invest the seat. Spacious, the Renault 5 offers space in all directions, even above our heads with a roof whose fine interior trim inaugurates molded natural fibre.
A guarantee of quality, durability over time, and making life easier for workers on the assembly line. They no longer have to contort themselves to stuff the roof by hand, as was still the case for the 4L. With which, moreover, the R5 has not quite cut the cord, evidenced by the gear lever on the dashboard and the exhaust outlet upstream of the left rear wheel. Two elements which will disappear during the long career which will end in 1984, of a Renault 5 which has continued to move upmarket.
Made of flexible materials, for safety, the dashboard is a model of ergonomics, everything falls perfectly to hand. The instrumentation brings together all the information and commands in a single module. This is unheard of. An architecture that will stand out and that will be taken over by the competition. Minimalist, the Renault 5 does not need door handles, notches are stamped in the side of the body, it is very ingenious and inexpensive once again.
Today the flush handles, at the front, on the concept car are in a way the heirs of this principle. No grille either but a hood which through a fold of sheet metal goes down to mid-headlight. In addition to minimizing the number of parts and therefore the cost price, this arrangement purifies the bow of the R5 and gives it a jovial face which has not failed to inspire advertisers. The latter glued eyes to him to make a character named supercar!
TO READ. Renault 5 Prototype. Hints in the headlights!
What good with the tailgate!
Under the hood, ” the engine is also greatly accommodated! », éwrote our predecessors in 1972. Access to the mechanics is easy, a good point for mechanics and more generally to facilitate all maintenance operations. The spare wheel stays warm, relatively protected from dirt. At the rear, the tailgate introduced by the Renault 4 in 1961 takes rivals who are content with a trunk whose opening very often resembles that of a letterbox under a window that remains fixed. Its rival, the Peugeot 104, also launched in 1972, learned this the hard way and took more than 4 years to rectify the situation. With the Renault 5, the tailgate is no longer useful. Combined with a folding rear bench seat, it becomes essential. The trunk swallows 270 to 580 liters and even up to 900 liters if you remove the bench. City dweller during the week, station wagon at the weekend, the R5 can do it all.
Renault 5 Prototype: the armed wing of the Renaulution
In January 2021, as part of its Renaulution, the diamond brand supports its speech in a very concrete way with the help of the Renault 5 Prototype. In addition to its name, its look is unequivocal, it takes on board the wedge lines of the Renault 5 of the 1970s, but also the muscular wings which echo the powerful Turbo version, queen of rallies in the early 1980s and Group B star in Maxi version. But also a bit of the Renault Supercinq in the height placement of the lights. Another common point is the black textile roof of the modern R5, which evokes the vinyl one of the Renault 5 automatics of yesteryear.
Obviously the size is different, in 50 years, the car has grown a lot, its format is close to 4 meters long. 100% electric, the R5 Prototype is based on a modern platform, the Renault group’s CMF-B, that of the Clio 5. This will allow the R5 to branch out into a small Alpine A5 and the next generation Nissan Micra. which we have already illustrated.
TO READ.
- Alpine A5 vs. Renault 5 Electric. The similarities, the differences?
- Nissan Micra (2025). 100% electric based on Renault 5
The mysterious interior of the future R5
In this meeting of the day we have only one regret, not having been able to board the modern R5. It’s not possible yet, because it’s only a full model. Renault will gradually unveil the interior of its future electric city car. For the moment we can only guess a transparent digital dashboard but this in no way reflects what will equip the future Renault 5 Electric. We can easily imagine a set of L-shaped tiles as on the new electronic Mégane E-Tech and the future Renault Austral SUV, the replacement for the Kadjar. A high-tech universe that will allow the top-of-the-range versions of the Renault 5 to titillate chic rivals such as the Fiat 500, Honda e and Mini Cooper SE. A way of paying homage to the TX version of its ancestor, the one that was the first little one that had everything of a big one.
The R5 remains made in France
The future Renault 5 Electric will be manufactured in the Douai plant in the North of France, its call price will be around €22,000. Two power levels are on the program: 110 and 135 hp and two capacities for the battery, 42 and 52 kWh.
“In 1972, a basic R5 cost the equivalent of €9,600, in 2024, the Renault 5 Electric will be charged from €22,000… “
For the record, in 1972, a basic Renault 5, manufactured in the Flins factory in the Yvelines department, powered by a 34 hp engine, was billed at 9,740 francs, i.e. the equivalent today of 9,600 € . This leaves you to think. We hope you enjoyed this round trip between past and future.
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