1985 Renault R5 Turbo2 - Jay Leno’s Garage

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1985 Renault R5 Turbo2 - Jay Leno’s Garage

Jay Leno's Garage

[Tiagotaf]

Those homologation specials from 80's and 90's are the coolest cars ever made in history!

[KurwaRomek]

As a Frenchman I admire how much this man took care of his car... so many Turbo2s ended up in ditches or wrapped around trees in here

[Shev]

I absolutely love this car. I'm British. My first car, at 17 years old. Was a Renault 5 GT TURBO. The insurance cost more than the car cost!! I had 3 over the years. Not the turbo 2 obviously. But makes me smile just seeing you feature thus car. I wish I had of kept one of mine! As in the 90's-2000's, the most I paid, was £5k. Now, a rough one is at least £10k here in the UK. I still may try and buy one again. Magic little cars. For how long they lasted. As usually about 2 months before you blow the 1.4 litre engine!!! Thanks for bringing back some happy memories.

[RepublicD]

1.4 liter 200 hp.. that sounds like 2019 specs. Impressive stuff.

[tylerfabish]

This is probably one of the best sounding car 4 cylinder engines i have ever heard

[sohafid]

This "Renault R5 Turbo 2" and the "Peugeot 205 turbo 16" are both most legendary car here in France. 🇫🇷

[txnetcop]

Sold Peugeot and Renault cars in San Antonio, Texas in the late 70s...the 205 GTI 1.9L was a real surprise! Loved it!

[fernandoopoka]

i dont care if you have a vette, or an 800HP mustang, if you think that this car is old crap, you are not a car guy...

[gazorbo.]

On my first trip ever to the US (California), I was extremely surprised to see one parked in the streets of Santa Cruz.
It was grey/silver.
I tried to explain to my friends what an incredible car it was but they were dubious.
In the evening, as we were driving back to the bay area, it just flew past us, possibly clocking close to 200 Kph!

[sziklafygyula]

I love how Jay says that he wanted this car so much when he was a "kid", but in reality, he was already 35.

[PhilippeMarchand-xwzp]

This car is designed to be driven and enjoyed on small curvy roads not on these kind of streets

[CaptHollister]

That engine actually was based on the one used in the R5 Alpine and was an evolution of the one previously used in the R8 in the 1960s. Its turbo installation was designed by Pierre Masset and Philippe Chasselut while the very concept of the car was due to Jean Terramorsi and his assistant Henry Lherm.

[MrEdTraveler]

It's one of the most exciting cars I've ever driven. It feels completely different to any other car. It's not the power, or the speed, it's the sensations that this car produce. I own a Renault Super 5 GT Turbo from 1985 and driving the Turbo 2 was like meeting the bigger brother of mine.

[mereclander]

This car was created when passion moved the car’s world. Amazing engine, line, sound...and tons of fun. I love it!!!

[bloodySunday]

1.4 l engine, 200HP... and all of that back in '85. The very definition of a hot hatchback. I always wanted one.

[management]

My mom had a Renault alliance. That was our car until I was 10-12. 1985-92. Served us well. Lots of good memories

[maverickmilesnehemiahakath]

In 1984 I actually owned an ultra-rare (Gray Market) R5 Turbo 1.
It had an ALL Aluminium body and was a fire-spitting dragon of a pocket rocket car.
I flew into Cocoa Beach Fla. from Atlanta GA and bought it from Sun International as they were going out of business and it was the last Turbo 1 they had out of the 21 they had imported into the US.
I paid the guy cash for the Renault on a Friday night and proceeded to take 1-75 North back to Georgia.
The little red race car was such a wild looking vehicle at the time, that 5 of the 7 times that I was stopped was not for speeding but the Troopers just wanted to get a look at the unique thing!
I was stopped a total 7 times before I made it back to Atlanta, 4 times by the Florida Highway Patrol Troopers and 3 times by The Georgia State Patrol Troopers all of them mesmerized by the little French Rocketship that shot fire out about 3 feet out of its tailpipe!
So much so, that of the 2 speeding tickets that I picked up...
the first one radar clocked me 125 and the second (using the old VASCAR system) at 107 MPH!
Now you don't mess with those "Good Ole" Boy Southern Troopers down there, so when the Blue bubble gums light up I just instantly pulled over and waited for them to catch up. And in BOTH instances (One Florida Trooper and the Georgia Trooper) the first thing out of their mouths was: "What the hell kind of car is this!?!"
With the most bewildered look on their faces to accompany the profound question! LOL

I drove it in and around Atlanta and Buckhead as my daily driver for 2 years before selling the hot hatch for a handsome chunk of change and bought a Porsche 928 with the proceeds.
To this very day, it still remains the biggest regret of my automotive passions to have let that brilliant R5 Turbo 1 go.
I've never seen another R5 Turbo 1 on the streets again and I've only seen one Turbo 2 in
36 years.
Thanks, Jay for showing us this wondering little French car that put a smile on your face and reminded me just how lucky I was to have actually owned one of the true gems of the automotive world.

[BT-cdwb]

Love the variety of cars on JAYS channel

[haroldpearson]

I had the standard R5 fo 7 years whilst working in Ethiopia from 1976 to 1983. We went all over the country on fishing trips etc. Into areas most people would only go in a 4x4. The little car never let us down! The early R5 followed on the toughness and reliability of the R4.

[rogerbarrett]

Great video- I worked for a Renault agent in the UK from the early 1970's to the 1990's and remember these well, although they were pretty rare- I had 2 of the later R5 GT Turbos (1989) which were normal configuration front mounted, front wheel drive and loved them but they needed to be looked after properly to keep them reliable - Great days.