2022 Renault R5 Turbo 3E Show Car

The Renault R5 Turbo 3E show car turned the Renault 5’s fiftieth anniversary into an electric drift spectacle. Its exaggerated bodywork and enormous rear wing made the message immediate, while its tubular chassis and twin-motor rear-drive layout established a physical competition-oriented concept. It is distinct from the later production-intent Renault 5 Turbo 3E.

A birthday tribute built around the Turbo story

Renault announced the show car in September 2022, ahead of its Chantilly Arts & Elegance appearance and subsequent Paris Motor Show display. The reference was the original Renault 5 Turbo and Turbo 2, rather than an ordinary hatchback fitted with decorative stripes. The name placed an electric interpretation after the Turbo 2 in the brand’s narrative. That sequence is design history, not evidence that the car was a homologated continuation of the earlier petrol programme.

Renault: R5 Turbo 3E, born to drift, September 2022

A dedicated electric architecture

The factory describes a tubular chassis, carbon-fibre bodywork and a rear-wheel-drive layout with one electric motor for each rear wheel. A 42 kWh battery sits centrally beneath the floor. Its 280 kW and 700 Nm figures are manufacturer references for the 2022 concept. They must remain attached to that configuration: later announcements for a road-going Turbo 3E describe different machinery, higher output and a separate battery and charging proposition.

The visible hardware explains the brief

The huge wing, very wide rear body and upright handbrake make sense when the design is read as a drift car. Renault also specified more than fifty degrees of steering angle. As engineering interpretation, those features prioritise control during sustained oversteer rather than an ordinary hatchback’s compromise between luggage space and everyday use. The historical Turbo outline provides recognition, but it does not establish shared chassis construction or an unchanged mechanical lineage.

Renault: R5 Turbo 3E, born to drift, September 2022

A show car with a deliberately theatrical cabin

The interior combined Sabelt competition seating and restraints with a dashboard of digital displays and references to video-game graphics. Those choices are part of the object’s historical design, not a reason to replace the actual vehicle with a digital image. The supplied Chantilly photograph documents the physical show car’s presentation. Its finish and exhibition setting should remain dated, because later appearances and changes in livery can otherwise be mistaken for newly built examples.

Renault: separate production-intent Turbo 3E announcement

Keep the concept separate from the customer programme

Renault’s March 2025 announcement introduced a production-intent Renault 5 Turbo 3E, with a planned numbered customer series. That car has its own profile in this batch. For the 2022 object, preserve the build and exhibition record, component changes and custody history. A later demonstration can establish that a particular vehicle ran on a particular occasion; it cannot certify the present condition of every system or supply an exclusive worldwide chassis census.

Specifications and identity reference

Rarity and production scope

This is an Archive record for the 2022 physical R5 Turbo 3E show-car programme. The factory verifies its identity and configuration, but the cited announcement does not establish a complete census of prototypes, development builds or replacement chassis. The inventory’s unqualified one-car shorthand is therefore not entered as an exclusive total. The later 1,980-unit customer programme is separate and is not added to this concept’s production.

This is an Archive record. Concepts, restored heritage vehicles, works cars and competition programmes are not added to customer road-production totals. A programme profile does not establish how many physical chassis were made, and repeated exhibition appearances do not create additional vehicles.

What the photograph represents

The original R5 Turbo 3E show car at Chantilly Arts & Elegance in 2022. It illustrates the tubular-frame electric drift concept, separate from the later production-intent Renault 5 Turbo 3E programme; the photograph does not authenticate present mechanical operation.

Related Renault heritage profiles

• 2025 Renault 5 Turbo 3E Production Programme
• 2025 Renault Filante Record 2025

Frequently asked questions

Is this the 1,980-car Renault 5 Turbo 3E series?

No. This profile covers the original 2022 drift show car. The later production-intent road programme has a separate identity and technical specification.

Does the factory’s 280 kW figure describe the later road model?

No. It is the reference for the original concept. The subsequent road programme uses a different drivetrain specification.

What is the production-count boundary for this profile?

This is an Archive record for the 2022 physical R5 Turbo 3E show-car programme. The factory verifies its identity and configuration, but the cited announcement does not establish a complete census of prototypes, development builds or replacement chassis. The inventory’s unqualified one-car shorthand is therefore not entered as an exclusive total. The later 1,980-unit customer programme is separate and is not added to this concept’s production.

Sources and further reading

1. Renault: R5 Turbo 3E, born to drift, September 2022
2. Renault: separate production-intent Turbo 3E announcement

Research checked 17 October 2026. Linked factory announcements and heritage records support the specifically attributed claims. Photographic descriptions identify the illustrated subject. Design analysis and suggested authentication steps are editorial interpretation.