Renault is best known for its affordable cars, but that hasn’t always been the case lately. Take the Megane RS Trophy-R, for example, as it came with a jaw-dropping price tag of £72,000, which equates to around $96,300 in today’s money. Now, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E takes things even further, launching with an exorbitant starting price of £135,000 ($180,000).
That’s Porsche 911 Carrera GTS money if we’re comparing UK pricing, or double the price of a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Perhaps a more relevant comparison is with the standard Renault 5, which costs nearly six times less in Britain. But beyond the name, the two cars share very little. The 5 Turbo 3E is a two-door, two-seat EV with rear-wheel drive, while the regular 5 is a four-door, five-seat hatch with front-wheel drive.
Photo by: Renault
Renault calls it an “introductory price,” which excludes options, customizations, and accessories, so expect final costs to be even higher for this so-called “mini supercar.” Only 1,980 individually numbered units will be made, a nod to the original Renault 5 Turbo homologation special from 1980. The 5 Turbo 3E will be available in Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and Australia.
Ordering one isn’t your typical dealership affair. Interested buyers must fill out a form on a dedicated website, select a dealer, and wait for a call to schedule a showroom appointment. After that, they’ll be asked to sign a reservation form. Renault explains that these dealer reservations actually help fund the car’s development, acting as a pre-financing mechanism.
The process continues into early 2026, when dealers will announce the 1,980 customers. Final configurations will be completed in the first half of 2027, with deliveries beginning later that year. Renault admits the project wouldn’t have been possible without dealer involvement through upfront funding.
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Source: Renault
Performance-wise, the 5 Turbo 3E delivers 536 horsepower and an eye-watering 3,540 lb-ft (4,800 Nm) of torque, likely measured at the wheels. It rockets from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in around three seconds, with a top speed of 168 mph (270 km/h). Power comes from in-wheel motors at the rear fed by a 70-kWh battery, good for up to 249 miles (400 km) on the WLTP cycle.
Despite its wild specs, Renault has kept the weight at just 3,197 pounds (1,450 kg), roughly the same as the regular 5 with the 52-kWh battery. How? Thanks to generous use of carbon fiber and the absence of rear doors and seats. The widebody 5 Turbo 3E also boasts an 800-volt architecture, enabling 350 kW fast charging, which can juice the battery from 15 to 80 percent in just 15 minutes.
Even with that eye-watering price, the 5 Turbo 3E isn’t the most expensive new car the Renault Group has ever sold. That title goes to the Alpine A110 R Ultime “La Bleue”, which at €330,000 ($380,000), holds the crown as the most expensive four-cylinder production car in history.
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