Renault was a serious frontrunner in motorsport throughout the 1980s due to one serious obsession: turbocharging. Unfortunately for serious buyers, turbocharged production cars on the public market at the time were either prohibitively expensive or embarrassingly underperforming. That is, until Renault’s Vice President of Production, Jean Terramorsi, asked Marc Deschamps to design a new sports version of the Renault 5 Alpine, the only requirement being that it housed Renault’s first production turbocharged engine. What may have sounded like a pipedream at the time turned into one of the most iconic cars of the decade.

The low chassis number of D0000020 suggests that this car is one of the earliest to be produced, all 400 of which were homologated by 1 September 1980. This chassis number also suggests that this Renault 5 Turbo could be the one that was driven by Works driver Bruno Saby for the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally – the same year that he became a French Rally Champion driving another R5 Turbo. Saby would go on to win two World Rally Championships during his career. After the Monte-Carlo Rally, Saby’s car was involved in an accident which necessitated the vehicle undergo mechanical repairs.

In its current configuration, D0000020 retains several Group 4 characteristics. The front suspension remains in Group 4 specification, and the lower front wishbone without torsion bars is also correct. Additionally, the dial panel on the dashboard is original to the era. Currently prepared in the famous yellow Tour de Corse livery, this Turbo has been campaigned in a multitude of hill climbs and rallies, with great success.

Offered here is a chance to own a piece of that macho spirit of the 1980s, when the creation of a mid-engined, turbocharged Renault was not merely possible, but hugely successful.