No one would look at a Renault 5 and imagine it could be modified, even heavily, to produce one of the coolest cars of the 1980s. However, that is exactly what happened when Renault’s Vice President of Production, Jean Terramorsi, was inspired by the incredible success of Lancia’s Stratos. First unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show in 1980, the Renault 5 Turbo was built on a modified Renault 5 chassis. The Turbo’s most radical change was the placement of the engine behind the driver and the switch to rear-wheel drive.

Seeking to lower production costs but not suffer from a loss of performance, in 1983 Renault pared down the Turbo into what would become the Turbo II. These road-legal cars proved incredibly popular. Copies of previous registrations on file show that this example was first registered in Wolfsburg, Germany, in 1986 before moving to the Netherlands, and finally Belgium, and was purchased by the current owner and exported to Switzerland in 2016. It is a perfect introduction to rallying’s 1980 heyday.