Image Credit: Renault Group.
Progress... I'm told it's a good thing. Our phones are now cameras, our watches are now doctors, and our cars are becoming silent assassins. They creep up on us in parking lots with all the menace of a stalking librarian. And now, Renault, the French company that once gave us cars that looked like they were styled with a baguette, has decided to build the ultimate tribute to its loudest, most unhinged past... by making it completely silent. I kid you not.
The new R5 Turbo 3E is a love letter to the original Renault 5 Turbo, a mid-engined, wide-arched psychopath from the 1980s that was basically a rally car for the road. That old car would shout, spit, and snarl at you. This new one? It whispers sweet nothings, all you hear is mainly the sound of its tires begging for mercy and gravel pinging off its underbelly. I feel like I'm watching a mime win a heavyweight boxing match. Impressive, sure, but profoundly weird.
Image Credit: Renault Group.
Renault paraded this electric beast at the Tour de Corse rally, a fitting tribute since the original Maxi 5 Turbo won there 40 years ago. They even had a pro driver, Julien Saunier, fling it around, pulling off spectacular drifts and 360-degree spins. He called it a "true rallying beast," blown away by the acceleration and braking. And from the videos, it looks like a housefly on a sugar high – impossibly agile and quick. But when someone posted a clip without the dramatic music Renault layered over their official footage, the internet did what it does best. It pointed and laughed.
The comments were pure gold. "My phone was on mute. I turned on the sound and it feels the same as before," one wag quipped. Another simply asked, "Where is the turbo?" And you have to admit, they have a point. Calling a car "Turbo" when it has no turbo is like calling a salad a steak. It's just not right. People were begging for any noise, even a fake one, to give the car some soul. Some even suggested putting a gasoline engine in it, which sort of defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it?
Image Credit: Renault Group.
Never mind the sound of silence. Let's talk about what this thing is because it isn't a souped-up version of the new electric R5 you'll see in Europe. This wild R5 is a "mini-supercar," a bespoke creation built with help from the wizards at Alpine. It sits on a custom aluminum chassis with a carbon superstructure. It's got a ridiculously wide stance, modern LED lights, and more wings and vents than a fighter jet. Pure automotive theater.
Underneath that dramatic bodywork, things get even crazier. There are two electric motors, one for each rear wheel, delivering a combined 550 horsepower. In a car the size of a shoebox. This means a 0-to-62-mph sprint takes just under 3.5 seconds. It's rear-wheel drive, has a nearly perfect 43/57 weight distribution, and double-wishbone suspension. It's a serious piece of kit designed for one thing: going sideways with a massive grin on your face.
Image Credit: Renault Group.
This electric menace is packing a 70 kWh battery, which Renault claims is good for nearly 250 miles on a full charge. That's enough range to get you to your favorite mountain road, hoon it like a lunatic, and still have enough juice to get home. Even better, it can recharge from 15 to 80 percent in just 15 minutes. That's barely enough time to catch your breath and explain to the local authorities why you were seen performing pirouettes in a public space.
Do you want one? Of course you do. I do as well. But we'd need to be quick and, more importantly, rich. Renault is only building 1,980 of them between 2027 and 2029, and about half are already spoken for. The price for this silent but violent little monster is $185,000. For that money, you do get to personalize it. You can have it in a historic racing livery or a more understated "gentleman driver" theme. You can also customize the interior, presumably with materials that are easy to wipe the sweat of pure terror off of.
Image Credit: Renault Group.
This whole project is a wonderful, glorious contradiction. It's a tribute to a famously noisy past, executed with the quiet technology of the future. It's an exercise in fun, a car that makes absolutely no sense, which is precisely why it's so compelling. It's a paradox on wheels - a silent screamer.
There's no denying that the Renault R5 Turbo 3E is an engineering masterpiece. But as I watch it drift in perfect silence, a small part of my soul cries for the lost symphony of internal combustion. It's a Michelin-starred meal with no flavor: technically perfect, but where's the fizz? Still, if anyone from Renault is reading this and has a spare one lying around... My garage is always open.
