Rally fans will never forget the 1980s, the era of the fearsome and spine-tingling Group B cars. For kids growing up in those days, cars like the Audi Sport Quattro S1, Ford RS200, Peugeot 205 T16, Lancia Delta S4 and Renault 5 Turbo were absolute monsters.
German Frank Hachmann met one of those cars at a rally in France when he was a child and remained forever fascinated by the looks and sounds of the car. The mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo captured his imagination so much that when he turned 30, he bought himself a 1984 Renault 5 Turbo 2 .
The production version of the rally car featured a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine producing 160 PS (158hp) and 221 Nm (163 lb-ft) of torque in standard form.
Although it was far from the R5 Maxi Turbo competition car’s 350 PS (345hp), the rear-wheel drive production version was capable of sprinting from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.6 seconds and could reach 200 km/h (124 mph). But most of all, the perfect balance of the car made it (and still makes it) a real joy to drive.
Hachmann has owned the car for 20 years now and, understandably, has no intention to ever sell it. Scroll down to watch the video, courtesy of Caroholics, it's in German, but the sights and sounds of the Renault 5 Turbo need no translation.
By Dan Mihalascu
Thanks to Caroholics for the heads up!
