She has staked his life since he got his driver’s license. She ? It’s here Renault 5the famous R5, French star of the 70s and 80s. David got his pink card behind the wheel and, barely a few very short years later, he is now on his fourth model: a Alpine Turbo fully restored that he bought a year ago.
Fully restored? The term is not quite accurate. “The bodywork and mechanics have been completely redone. All that’s missing is the interior.” And, surprise, for a Renault from the 80s, the plastics are in very good condition, as are the floor mats and the headlining. Only the seats need to be reviewed. “It must be said that the car spent nearly twenty years without moving, outside in addition. The foam of the seats is burned by the sun”. Its former owner rescued it from this bad situation by restoring it before selling it to David.
An excellent power to weight ratio
Since then, he has scoured the countryside and gatherings of old people behind the wheel. If he has not yet restored the upholstery, he wanted to modify the sound of his Alpine by offering it an exhaust line Devil of the time and changing the shock absorbers, “history that it holds the road a little”. Which can be very useful. Because even if the small car does not exceed 108 hp, its weight of 890 kg gives it great acceleration. “But be careful, it’s an old-fashioned turbo that only activates at 3,500 rpm. You better be warned.”
Such a mechanism of this age should logically consume more than reason. “Not really, it takes between 8 and 9 l / 100 km” reassure David. As for the price of the machine, and its possible resale, the ratings do not weaken. “In poor condition, you have to count 12,000 euros for an R5 Alpine. When it is restored, it can reach 25,000 euros”. His was appraised at 20,000 euros and now has a collection gray card which allows David not to spend more than 200 euros per year on insurance.
Faithful to the Renault 5 of his youth, was David seduced by the new model that Renault is regarding to launch in a few days at the Motor Showwith its derivatives “Turbo” and maybe Alpine ? If he recognizes “a little R5 side” in the new line, he is not ready to take the plunge and abandon his favorite model. In question ? the electric motorization, not for its mechanical defects, but because of the difficulties of recharging, “if you don’t connect at home, it’s complicated”. While waiting for the terminals to multiply, David is having fun driving his 40-year-old Alpine, without power steering, without electric windows and with a refueling done at the pump next to his home.
