Re: R5 Turbo - no Alfa content (well, a LITTLE more now)

[Scott Fisher <sfisher71@domain.elided>]

--- Alex Jenner <alexj@domain.elided> wrote:
> 
> There are R5 Turbo's and then there are R5 Turbo's.
> The R5 Alpine Turbo was a 
> 110bhp pushrod turbocharged transverse FWD machine

VERY minor nit, Alex -- while it was FWD, it was not
transverse.  The R5's engine was longitudinally
mounted, but located BEHIND the transaxle, so
technically it was a mid-engined, FWD vehicle.  It was
basically Renault's rear-engined powerplant, but moved
to the other axle.  We test-drove one in the early
1980s when my wife needed an economical car for an
outside technical-support job that covered a huge area
of southern California.  

...Of course, it dawns on me that the R5 Alpine may
well have had a transverse layout; the standard R5,
however, was longitudinally mounted as described.  The
U.S. has never received many of Renault's Alpine
models, and I suppose it's possible (though unlikely,
given that the overall architecture of the rest of the
Renault product line at the time was longitudinal)
that they put in a transverse powerplant for the
Alpine.  I am reasonably sure, for example, that the
standard R5 had nowhere near 110 bhp -- more like half
that.

The best feature of the R5 "Le Car" as it was known in
the U.S. was its 0-30 time -- gearing in first was
surprisingly sprightly compared to the other
contenders in the class, and handling was pleasant, if
possessed of what I later came to understand was a
typical Gallic tendency to body roll (due to the
presence of cobblestone roads in much of France). 
However, its appointments were not something that Kim
thought she'd be comfortable in for the hours needed
to get from one client to the next -- and the car she
did end up getting covered 27,000 miles in just over a
year, when she changed jobs and I did one of many
Stupid Car Things: traded her car and my '83 GTI for a
brand-new 1984 Mustang SVO ("but HONEY, the monthly
payment is actually LESS!").  I only mention it
because I eventually traded the SVO for a GTV6 -- my
first Alfa, and the last new car before the drugs (a
lethal mix of Castrol and Brakleen) kicked in and I
went into full-time classic/weird car mode.

I faintly remember a contemporary SCCA Runoffs report
in SportsCar magazine which mentioned the roadgoing R5
FWD winning two road-racing national championships,
because the driver was able to replace the wet-sleeve
cylinders and pistons between two races and compete in
two completely different displacement classes with the
same car.  That is about all I remember of the story;
the year would have been about 1984-85, as it was not
long after we had elected not to purchase the R5 for
Kim.

> The R5 Turbo 1, R5 Turbo 2 and R5 Turbo Maxi on the
> other hand, are mid engined 

Again, to be specific, that would be mid-engined RWD. 
They were effective rally cars till the introduction
of the Audi quattro, which ushered in the AWD rally
revolution, later to see the participation by Lancia
and M.G. (among others) with AWD supercars that
eventually changed the face of World Rally
Competition.

The owner of the shop where I had some work done on my
Lotus-Cortina at that time also owned an R5 Turbo 2. 
I remember that the intercooler looked about the size
of a truck radiator.  These cars had to be
individually imported (read, grey market) to the U.S.
at the time; I lusted after them in a faint,
ineffectual sort of way, as they were at the time
somewhat beyond my reach (roughly twice the cost of
the SVO, for comparison).  At the time, there was a
soft spot in my head for the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing
car, a vehicle that looked unassuming or even homely,
yet which had acceleration and roadholding beyond its
apparent capabilities.  It's the same soft spot that
occasionally has me thinking about installing a
high-performance 2L in a '73 or '74 Berlina -- all the
speed and handling of a GTV with all the
cop-attracting factor of a Toyota Corona, plus room
for all the kids.  And with a 4.11 rear end from a
later Spider, it would be a relatively economical
highway car, too.  

--Scott Fisher
  Tualatin, Oregon
Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! 
http://auctions.yahoo.com

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