Renault 5 II

Supercinq at a glance

The Supercinq is listed in our Renault catalogue, and Renault's wider story, from Billancourt to the electric era, is in our history of Renault.

A new car under a familiar shape

By the time the new car arrived in October 1984, Renault was late. Ford, General Motors, Peugeot, Fiat and Nissan had all launched modern superminis in the previous 18 months, and the original R5 still used a longitudinal engine set behind the front axle. Marcello Gandini styled the replacement to look like an evolution of the 1972 car, but the bodyshell and platform were new.

The main change was under the bonnet. The engine now sat across the car, as in the Renault 9 and 11, and MacPherson struts replaced the old front suspension. The body was longer and wider, with about 20 per cent more glass and more room inside. A five-door with a 60 mm longer wheelbase followed in May 1985, and right-hand-drive cars reached the UK in January 1985.

Engines, transmissions and performance

Renault offered the Supercinq with five petrol engine sizes and, from November 1985, with a naturally aspirated diesel.

In Italy the top version also used the 1.4, while other markets had the 1.7 at the top of the range. Wikipedia's production table gives the diesel's output only in hp, so the kW figure is a conversion.

GT Turbo: the hot Supercinq

The GT Turbo arrived in February 1985. Its engine was a turbocharged 1,397 cc version of the Cléon four, a design that went back to 1962, with an air-cooled Garrett T2 turbocharger and 85 kW (113 hp). At 850 kg the car was very light. Renault added a 7-litre supplementary fuel tank to the 43-litre main tank, an oil cooler, lowered suspension and disc brakes on all four wheels. The GT Turbos were assembled by Alpine in Dieppe, about 40 a day in 1985.

The Phase II of 1987 brought a water-cooled turbo, more than 88 kW (118 hp) and a drag coefficient lowered from 0.36 to 0.35, with 0–100 km/h in 7.5 seconds. A new interior followed in 1989 and the metallic-blue Raider special edition in 1990. The GT Turbo ended in late 1991, when the Clio 16V and Clio Williams took over.

The car's best result came in rallying. Alain Oreille won the 1989 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire in a GT Turbo, which is still the only overall World Rally Championship win for a Group N production car.

Trims, Baccara and convertibles

At launch the range was TC, TL, GTL and Automatic, followed by TS and TSE. The 1.7-litre GTX and GTE sat above them. From July 1987 the Baccara was the luxury flagship with the 1.7 engine; it was sold as the Monaco in the UK, the Exclusiv in Germany and the Limited in Italy.

A small number of convertibles were made by EBS in 1989, about 1,400 cars, almost all left-hand drive. Only 14 were based on the right-hand-drive GT Turbo Phase II.

Express, Extra and Rapid vans

The Supercinq also gave Renault a small van. The Renault Express, sold as the Extra in the UK and Ireland and as the Rapid in German-speaking countries, used the car's front end with a tall load box. It replaced the Renault 4 F6 Fourgonette, which ended in 1986. Renault's current small van is covered in our article on the Renault Kangoo since 1997.

Key specifications and production

Production started at Boulogne-Billancourt, with the GT Turbo in Dieppe and further cars in Palencia, Spain, and at Revoz in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. When the Clio arrived in 1990, the Supercinq moved to Revoz.

The Supercinq after the Clio, 1990–1996

Renault did not drop the car when the Clio appeared. The late range used 1.1 and 1.4 petrol engines and the 1.6 diesel, and the basic R5 Campus became the most common version. It sold particularly well in the UK, where the Twingo was not offered. The 1.4 with a catalytic converter of December 1992 ended the diesel for private buyers, and production finally stopped in 1996 after twelve years. Renault's later small cars are covered in our guides to the Renault Clio generations and the Renault Twingo since 1992.

Rivals: how the Supercinq compares

The Supercinq entered a crowded class: Wikipedia names Ford, GM, Peugeot, Fiat and Nissan as the makers that had launched new superminis shortly before it. Their cars were the Ford Fiesta, the Opel Corsa (Vauxhall Nova), the Peugeot 205, the Fiat Uno and the Nissan Micra. The GT Turbo competed with the hot versions of these cars, above all the 205 GTI. Use our car comparison tool to set the figures of later superminis side by side, or search today's small hatchbacks by size and power in the car finder.