Bomb On Wheels
This Renault 5 Maxi Turbo 2 (a car produced in the early 80s), certainly does not go unnoticed, after all, the prototype was designed by Marcello Gandini and does not hide its racing and sports origins. Only on the front you can see the close relationship with the famous French everyday car, but when you see those flared fenders, especially in the back, with that huge air intakes, it is because this beast, mounting the engine in the rear center position, has a supercharged 1.400cc developing 160 bhp at 6.000 rpm and a torque of 210 Nm at 3,250 rpm, rear wheel drive and incredible acceleration. During Rallies, powers have risen too much in each step, with small touches also on the displacement. But surely even this original version, as mom Renault has done, is a piece of history as well as a proper hot hatch which is fun to drive, but it will be its present owner, who will tell us, how he came into possession of this little gem:
“I bought it at the beginning of last year, has always been a dream of mine, ever since I saw it as a child, to a car parts market, where I went with my father. Since then, I fell in love. Four years ago I came across an opportunity, I wanted to sell my car to buy one that I found on the internet, but it was white and that color does not thrill me much. Although friends were trying to make up my mind, I gave up because it was not exactly how I wanted. Time passed and just as I did not expect, browsing on the internet, appeared to me the announce of a red exemplary and therefore, at once I’ve decided to go and see it. One Sunday morning, I went in Liguria and when I had it there in front of me for the very first time, I realized that it was the right one. I’ve tried it and I decided that I absolutely had to have it, on the Friday of the following week, it was already at my house! The car was almost perfect, only had a few niggles, such as the open muffler or other little things, but all solvable. A week after taking it, I took it immediately to Como, where there is a specialized mechanic for this type of cars and it was all meticulously checked and set-up. Withdrawn after more than two months, now you can say that is really perfect from A to Z. I do not use it much, only on Sundays, if the sun is shining, however, the driving sensations it transmits, even being a car of 30 years, are really strong and it would be a lot of fun being able to take advantage of it more, it certainly has the potential, but I’m a bit scared and I want to enjoy it, without risking going to crash, to do the fool!”
Stefano