Renault might not have a single performance model in its current range right now, but the company was crazy enough to create the R5 Turbo 3E, a fully electric, limited-production hyper hatch that channels the spirit of the 1980s classic.

The electric hatch made its first public run at the historic Tour de Corse rally on the French island of Corsica, giving us a taste of its tire-burning capabilities. However, it also attracted negative comments for an unexpected reason; its near-total silence.

The demonstration marked 40 years since Jean Ragnotti’s 1985 Tour de Corse victory with the legendary Maxi 5 Turbo. That car inspired the prototype’s striking livery, blending blue with red and white graphics that stand out against the R5 Turbo 3E’s angular form.

The new model was driven by Renault ambassador Julien Saunier, who also took part in the rally’s historic class behind the wheel of the original mid-engined rally car. “It’s a true rallying beast,” he said. “I was blown away by the acceleration, which doesn’t fade when you gather speed, the braking that’s ultra-powerful yet easy to modulate, and its ability to perform spectacular but controlled drifts. I

Overwhelming Looks, Underwhelming Sound

Two advanced prototypes were shown in Corsica as part of ongoing development and fine-tuning ahead of production, which begins in 2027. Beyond rally stages, the EV demonstrated its agility before a crowd at the port of Calvi, with Saunier performing 360- and 180-degree spins that highlighted the rear-wheel-drive layout, compact dimensions, and hydraulic handbrake.

More: Alpine’s New A290 Rallye Throws Mud And Sparks At $70K

While Renault’s official footage was cut to music, a short clip posted by Autocar on Instagram revealed a different story. The Turbo 3E’s electric powertrain is so quiet that only tire squeal and gravel pinging off the underbody could be heard.

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One viewer joked, “My phone was on mute. I turned on the sound and it feels the same as before,” while another asked, “Where is the turbo?”

Many comments centered on the absence of engine noise, with one suggesting that even an artificial soundtrack would “immensely improve” the experience. Others went further, calling for Renault to add a combustion engine or at least a hybrid system to restore some of the original R5’s spirit.

Not Your Average Hot Hatch

The R5 Turbo 3E is not a beefed-up version of the production R5 E-Tech, but a bespoke “mini-supercar” engineered with the help of Alpine. This is evident in the exterior design, combining an ultra-wide stance and modern LEDs with retro cues from its predecessor.

More: The Next Fast Renault Is Coming Soon And It Might Not Be What You’d Expect

The EV rides on a new chassis made of aluminum with a carbon superstructure. It fitted with dual in-wheel electric motors mounted at the rear, delivering a combined 547 hp (408 kW / 555 PS). That output allows a sprint from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in under 3.5 seconds.

It features double-wishbone suspension and a near-ideal 43/57 front-to-rear weight distribution. A 70 kWh battery provides a WLTP range of more than 400 km (249 miles) and can recharge from 15 to 80 percent in just 15 minutes.

Renault

You Can Still Buy One

Renault will build 1,980 units of the R5 Turbo 3E between 2027 and 2029, with around 1,000 already reserved. The electric hyper hatch is priced at €160,000 (equal to $185,000 at current exchange rates) and is available in Europe, the UK, the Middle East, Japan, and Australia.

More: You Can Buy An Ioniq 5 N, An M2 And A Golf GTI For The Price Of Renault’s Electric Hot Hatch

From early 2026, prospective buyers will be able to personalize their Turbo 3E with help from Renault’s design team. Options will include historic racing liveries or more restrained “gentleman driver” themes, while the cabin can be customized with various materials and color combinations. Final specifications will be confirmed in the first half of 2027 before deliveries begin later that year.

Michael Grosjean, Renault 5 Turbo 3E Project Manager said:

“This incredible project has sparked a huge sense of excitement, not only internally but also among the public, with 500 reservations in the first three days! … We’re now keen to move on to the next stage, which will be to show customers the personalisation programme that we’ve put together for them. It promises to be a detailed and highly attractive line-up!”

Renault officials have hinted that the R5 Turbo 3E could be followed by other limited-production specials celebrating key moments from the brand’s past.

Renault

Renault is primed to deliver its third mashup of electric power and feelgood retro design. The all-new, fourth-generation Twingo E-Tech makes its debut on November 6, less than a month from now.

The sub £17k/€20k hatch is a size down from the Clio and 5 E-Tech, and a direct rival for the production version of Volkswagen’s ID. Every1 concept, which could be called ID. Lupo. But the VW isn’t due to launch until 2027, meaning Renault, as well as BYD with its new Dolphin Surf, have a big headstart.

Related: This Frog-Faced EV Is The Renault 5’s New Budget Baby Brother

And that might not be the Twingo’s only advantage. While the ID. Every1 looked stylish, grown-up and modern, we can imagine plenty of buyers – particularly the younger ones Renault is targeting – falling for the cute frog-like face of the French model.

As with the 5 EV, the rebooted model takes design inspiration from a decades-old Renault, in this case the 1990s first-generation Twingo. So it’s bound to invoke some nostalgic feelings, among those who remember the original, but it won’t matter if you don’t – the UK never got the gen-one, for instance.

Judging by these fresh teaser shots and last year’s concept, which the production car should mostly replicate, the 2026 Twingo is a great-looking bit of design in its own right.

Renault

Modern LED technology creates a friendly, cartoon-like face, with the same wide-eye signature being repeated at the back. The laid-back windshield once again stretches out towards the nose, compressing the size of the hood, but unlike the two-door original Twingo, this one will be strictly a four-door affair.

We’re still waiting to see the interior, but there’s every reason to believe it will feature a 10.1in infotainment touchscreen and a 7.0in digital instrument cluster, as shown in the concept.

Renault’s base 5 E-Tech makes 94 hp (95 PS / 70 kW) and gives a 194-mile (312 km) range from a 40 kWh battery, but don’t be surprised if the Twingo specs are cut down to help make its sub-€20,000 price a reality.

The group’s newly revised Dacia Spring, for example, is fitted with a 24.3 kWh LFP battery and offers 140 miles (225 km) of range. In any case, we’ll find out the full details on November 6.

We’ve included images below of the 2024 Twingo concept and spy shots of the production car prototype.

Renault

SHProshots

Overall car sales in Europe grew by 5 percent to 790,000 last month, buoyed by continuing enthusiasm for electric cars across the continent. Plug-in hybrids saw particularly strong momentum, with registrations climbing to 83,900 in August, a 59 percent increase on the previous year that lifted their market share to 10.6 percent.

Related: Global Electric Car Sales Jumped 25 Percent While Canada Dropped By A Third

According to Jato Dynamics figures, battery-electric cars (BEVs) also posted gains, up 27 percent compared with August 2024, giving them a record 20.2 percent market share, up 3.6 percentage points year on year. That brings Europe’s total for fully electric registrations in 2025 to 1.54 million so far. Analysts caution, however, that the headline growth figures for BEVs may not tell the full story

Numbers With Caveats

“The data shows that there was strong demand for BEVs in August, however a 27 percent increase is less significant than it looks when you consider how widely they are being promoted across Europe,” said Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics. “The new record market share for BEVs achieved last month has been partly distorted by the fact that Italy – typically a less enthusiastic adopter of BEVs – is usually quiet during August,” Munoz added.

Europe Car Sales

Jato Dynamics

China’s Growing Momentum

Yet Europe’s traditional manufacturers may find little comfort in these results. The bad news for Europe’s carmakers is that interest in Chinese brands is growing at an even faster rate, and it’s coming at the expense of some very big household names.

Audi shifted 41,300 units in August, and Renault moved 37,800. Both are major players in the market but were outmaneuvered by Chinese brands who registered 43,500 sales, up a massive 121 percent versus August 2024, Jato reports.

Granted, that ‘Chinese brands’ figure is made up of 40 different automakers, but Jato points out that 84 percent of the total was achieved by only five of them, namely MG, BYD, Jaecoo, Omoda and Leapmotor. Whichever way you cut it it’s bad news for Europe’s legacy brands, and is only going to get worse, though at least Stellantis’s deal with Leapmotor means it gets to celebrate the win.

Even on their own, the Chinese brands took some big scalps. MG registered more cars than Tesla and Fiat, BYD beat Suzuki and Jeep, and Jaecoo and Omoda outsold Alfa Romeo and Mitsubishi.

“European consumers are responding positively to the growing, competitive line-up from China’s car brands,” Jato analyst Felipe Munoz said. “It appears that these brands have successfully tackled the perception and awareness issues they have experienced.”

Hybrids, not just EVs

It’s not only in the EV segment that Chinese brands are making gains. They’re also doing great in the PHEV space, where they’re not hobbled by the same tariffs applied to their fully electric vehicles.

More than 11,000 Chinese-brand plug-ins were sold this August compared with only 779 in the same month last year, BYD is now the eighth most popular PHEV brand overall and the BYD Seal U, Jaecoo J7 and MG HS bagged three spots in the top 10 best-selling models list.

However, if you simply looked at the table of 10 most-registered models, you’d never guess how quickly China was moving forward. The list contains no names from the People’s Republic and continues to be dominated by Volkswagen and Renault.

The VW T-Roc (which has since been facelifted) was the region’s biggest seller, with the Dacia Sandero scooping second spot and Toyota’s Yaris Cross bagging third. Tesla’s updated Model Y was the best-selling EV, but its sales were down 37 percent and it was nowhere to be seen in the overall top 10 cars table.

A new option has joined the growing ranks of Renault’s retro-inspired EV. The 4 E-Tech is now available in two work-ready versions for the French market, known as Societe Reversible and Societe Van. Both are designed for professionals who want the practicality of a light commercial vehicle without losing the everyday usability of the standard model.

More: Renault’s Retro R4 EV Could Get A Whole Lot More Interesting Soon

Styling remains unchanged from the regular passenger model, as the Societe versions keep their glass rear windows instead of adopting blank panels. This choice keeps costs down, but it also means Renault hasn’t followed through with the van-style look first teased back in 2021.

At the time, the brand hinted at a boxier tail inspired by the classic Renault 4 Fourgonnette, which would likely have boosted both visual appeal and carrying capacity, albeit at greater expense for what remains a niche product.

Work-Focused Cabin

Inside, the crossover has been reworked to meet the demands of everyday business use. The rear seats give way to a molded tray lined with an anti-slip mat, tie-down hooks, and a partition separating it from the front. Total cargo space comes to 1,045 liters (36.9 cubic feet), with a hidden 55-liter (1.9 cubic feet) compartment under the floor. The loading length stretches to 1.20 meters (47.2 inches), and payload capacity peaks at 345 kilograms (760 pounds).

The conversion takes place at the Ampere Manufacture in Maubeuge, France, by a company called Qstomize. The Societe Reversible is classified as a passenger vehicle (M1), while the Societe Van is a light commercial vehicle (N1). The latter has tax benefits but is subject to speed restrictions.

According to Renault, the target group of the Societe versions is tradespeople, delivery drivers, service and concierge companies, rental companies, and professional fleets.

Powertrain and Range

Performance is identical to the passenger version, with a single electric motor producing 148 hp (110 kW / 150 PS). Power comes from a 52 kWh battery that delivers up to 409 km (254 miles) of WLTP range. Charging from 15 to 80 percent takes just over three hours on an 11 kW AC unit, or around 30 minutes when connected to a 100 kW DC fast charger.

More: The New Renault 4 E-Tech Makes For A Chic Beach Buggy

In France, the R4 E-Tech Societe is priced from €29,300 ($34,700) for the Evolution trim and €30,900 ($36,600) for the Techno, excluding VAT. Furthermore, buyers benefit from incentives that can reach up to €5,060 (6,000) depending on the variant and the customer profile.

Options, however, can quickly nudge the cost upward. Renault charges between €167 and €917 ($200–1,100) for exterior colors, €167 ($200) for roof rails, and €333 ($400) for the all-weather tires with snow and off-road drive modes. Other extras include a hands-free tailgate at €333 ($400), advanced driver-assist and parking tech for €250 ($300), and a Harman Kardon nine-speaker audio system priced at €500 ($600).

Renault’s recent run of nostalgia-driven EVs, the retro-inspired 4 and 5, has struck a chord with buyers. The downside is that their popularity has left the Megane E-Tech feeling a little overlooked, prompting Renault to rethink how it can make the car stand out again.

Related: Renault’s Megane EV Will Get A Refresh Following Its Nissan Cousin

The French automaker’s plan to boost the Megane’s appeal involves leveraging another classic Renault skill: building hot hatches. Speaking to the media at the Munich Motor Show, CEO Fabrice Cambolive revealed the Megane will soon get a sporty makeover that will ensure it turns more heads while also lasting longer between charges.

Going Down The Sporty Road

“What we are looking for is a hot hatch, that is the direction we want to go in,” Auto Express reports Cambolive telling journalists. “We want a sporty hatch.”

Though he declined to discuss any technical improvements coming to the upgraded Megane we expect to see next spring, Cambolive confirmed that a bigger battery is part of the package. The biggest battery currently available in the E-Tech is a 60 kWh unit that gives an unimpressive 285 miles (459 km) of range. However, the larger Scenic has an 87 kWh pack which lasts 382 miles (615 km) between fills and the Megane’s new Nissan Leaf cousin has a 75 kWh battery good for 303 miles (488 km).

All three cars use the same 215 hp (218 PS) single front-mounted motor that’s also utilized by the Renault 5-based Alpine A290, but it’s unclear if the sportier Megane would also get more power to become a real hot hatch.

VW’s equivalent ID.3 GTX has a single motor that puts out up to 322 hp (326 PS / 240 kW) and gets to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 5.7 seconds, 1.8 seconds faster than the Megane. We do know, however, that the made-over French model will at least look like a hot hatch.

“If you put a new battery in a car, which is expensive, and you don’t change the car, then it’s really hard to seduce people to pay more for it,” Renault’s chief design officer Laurens van den Acker, told reporters. “So we need to do justice to the changes under the skin by showing something on the skin.”

Is Renaultsport Making A Comeback?

The design upgrades are expected to focus on more aggressive bumpers and possibly bigger wheels, though the mid-spec Megane E-Tech techno esprit Alpine and iconic esprit Alpine already feature 20-inch wheels that do a great job of filling the arches and don’t shortchange on grip. Spy shots published earlier this summer also suggest the mid-life refresh will bring slimmer LED lights.

Cambolive hinted to Autocar that he was looking at reviving the Renaultsport badge applied to a succession of acclaimed hot hatches for over 20 years before it was retired in 2023, but didn’t elaborate on whether the Megane hot hatch plan was related to that rebirth.

“We are exploring some [options],” the CEO said. “We will come to you with some proposals in the next 12 months.”

Renault