The Renault 5 will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and we will certainly take a closer look at it. In any case, we’re already kicking off the party by putting a 5 from the late days of the model in the spotlight.
The original Renault 5, or R5, appeared in 1972 and lasted until the mid-80s. Well, that was quite a while, but the cake was apparently not over yet. At least, not for the basic form of the little Frenchman. In 1984, the second generation appeared, which clearly elaborated on the original 5 in terms of design. Besides unmissable external upgrades, however, there was another point where the car differed considerably from its predecessor: the size. The second Renault 5 stood on a different platform (borrowed from the 9 and 11) and was 7 cm longer (even 13 cm as a five-door) and almost 6 cm wider, but was a fraction lower than the old R5. You saw at a glance that it was now a bigger car, so the name supercinq didn’t exactly come out of the blue.
The second generation of the Renault 5 was a significant leap forward on several fronts, but Renault put the successor in the pipeline not long after its introduction. A car that would eventually close the 5 chapter completely, both in name and in appearance, the Clio. It was released in 1990 and in the same year the Renault 5 that we see in these photos ran off the production line. AutoWeek forum member HarmenA ran into a fairly ‘late’ copy. At least, for Dutch standards. Where the Clio almost took over from the 5 here 32 years ago, the veteran in other markets was allowed to continue (much) longer. Until 1996 the 5 was still off the production line in Slovenia.
We have a Renault 5 TR in front of us here, a version that was not quite at the bottom of the food chain. That was the Campus, which was the only and very last 5 in the Dutch showroom for a few years after 1990. In the friendly nose of this 5 is a 60 hp 1.4, a block that could already be found in the original R5, but of course in the Supercinq already with a (fairly simple) injection system instead of a carburetor was provided. For its size it was nevertheless not a very powerful engine, although it was adequate enough for the 5. And reliable, as it turns out, because eight owners and 32 years later still manage to propel this gray specimen. Looks like the 5 has gotten quite a bit of love over the years, because apart from a few small dots it really doesn’t look crazy. In any case, it is now a rarity and so we strongly encourage the owner to keep it on the road!
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl