Renault 5 Turbo PPG: a symbol of a bygone era

Bearing a striking resemblance to the 5 Prototype that heralded the return of the Renault 5 - or perhaps it is the other way round -, the Renault 5 Turbo PPG stands as a symbol of a long-gone period in the history of the French marque.

Now joined with Japanese manufacturers through the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Renault once had close ties with brands from across the Atlantic, specifically the American Motors Corporation (AMC), which also owned Jeep.

Renault became AMC’s largest shareholder in 1980, eventually increasing its stake to 49%. Following years of poor results, it sold that holding to Chrysler, which absorbed AMC - along with the valuable Jeep brand - in 1987.

An unconventional choice

It was during the period in which Renault effectively owned AMC that projects such as this Renault 5 Turbo PPG came into being.

The PPG name came from PPG Industries, a chemical-industry company and the main sponsor of the Indy Car World Series at the time. It became known for commissioning some of the most memorable Pace Cars in history.

In 1982, PPG Industries asked AMC, GM, Ford and Chrysler to develop a Pace Car for the 1982 Indy Car World Series season. AMC’s response to that challenge produced the story told here.

Rather than once again relying on the AMC AMX PPG Pace Cars of 1980/81, AMC chose to promote the compact Renault 5, sold in the United States as the Le Car. The concept came from AMC’s then vice-president of design, Richard A. (Dick) Teague.

The Renault 5 Turbo PPG in little more than name

Taking advantage of the creative freedom afforded by the fact that the Renault 5 Turbo PPG was only a Pace Car, Richard A. Teague gave his imagination free rein.

First, he made the prototype wider and lower than the 5 Turbo II that inspired it. He also placed considerable emphasis on aerodynamics, giving it styling that was far less angular than that of contemporary Renault 5 models.

Further enhancing the Renault 5 Turbo PPG’s “wow factor”, Richard A. Teague fitted dramatic gullwing doors. This solution was particularly fashionable at the time, thanks to the DeLorean DMC-12, which supplied some components for the door mechanism used on this unusual Renault 5.

Finished in Renault colours, with the marque and model names prominently displayed in several places, and fitted with eye-catching BBS wheels identical to those used by Renault 5 racers in the IMSA GTU category, this Pace Car was impossible to overlook.

It lives just next door

Mechanically, the Renault 5 Turbo PPG used the turbocharged 1.3 l, 160 hp, four-cylinder Cléon-Fonte engine, mounted behind the cabin in a mid-rear position. Its suspension, meanwhile, was inherited from the Renault 5 cars that competed in the 1981 IMSA GTU championship.

Once its duties as a pace car were complete, the Renault 5 Turbo PPG was placed in storage. It is one of the few Pace Cars from that era to have survived. Acquired for 50 thousand dollars (approximately 41 thousand euros) by Sunspeed, the owners of the Madison-Zamperini collection, it was later sold to Spaniard Teo Martín.

This was not Renault’s final Pace Car for PPG Industries: the Renault 5 Aero Wedge Turbo and Renault Alpine also followed, although their stories are for another day.