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New Renault 5 coming up??

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This is the latest rumor.
Renault would use the next Clio platform to create a retro design inspired by the original Renault 5 from the 70’s.
The original, 1st generation model was produced from 1972 to 1985.
And was sold in the US as the “LeCar” from 1976 to 1983.

Of course, this time around, there won’t be a US LeCar anymore…

In Europe, it would compete with small premium retro cars like the Mini and Beetle. But also the Audi A1, Citroen DS3 and Alfa Mito.

Maybe I’m just getting old, but I don’t see the 70’s cars as retro enough. The Mini and Beetle’s ancestors are much older.

We’ll see….

Conversation 17 comments

  2. wow is that ever nice. I bet a performance version would come out. Mini like, it would be a very fun car I bet.

  3. The Le Car was the Renault Cinq (5 not 4) in France. Although that was a terrible car, it did shake up the US auto industry who tried to emulate it's design (remember the Chevette?).

    It's an interesting idea. The french automakers always march to their own rhythm. And THAT is very unusual in these days of 'everything looks the same'.

  6. O;K enough already with the mini's micro's 3-dr & 5-dr hatchbacks. How about some GENUINE AUTOMOBILES????

    Trucks, SUV's (not cuv's) and 5 metre sedans:

    Jaguar
    Masaratti
    Ferrari
    Cadillac
    Lincoln
    BMW 5/6/7 series
    Chrysler
    Rolls
    Bentley
    E & S-class
    RAM Turbo-Diesel Longhorn
    Escalade
    Avalanche
    F-250/350/450/550 King Ranch
    Challenger
    Mustang
    Camero
    Navigator
    Durango
    Grand Cherokee

    SOMETHING WITH A LITTLE FLAIR
    STYLE
    DESIGN ELEMENTS

    Looking at hunchbacks, econocars, & cheapies is about as interresting as staring at lawn mowers & clothes dryers!

    enough of the kiddie crap already!

  7. very nice looking car !!
    then there will have to be an r5 turbo 3 to run with the cooper works mini and the 500 abarth

  8. Yeah, because we really need more big *ss trucks in the world (and you wonder why these people always post anonymously). Anon also forgets not many standard cars of those times had much flair either.

    But if someone could pull off what the Riviera or suicide Lincoln was doing back then, they'd have my attention.

  9. As a kid I remembered my neighbor having a Le Car and thinking it was soo cool! Okay, I wasn't a bright kid! But I'd love to see a Renault LeCar sold via select Nissan dealerships to take on the Mini and 500. But that'll never happen.

  10. I dunno…I thin the 70's were indeed a long time ago – I can sure see it in the mirror.
    I think this new LeCar is a GREAT idea! I'd love to see it here. I am really enjoying this new insurgence of new, sophisticated, little cars.

  11. The 5 was an awesome car. It had it's engine behind the front wheels (mid-front layout), so it had great balance; it had a long-travel torsion bar suspension; it was incredibly light.

    I'm sure this new car will be nothing like that, so what's the point?

  12. In the US, it's retro. But in Europe, the Renault 5 was around in the 90s and it was very successful. I"m not sure why a classic design needs to be classified as "retro" to be a good idea. It was a good car that a lot of people loved, so it makes sense that Renault wants to revive it.

  13. They must be kidding….why would anyone want to be reminded of a car we were all hoping to forget. What's next, a retro Alliance? Get real!

  14. This will never fly in the US. French cars were so horrible in the 80s that they retreated in shame. Here, all we want are two kinds of retro… redneck or British. In order to succeed here, Renault is going to have a terrible stigma that they'll need to get past.

  15. I agree that the 5 is possibly not quite old enough to become the subject of a retro "homage", but it is probably the best candidate that Renault has in its history. The Renault 4, which was the company's durable workhorse for three decades, was quite ugly and never really cool. Renault already did a nice retro exercise on the even older Renault 4/4 of the 50s (a concept called Renault Fiftie) but that car did not last as long in the market as the Beetle or the Mini and is therefore too obscure for today's buying public.
    On a related aside, I wonder if Citroën, after the Revolte concept car from two years ago, are considering selling a new version the 2CV, or if they will just settle with the concept car and that's that.

  16. I'd love to see a new Alpine.

    And it's been 20-25 years since all the French brands left this market. So many great cars they've built since then. If Fiat can return for two new generations of buyers, why can't Renault (and for that matter, Peugeot and Citroen)?

  17. If Fiat can return for two new generations of buyers, why can't Renault (and for that matter, Peugeot and Citroen)?

    Because the French have always had severe quality issues. (Remember the SST Jet (Concorde) that burned up on takeoff?) They've long been leaders on style and even innovation (Citroen in particular). But Americans today demand reliability. And the only reliable car to ever come out of France is the (Japanese-built/French-owned) Nissan/Infinity. FIAT group has had a much better track record (and in the last 5 years Fiat Group's progress has mimicked the monumental progress of Hyundai).

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