4 cars, 4 seasons: Renault 5 for young people after 68

On January 28, 1972, a small car with a pleasant and modern appearance was revealed to the public: with its glittering liveries in which apple green fights with bright yellow and orange, the Renault 5 made impression. “Conceived in the second half of the sixties, it breathes the wind of freedom”, review by Dominique-William Jacson. “With 5, Renault wants to adapt to changes in society, to address young people as well as working women who need their own car.’

Dominique-William Jacson is responsible for presenting the Renault Classic collections. Unlike Audi, Porsche, Mercedes or BMW, Renault does not have a museum available to the public, but a large collection is managed at the Flins historic site, in Yvelines. Flins where the R5 was produced from 1972 to 1984.

At that time, he presented himself as an urban alternative to classic sedans and the Renault 4, whose practical and utilitarian meaning is well established. When it was released, the R5 was only available as a two-door and a hatchback. “No rear door and rear windows that don’t open: Renault wants to create a safety cocoon for children in the back.”

The tailgate is another matter. “At first, it was considered a characteristic accessory of professional cars, for workers, tradesmen,” studies Philippe Casse, automotive historian. “The hatchback is driven by a person wearing a dust jacket or overalls. In the seventies, thanks to the Renault 5, the hatchback was accepted sociologically, and even sought after.: leisure became widespread and, with it, the need for a practical vehicle.”

The R5 may have been presented as an alternative to the 4L, but it also borrowed the entire mechanical base: platform, small engine of 782 then 845 cc displacement, gearbox with dashboard control, like the Citroën 2 CV! The reason is simple: to create economies of scale, an industrial practice that is still relevant today.

Result: a car available with only two doors, with simple but proven mechanics, for a base price equal to that of the 4L: At the time, the first people who didn’t believe in Régie Renault’s new small city car were the dealers themselves. However, Renault 5 will have a bigger success than expected.

Some 5,710,000 copies of the R5 were produced between 1972 and 1984, while a 5-door version joined the offering in 1979. “He targeted a female and young client, and he succeeded beyond expectations,” says Philippe Casse. “A pretty face, a right price positioning, at the right time: sometimes it doesn’t take much to create automotive success.”

The time was clearly right in the middle of the golden age after the war, the glorious thirties: “That was the moment when the car became an object of consumption. We needed an easy car, and accidentally beautiful”, the R5 all was spitting. When the little car appeared on the streets of Paris, the Morris columns and the billboards were plastered with posters showing Michel Polnareff and his butt., to announce a series of concerts in Olympia. Conclusion: 60,000 francs fine for indecent assault.

In the car, as long as the car radio was installed – a great luxury at the time – you could hear “Qui saura” by Mike Brant or “Kiss me” by C. Jérôme. In France, the stars of the moment are Ringo and Sheila, Stone and Charden, Gérard Lenorman and Frédéric François, a Belgian of Italian descent that his name does not indicate. On the other side of the Channel and the Atlantic, Elton John released “Rocket Man”, Alice Cooper “School’s Out” and Neil Young “Harvest”, his masterpiece.

If we take the small car to make a canvas, we can go and see “Fellini Roma”, by Federico Fellini, or “Cries and Whispers”, by Ingmar Bergman. Times are not always funny: January 30, 1972, two days after the launch of the car, took place. the massacre of the Irish population in Londonderry, known as “Bloody Sunday”.

Indirectly, the small car was the subject of a strange controversy when it was launched, as it had the new Renault logo on the front of its bonnet. Diamond cut designed in the new style Rueil-Malmaison office of R5 designer Michel Boué, this logo is considered plagiarism by a firm specializing in industrial products, Kent.

A pure coincidence, of course, but to avoid any conflict, the Régie asks Jean-Pierre Vasarely to think about another logo. Under the supervision of his father, the op-art visual artist Victor Vasarely, Jean-Pierre, dit Yvaral, presents around forty proposals for “diamonds with lines”. Among them, Renault chooses one that will be its emblem for twenty years, until 1992.

Therefore, the first Renault 5s were called back to the garage to change their logo, but some fell through the cracks. “The first orange R5 with the original logo was very popular with collectors,” says Dominique-William Jacson. “Before, we found a good one for 5,000 euros. Now, 9,000 euros minimum is required for one in museum condition.”

This is the same price, or even slightly more, that you have to pay for the sportier version of the R5, the Renault 5 Alpine, designed in Dieppe by Jean Rédélé, the founder of the brand. It is distinguished in particular by its A5 logo and was launched in 1975 to compete with the Golf GTi which appeared the previous year. Dubbed “the skateboard”, the Alpine, especially in the turbo version, collects podiums in rallies.

But not as much the Renault 5 Turbo which, driven by Jean Ragnotti, won Monte-Carlo, Ypres and the Tour de Corse in the early 1980s. “With its rear mid-engine and its completely disproportionate appearance, in the right hands like Jean Ragnotti’s, this is a very good car”, judged Philip Kantor, director of the automotive department of Bonhams sales. “A Turbo 1 costs more, 30% more than a Turbo 2. We have a good Turbo 2 for 80,000 euros, while it takes 110,000 euros for a Turbo 1. Which is a lot for an R5 . Others are between 5 and 15,000 euros.”