This Renault Turbo 2 Packs A Big Surprise Under The Rear Decklid

You don’t need to be deep into car culture to appreciate a road-going rally car with wild proportions and an engine stuffed where the groceries usually go. But for those who are, the Renault R5 Turbo 2 barely needs an introduction.

More: Renault 5 Turbo 3E Is A 535-HP Supercar Disguised As A Hot Hatch

Born from homologation rules and built to go sideways through European forests, it’s a hot hatch that was never supposed to be a race car, yet somehow became one of the most collectible performance machines of its era. And now, one of the more unusual examples is back on the market. Again. For the third time, in fact.

Rotary Heart, Renault Bones

This particular example came to California when new and lived most of its life with its original engine. Then, in 2007, the owner at the time removed that four-cylinder turbo motor and swapped in a turbocharged Mazda B13 Rotary engine. There’s no telling how much power it makes, but it likely made between 215-250 horsepower (160-186 kW). Today, with an upgraded turbo, it’s even harder to say.

What really matters though is that the car comes with a modified bell housing that allows it to keep the rest of its Renault running gear. That means the next owner will get to row their own gears via a five-speed manual gearbox and enjoy rear-wheel drive. On top of that, the hot hatch with the wide rear comes with everything one might need to swap this back to its original specifications.

That’s right, the original engine and other ancillary parts come with the car. Does that make it worth buying? Only the final bid will tell. If it goes like the last few, it might be more of a flop than a victory lap, though.

Three Auctions, Zero Closures

Perhaps the strangest wrinkle in all of this is that this is the third time this car has come up for auction since 2021. The first time, it went unsold with a high bid of $78,500. It had 21,000 miles at the time, and the current owner bought it later that year. Then, they listed it in January of this year with the same mileage.

For whatever reason, they turned down a high bid of $110,000. Now, they’re back again, with the same mileage, hoping it’ll bring more perhaps. It’s true that some cars are fetching big money, even with the market far cooler than it was years ago. Despite that, it’ll be interesting to see if this climbs higher than 110,000 or falls far beneath it.

What would you pay for this amalgamation of auto enthusiast quirkery? Let us know in the comment section below!

Photos BaT