The Story of the Renault 5 Turbo PPG Pace Car

Packed with similarities to the 5 Prototype that previews the return of the Renault 5 - or perhaps it is the other way round - the Renault 5 Turbo PPG stands as a hallmark of a long-gone chapter in the French brand’s story.

These days Renault is “arm in arm” with the Japanese through the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, but there was a time when the company was closely linked with brands from the other side of the Atlantic - specifically American Motors Corporation (AMC), which also owned Jeep.

Renault became AMC’s largest shareholder in 1980 and went on to increase its stake to 49%. After several years of poor results, it ultimately sold its holding to Chrysler, which absorbed AMC (and the valuable Jeep) in 1987.

An unorthodox choice

It was during the period when Renault effectively owned AMC that projects such as the Renault 5 Turbo PPG came to life.

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

In 1982, PPG Industries challenged AMC, GM, Ford and Chrysler to build a pace car for the 1982 Indy Car World Series season - and AMC’s response set in motion the story we are telling today.

Rather than returning to the AMC AMX PPG Pace Cars used in 1980/81, AMC opted to promote the small Renault 5 (sold in the United States as the Le Car). The idea was put forward by AMC’s then vice-president of design, Richard A. (Dick) Teague.

Renault 5 in name (almost) only

Taking advantage of the creative freedom that came with the fact the Renault 5 Turbo PPG was only ever a pace car, Richard A. Teague let his imagination run.

To begin with, he made the prototype wider and lower than the 5 Turbo II that inspired it. He also placed strong emphasis on aerodynamics, giving it lines that were far less angular than those seen on contemporary Renault 5 models.

On top of that - and to raise the Renault 5 Turbo PPG’s “wow factor!” - Teague fitted striking “gullwing” doors, a fashionable solution at the time. This was made possible thanks to the DeLorean DMC-12, which supplied some components from its door mechanism for this unusual Renault 5.

Finished in Renault colours, with the brand and model name prominently displayed across the car, and wearing eye-catching BBS wheels identical to those used by Renault 5s competing in the IMSA GTU category, this pace car was impossible to ignore.

It lives just next door

Mechanically, the Renault 5 Turbo PPG used the turbocharged four-cylinder 1.3 l Cléon-Fonte engine producing 160 cv, mounted in a rear mid-engine position. The suspension, meanwhile, was borrowed from Renault 5s that took part in the 1981 IMSA GTU championship.

Once its duties as a pace car were complete, the Renault 5 Turbo PPG was stored away in a warehouse, becoming one of the few pace cars from that era to survive. Purchased for 50,000 dollars (around €41,000) by Sunspeed (owners of the Madison-Zamperini collection), it was later sold to Spaniard Teo Martín.

This would not be the last pace car produced by Renault for PPG Industries - the Renault 5 Aero Wedge Turbo and the Renault Alpine would follow - but their story is one for another day.

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