P
Paula
Hi everyone,
I have just been browsing on the internet and found this wonderful film about the Renault 5.
http://www.renault.tv/en_GB/infotainmen ... -renault-5
It brought back so many memories and then I thought that I should join the R5 Gordini forum.
Although I no longer have a 5, I have a similar car in character.
It's a mint 56000 mile 1990 Rover Metro GTI 16v SPI in Flame Red.
Anyway where do I begin.
In 1975, my late father with my brother and I drove down to watch the Monaco Grand Prix which was won by Niki Lauda in his Ferrari.
On the way down, we kept being overtaken by Renault 5 TS's and considering that we were driving in an Aston Martin DB6, we were quite amazed.
So when we arrived back home that May, my father bought a nice new Dark Blue 5TS which my brother and I took to the South of France the following summer in 1976 for a holiday to get away from the scorching UK. The Registration number was KLC 954N, if I remember correctly.
Then in October 1976, we fancied a Bright Yellow 5TS. This colour was all the fashion then. It was new but had poor paintwork down one side. However Renault at Acton put it right by respraying the side in question. The registration number was SGN 944R
In the summer of 1977 my brother and I were travelling in his 1973 Glacier White MG MGB GT V8 down the Esher By Pass (A3) when a LHD French registered Renault 5 caught us up and passed at speed. We could not believe a 5 could go so quick, so we gave chase and saw on the back Renault 5 Alpine....
From that moment on we both said, " That is what we want ".
So a phone call was made to Renault at Acton the following day to only be told that this model was not available in the UK but they knew a guy called James Rawlings who ran an outfit called "Renaultsport" in Egham, Surrey.
So a few days later off we went to see James and he told us that he could convert our yellow 5TS into a 5 Alpine. We decided to go ahead and through that Autumn James imported the 5 Alpine engine, 5 speed gearbox, front bumper and built the car.
He modified the suspension and dampers and also had special Avons fitted with different hysteris rubber front and back to make it grip the road really well. These tyres were specially developed by Avon's competition department.
It was also painted with the 5 Alpine stripes and logos in red.
Then the fun really began and apart from a few LHD VW Golf GTI's, it was the fastest "Hot Hatch" on the UK roads and we had an awesome time.
In 1978, the late and wonderful John Bolster of 'Autosport' road tested the car and Roger Bell also tested it for 'Motor' magazine at the Army Test Track in Chobham, Surrey.
Both these journalists loved the car with it's great roadholding, handling and extra power.
As soon as these publications came out, the public began calling Acton and were asking " Can we have one ".
Of course the answer was still "No " and they referred all calls to James Rawlings.
However demand for the hot 5 increased that summer and autumn until "The Powers That Be" at Renault decided to bring in the 5 Alpine as the 5 Gordini, of course.
James told us that this was going to happen in the spring of 1979 and advised us to sell the converted 5 Alpine which we did and got all our money back for the conversion....
He arranged for my brother and I to pick up the new black Gordini from the Renault Exportation in Paris. He worked it out that it would be slightly cheaper that way, so we brought it in on TT plates and had it re-registered upon arrival back in the UK. The reg no was BJM 553T, if I remember rightly.
Then in the spring of 1980, we bought our final new Red 5 Gordini with the nicer interior facia and seats. Reg HPK 64V. James fitted the same suspension and tyres that we had on the Alpine.
In May 1982, the car was sold as we had previouly imported in September 1981, a new red Alpine Renault A310 V6. This car was also collected from Paris and re-registered NAN 946X or 969X, I think.
It was sold in the Autumn of 1982 via Chequered Flag in Chiswick to the Secretary of the Alpine Renault Club. His name, I think, was Hector Wintle-Smith or similar. He re-registered it to ALP 310 I believe and we saw it at Brands Hatch in 1983.
So there we are.
I still have the road tests of the 5 Alpine and I can safely say that my brother and I were primarily responsible for the 5 Gordini's introduction to the UK market along with James Rawlings, of course.
Renault UK, we were told, had no plans whatsoever to import the hot 5 until these road tests created enough demand.
I would love to see another 5 Gordini again one day and maybe drive one.
Paula
PS. Here is a foto of my GTI alongside my 1997 Mazda MX-6
I am also the UK Events Moderator of http://www.mx6.com/ and http://www.mx6.com/forums/united-kingdom-ireland/ and here is my Mazda
I have just been browsing on the internet and found this wonderful film about the Renault 5.
http://www.renault.tv/en_GB/infotainmen ... -renault-5
It brought back so many memories and then I thought that I should join the R5 Gordini forum.
Although I no longer have a 5, I have a similar car in character.
It's a mint 56000 mile 1990 Rover Metro GTI 16v SPI in Flame Red.
Anyway where do I begin.
In 1975, my late father with my brother and I drove down to watch the Monaco Grand Prix which was won by Niki Lauda in his Ferrari.
On the way down, we kept being overtaken by Renault 5 TS's and considering that we were driving in an Aston Martin DB6, we were quite amazed.
So when we arrived back home that May, my father bought a nice new Dark Blue 5TS which my brother and I took to the South of France the following summer in 1976 for a holiday to get away from the scorching UK. The Registration number was KLC 954N, if I remember correctly.
Then in October 1976, we fancied a Bright Yellow 5TS. This colour was all the fashion then. It was new but had poor paintwork down one side. However Renault at Acton put it right by respraying the side in question. The registration number was SGN 944R
In the summer of 1977 my brother and I were travelling in his 1973 Glacier White MG MGB GT V8 down the Esher By Pass (A3) when a LHD French registered Renault 5 caught us up and passed at speed. We could not believe a 5 could go so quick, so we gave chase and saw on the back Renault 5 Alpine....
From that moment on we both said, " That is what we want ".
So a phone call was made to Renault at Acton the following day to only be told that this model was not available in the UK but they knew a guy called James Rawlings who ran an outfit called "Renaultsport" in Egham, Surrey.
So a few days later off we went to see James and he told us that he could convert our yellow 5TS into a 5 Alpine. We decided to go ahead and through that Autumn James imported the 5 Alpine engine, 5 speed gearbox, front bumper and built the car.
He modified the suspension and dampers and also had special Avons fitted with different hysteris rubber front and back to make it grip the road really well. These tyres were specially developed by Avon's competition department.
It was also painted with the 5 Alpine stripes and logos in red.
Then the fun really began and apart from a few LHD VW Golf GTI's, it was the fastest "Hot Hatch" on the UK roads and we had an awesome time.
In 1978, the late and wonderful John Bolster of 'Autosport' road tested the car and Roger Bell also tested it for 'Motor' magazine at the Army Test Track in Chobham, Surrey.
Both these journalists loved the car with it's great roadholding, handling and extra power.
As soon as these publications came out, the public began calling Acton and were asking " Can we have one ".
Of course the answer was still "No " and they referred all calls to James Rawlings.
However demand for the hot 5 increased that summer and autumn until "The Powers That Be" at Renault decided to bring in the 5 Alpine as the 5 Gordini, of course.
James told us that this was going to happen in the spring of 1979 and advised us to sell the converted 5 Alpine which we did and got all our money back for the conversion....
He arranged for my brother and I to pick up the new black Gordini from the Renault Exportation in Paris. He worked it out that it would be slightly cheaper that way, so we brought it in on TT plates and had it re-registered upon arrival back in the UK. The reg no was BJM 553T, if I remember rightly.
Then in the spring of 1980, we bought our final new Red 5 Gordini with the nicer interior facia and seats. Reg HPK 64V. James fitted the same suspension and tyres that we had on the Alpine.
In May 1982, the car was sold as we had previouly imported in September 1981, a new red Alpine Renault A310 V6. This car was also collected from Paris and re-registered NAN 946X or 969X, I think.
It was sold in the Autumn of 1982 via Chequered Flag in Chiswick to the Secretary of the Alpine Renault Club. His name, I think, was Hector Wintle-Smith or similar. He re-registered it to ALP 310 I believe and we saw it at Brands Hatch in 1983.
So there we are.
I still have the road tests of the 5 Alpine and I can safely say that my brother and I were primarily responsible for the 5 Gordini's introduction to the UK market along with James Rawlings, of course.
Renault UK, we were told, had no plans whatsoever to import the hot 5 until these road tests created enough demand.
I would love to see another 5 Gordini again one day and maybe drive one.
Paula
PS. Here is a foto of my GTI alongside my 1997 Mazda MX-6
I am also the UK Events Moderator of http://www.mx6.com/ and http://www.mx6.com/forums/united-kingdom-ireland/ and here is my Mazda
