This rare '85 Renault 5 GT Turbo is up for grabs

Eighties-era hot hatches are very much ‘in’ right now. But while there’s no shortage of models to choose from – the Peugeot 205 GTI, Ford Fiesta XR2, Volkswagen Golf GTI and so-on – finding a decent one is tricky. The sort of men and women who bought these things new, then second- or even third-hand (before they became genuinely collectible) weren’t known for being especially…careful with them. So scores of these cars were tuned, crashed, nicked or merely ragged to death. Shame.

Not this one though. It’s a 1989 Renault 5 GT Turbo, and it’s tremendous. To clarify, this is not one of the homologation specials Renault was forced to build in the early Eighties so the 5 could go rallying. That thing was a Renault 5 in name only, with its engine in the middle (so no back seats) and comedy wheel arches. The 5 GT Turbo came out in 1985, and was a hotted-up version of the standard car in a more traditional sense.

Its 1.4-litre turbocharged engine (contemporary rivals were mostly naturally-aspirated) gave 115bhp and 121lb ft, which in a car weighing comfortably less than a tonne meant 60mph came up in a respectable 7.5 seconds. And of course it was great fun – reviews praised the way it handled and accelerated. Nowadays some would no doubt argue this thing should rank among the fast Clios of the Noughties as one of Renault’s very best hot hatches, such was the praise this thing was handed.

And this is the rarest of the rare – one that looks like it’s in good nick. Delivered new to Japan but recently imported into the UK, it has just 27,000 miles on its odometer. We’re promised the interior is all original and showing very little wear, that it’s just had a full service, some new tyres and a fresh MOT. In auctioneer CCA’s condition report, it scores 126/135 stars. An only ‘partial’ history file is to blame for the ever so slightly sub-perfect score.

It’s expected to fetch between £15,000 and £18,000 when it’s sent to auction in December. Will you be bidding?