Woah, the first allocation of Renault’s £135k R5 Turbo 3E has already sold out

Well, this is unexpected. Renault has confirmed the first batch of its mad, 536bhp 5 Turbo 3E hot hatch has already sold out.

That means 700 people have signed up to pay £135,000 – at least – for a slice of wide-arched, rear-drive hooliganism masquerading as a fast electric car. Incroyable.

“Breaking news! Just hours after opening, we’ve already hit 500 customer reservations of R5 Turbo 3E,” boss Fabrice Cambolive posted on his LinkedIn page, “plus 200 from our dealer network who play a key role in this innovative project.

“The enthusiasm is palpable – as is the demand. All signs point to the limited 1,980 units being snapped up fast,” he added.

So yes, while the entire production run hasn’t yet sold out, the opening wave of cars that’ll be built has. And Renault’s built quite a car.

Launched for sale earlier this week, the reborn R5 Turbo 3E deploys a complex carbon superstructure at its core, wrapped in wild, boxy bodywork that pays tribute to its now rather punier ancestor.

Especially puny when you consider this R5 Turbo 3E sports in-wheel motors on each rear wheel, powered by a 70kWh battery and 800V architecture for fast acceleration, big power and fast charging. Renault reckons on 536bhp on the back axle, 0-62mph in less than 3.5s and a 15-minute 15-80 per cent charge time.

You can customise each one to your heart’s content of course, so if you’re one of the 700, pop a note below to let us know what you’ve configured.