1987 Renault 5 GT Turbo

First registered in August 1987 and showing three previous keepers on the V5, this Renault 5 GT Turbo is a carefully considered and highly individual tribute to the Renault 5 Turbo UK Cup cars that defined one-make saloon racing in the mid-1980s. Restored and presented in silver with the distinctive blue Harlow Group livery associated with Mark Fish’s period competition career, it represents a rare opportunity to acquire a historically informed homage built and maintained by one of the key figures involved in the original series.

The Renault 5 Turbo UK Cup was launched in early 1986 following the importation of 40 identical cars to establish the championship. It quickly gained a reputation for close, hard-fought racing and attracted a varied and high-profile entry list, including Rowan Atkinson, motoring journalist Gavin Green and Mark Fish himself. As the Renault Clio arrived to take centre stage, the Turbo Cup cars were gradually displaced, many continuing their competitive lives in the BRSCC Super Coupe Cup alongside contemporary rivals such as the Honda CRX, Volkswagen Polo G40 and Rover 216 GTi.

Around 2000–2001, this example was selected by Mark Fish Motorsport as the basis for a new project, starting from a clean donor 1987 shell and meticulously built with the correct modifications and numerous genuine parts to create a competitive car. Initially prepared to Super Coupe Cup specification for a client, its only believed race outing came at the Renault 5 Anniversary Race at Thruxton in 2004, where it qualified on pole position and finished an impressive second. Thereafter, the car was retained within the Mark Fish orbit, used sparingly for track days and maintained throughout by the same specialist over the following decade.

In 2014, inspired by period photographs of the original Harlow Group-sponsored GT Turbo campaigned by Mark Fish in the late 1980s, the then-owner commissioned a full ground-up rebuild. The brief was clear: to recreate, as faithfully as possible, the look and specification of the original Turbo Cup racers. The result is a car brought up to full competition specification, with careful attention paid to period accuracy rather than excess.

The 1.4-litre turbocharged inline-four was stripped and rebuilt as a blueprinted unit, with boost increased from the standard circa 10psi to 14.5psi. Supporting modifications include a baffled sump, competition air filter, uprated intercooler and oil cooler. Power is quoted at 153bhp and is delivered through a 5-speed manual gearbox. The chassis benefits from adjustable Koni dampers and uprated brakes, while a straight-through exhaust exits beneath the nearside rear quarter, in keeping with period practice.

Finished in silver with a remarkably faithful recreation of the blue Harlow Group livery, the car sits on 13" steel wheels to original Cup specification and is accompanied by an additional six wheels fitted with slick tyres. Inside, the stripped-back interior reflects its competition intent, retaining the dashboard and door cards, with modified panels to accept safety netting, period-style Corbeau bucket seats and Willans harnesses.

Recommissioned and inspected once again by Mark Fish Motorsport in 2017, the car has since formed part of a private collection and is offered with an MOT until July 2026 showing no advisories. Accompanied by a good history file, workshop manual and period literature, this is a thoughtfully executed tribute that captures the spirit of one of Renault’s most evocative single-make racing series.