Renault 5
The Renault 5 is an excellent collaboration of old and new, with an electric powertrain hidden under a body that pays tribute to the old Renault 5. Renault’s retro baby doesn’t go about its business half-heartedly. Although much bigger, the new car’s shape is almost identical to the classic’s, and details like the offset bonnet vents are another throwback – even the interior sticks to the original with bright colours and ribbed dashboard fabrics.
The new 5’s electric powertrain works excellently in the city. Pokey off the line, it’s great for nipping in front of other cars and grabbing gaps in traffic, and its compact size makes it a dream to manoeuvre with its small electric motor allowing for an incredibly tight turning circle. And, with more than 200 miles possible between charges, the 5 has all the range you need for driving in the city.
Alpine A290
If the Renault 5 is one of the best EVs we’ve seen yet, then the Alpine A290 is one of the best electric hatchbacks to grace these shores. In the same way, the new 5 emulates the old one, the A290 is a puffed-up tribute to the old Renault 5 Turbo with aggressive bumpers and side skirts. The vents in front of the back wheels infer it’s mid-engined, but it’s actually front-engined, front-wheel drive, with two power options producing up to 220PS (162kW) – enough to get the A290 from 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds.
Refreshingly, the A290 is not an electric car that’s all about straight-line performance. At 1,479kg, it is light for an EV, and Alpine has engineered throttle adjustability that’s been almost entirely absent in electric cars up until now. You even get some torque steer powering out of corners through the car’s open differential. The result is a band-up-to-date hot hatch that feels almost old school in its execution.
Pug1Off 205 GTI 195
Okay, so the Pug1Off 205 GTI 195 is not a new car per se, but your old 205 donor will feel all-new once the British specialists have finished with it. Brackley starts by slotting the motor from a 306 GTI-6 under the bonnet, complete with high-lift cams, a revised intake, a new exhaust manifold and a reworked ECU. They give the 195 a frenetic power delivery that’s dangerously addictive but also mind-blowingly effective, with power leaping from 130PS (96kW) to 195PS (143kW). Bearing in mind the GTI weighs about the same as a crisp packet (about 895kg), and you can imagine just how quick it is.
And, you can go just as far with the rest of the car, adding trick suspension and brakes, an LSD and a six-speed, short-throw gearbox. It’s an extensive overhaul but one that preserves the original’s magic, like a remastered version of a classic album. Like it, Pug1Off’s machine can be driven on the throttle, using its exploitable rear end to steer its nose around corners. It’s a 205 GTI in distilled, explosive high-alcohol form.
Nardone Automotive Porsche 928
While the Pug1Off 205 is a French car perfected in the UK, the Nardone Automotive Porsche 928 is a German car finely honed in France – a perfect anecdote to anyone tired of the never-ending stream of restomod 911s. Nardone Automotive’s job on the 928 is just as comprehensive as anything from the likes of Tuthill or Singer. The 928’s iconic shape has been massaged and improved, but it goes further than that.
The body is made entirely from carbon fibre and underneath it, you’ll find a six-speed manual gearbox, beefed-up brakes, electric power steering, limited-slip differential and electronically controlled suspension. The significant bit – the 928’s massive V8 engine – has also been given the treatment, with a beautiful intake plenum that makes it sound like a NASCAR. The Porsche 928 is a rare thing in life – an affordable classic Porsche – one of the downsides of the Nardone Automotive car, which cost more than £400,000. But we still would.
Alpine A110 R
When Renault revived the Alpine A110 with its stunning retro-futuristic looks in 2017, it had sportscar enthusiasts on strings. Here was a new, lightweight French sportscar built to take on the best Porsche could offer. And much like the ever-growing list of more hardcore sub-variants the German maker now offers for its myriad models, the A110 is spreading its wings too.
The A110 R is the new, stripped-out, track-bred version of the A110 format that has worked wonders on the road. True to Alpine’s ethos for lightweight appeal, power from the turbocharged 1.8-litre engine driving the rear axle remains at 300PS (220kW), but with more aggressive aero, less sound proofing and ultimately less weight – 34kg less than
