Renault has confirmed it is considering a limited-run electric sports car based on its new 8 Gordini concept, with boss Fabrice Cambolive naming it as a possible successor to the 5 Turbo 3E. The caveat: the 5 Turbo 3E has to sell first, and first deliveries of that car are still years away.
The 8 Gordini itself remains strictly a show car. Unveiled at the Paris motor show, it reimagines the classic 1962 saloon as a two-door coupé and exists to celebrate the Gordini tuning firm, with Renault insisting there are no plans to put it into production as it stands.
Cambolive told Autocar that the 8 Gordini "could be one of the opportunities" once the 5 Turbo 3E programme has run its course. "First we have to sell the R5 Turbo 3E, and then deliver the first examples. After the Turbo 3E, the Gordini could be one of the opportunities," he said.
What the 5 Turbo 3E sets as the template
Any production 8 Gordini would presumably follow the pattern set by the 5 Turbo 3E, which is built on the Alpine Performance Platform developed for the next-generation A110. The hyper hatch uses bespoke in-wheel motors producing a combined 533bhp, enters production in 2028, is limited to 1980 units and starts from around £135,000.
Cambolive framed both cars as proof of a direction rather than one-off vanity projects. "With the R5 Turbo 3, we wanted to show that Renault has the capacity to be sporty and fun with an EV," he said, adding that the challenge is to "create a small series of sporting cars focused on electric fun-to-drive".
The sequencing matters for anyone hoping to buy one. The 5 Turbo 3E does not enter production until 2028, so even in the best case a Gordini special would arrive after that, and no timeline, price or specification has been suggested for it.
A concept built to honour Gordini
The car on the Paris stand is a two-seat coupé measuring 4120mm long, only slightly more than a Clio, where the original 8 was a four-seat saloon with its engine at the rear. Renault claims the show car has a 270bhp electric motor, sits on 19in wheels at the front and 20s at the rear, and wears the Gordini firm's traditional blue and white paint with racing stripes.
It is the first product from the design studio since Alexandre Malval took over as design chief, and it keeps the original's round headlights while adding lower spotlights that reference the Gordini version's rallying history.
Concept car chief Roman Gauvin was clear that a production revival of the 8 nameplate is not on the cards. "No. Today it's just a concept car and we don't see a future. The purpose was more to celebrate Gordini," he said, though he hinted the decision could shift: "I know some people you can send emails to".
The one-off is destined for Renault's new museum in Flins, France, where the original 8 was built.
Design cues headed for ordinary Renaults
Even if the coupé itself never reaches production, elements of it are likely to. Gauvin singled out the rear lights, which are integrated into the bodywork and become invisible when the car is switched off, as a technology he wants to pursue with the engineering team. "It's possible [to put into production], but we need to go all the way to feasibility," he said.
He also flagged the concept's stance, saying the balance of "looking dynamic but not aggressive" was something he wanted to carry into future Renault models. Inside, the car has bucket seats, an aluminium dash with round digital dials, toggle switches and a rally-style footplate in the passenger footwell.
Gauvin positioned the car's character as deliberately un-Nürburgring: "We're not here to design a car that's going to shave half a second off a lap time at the Nürburgring; it's fun, small, agile and nimble".
