Eye-watering price for wicked hot hatch: Australia-bound 2027 Renault 5 Turbo 3E electric car will be brand's 'most advanced and most expensive'

Renault has opened the order books for the second batch of its bespoke EV hot hatch, with 500 units available to regions including Australia.

The 2027 Renault 5 Turbo 3E is set to be the brand’s “most advanced and most expensive” vehicle ever produced, and only 1980 examples of it will be available worldwide.

While it shares the silhouette of the Renault 5 electric car it takes its name, the 3E is a much more bespoke vehicle, built on a “custom-designed aluminium platform”.

The current order opening consists of 500 units, but the price is something the uninitiated may need to sit down for.

There’s no locked-in Australian price yet, as Renault is a couple of years away from delivering its first cars. Instead, buyers need to put in a €45,000 (A$80,000 at time of publishing) down payment towards the full “ex-factory price of €160,000”.

That’s A$284,000 at the moment, but Renault reminds buyers to consider the cost of transport from France to Australia, import duty, Australian luxury car tax and GST, state registration and insurance fees.

Depending on economic factors over the next couple of years, this French electric hot hatch could nudge (or cross over) $350,000 by the time it hits the road.

But what does that get you?

Well, within the bespoke aluminium platform and “all-carbon superstructure” are two 200kW electric motors, one for each rear wheel, that draw power from a 70kWh battery and allow a 0-100km/h time in a claimed 3.5 seconds.

The Renault 5 Turbo 3E should weigh about 1400kg, but impressively comes in with a claimed electric driving range of more than 400km “in ideal conditions”.

Renault said it is able to support up to 350kW DC fast-charging with its 800-volt architecture, and can charge from 15 to 80 per cent in just 15 minutes.

More details should come closer to the car’s extremely exclusive launch in 2027.