{"id":45379,"date":"2026-06-15T14:23:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/?p=45379"},"modified":"2026-06-15T14:23:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:23:42","slug":"the-long-journey-from-the-renault-5-1972-to-the-supercinq-1984","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/?p=45379","title":{"rendered":"The long journey from the Renault 5 (1972) to the Supercinq (1984)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

On sale since 2024, the all-electric Renault 5 E-TECH has been a commercial hit for Renault. The question on the minds of design and innovation enthusiasts is whether it will be updated. And I can only imagine the brainstorming sessions that went into deciding on the concept for this future second generation of the R5 E-TECH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is the perfect opportunity to dig out some archive material on what could be considered the forerunner of the R5 E-TECH: the successor to the first-generation Renault 5 (1972), which went on sale in 1984 under the name Supercinq. We hope that today, with the tools available to the forward planning departments, the development time for this future Renault 5 E-Tech will be shorter than that of the Supercinq, which, as we shall discover, was interminable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NOTE: All images credited as \u2018scanned from an original photograph\u2019 can be found at the end of the post in their original form.<\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is always a delicate task to tackle the redesign of a model that has enjoyed widespread commercial success. This was certainly the case with the redesign of the first-generation Renault 5. The context at the time was disrupted by the massive VBG programme, pictured below, which aimed to create a small car far more modern than the R5. Regular readers of lignesauto.fr will know that this programme spawned a multitude of designs, sometimes for a small R2, sometimes to replace the\u2026 4L! In short, whilst all this was going on, work on replacing the hugely successful R5 could wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is, however, a project derived from the VBG programme that will form the basis for the R5\u2019s revamp. Officially known as \u2018140\u2019, it originated shortly after the mid-1970s. It would highlight the immense challenges involved in revamping an almost iconic model: how should one go about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Should we change everything, or simply make another one just like it, following the example of how the first generations of the Golf were revamped? Gaston Juchet, then head of design at Renault (Robert Opron was in charge of overseeing design for the Renault Group), explained to us in 1994 that \u201cthe aim for the replacement of the Renault 5 was certainly not to make another one just like it\u2026<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In June 1978, the very first 1:1 scale models were put forward for comparison. As usual, Gaston Juchet worked with the team he led. His model, named \u2018G\u2019 above, featured the vertical rear lights of the R5. It also incorporated the large side guards tested on the various models in the VBG programme. Nothing was wasted. Below, designer Mignon presents a model with a wider track, and large rear lights adorn a tailgate with minimal opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A year before he left to take over as head of the \u201cStile Bertone\u201d studio, Marc Deschamps presented the model shown below, featuring a bodywork design with wide side skirts. These models did not yet win over the management. The idea of a major redesign to move from the 1972 R5 to what would become the Supercinq did not seem to be gaining traction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Seven months later, in 1979, new models\u2014still on a 1:1 scale\u2014were presented to help decide on the design theme. The great Marcello Gandini, having recently been appointed as one of Renault\u2019s key consultants, arrived with a model that was very\u2026 Gandini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With its sharp, angular lines, it draws heavily on one of his final designs for Bertone, the Citro\u00ebn BX (above). The small indicators at the ends of the wings serve as a reminder of this. It is hard to believe that this same Gandini would ultimately be chosen to design the Supercinq with his \u2018pebble\u2019 design shown below, a modernised take on the Renault 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

LIGNES\/auto is also a bilingual Facebook page where you can keep up with the latest news and design trends, and explore the automotive archives every day! <\/strong>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lignesauto\/<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trusted Italian design studio Coggiola was also called upon to help and submitted its own model for the 140 programme, shown below. At the time, Coggiola was a preferred consultant for the production of models for Renault\u2019s in-house projects, notably for the creation of the model of the Renault 14 designed by Robert Broyer. Coggiola\u2019s proposal for the Supercinq, like others, was rejected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Renault clearly understood that the Renault 5 was still too popular to radically change its design, as Gaston Juchet pointed out shortly after the model went on sale: \u201cEverything we put forward in customer tests was rated lower than the R5. It was so popular that it blew all the other proposals out of the water, even the best ones!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the end, it was Gandini\u2019s final design that won the day, with an inconsistency that did not detract from its success: whilst the styling was reminiscent of the original R5, its underbody was entirely different, featuring a transverse engine layout. A first for Renault, apart from the Renault 14, which was based on a Peugeot architecture following agreements signed between the two manufacturers in 1966. Below, we can see Gandini\u2019s Supercinq models being presented to the management, with Bernard Hanon and Juchet in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 1984 Supercinq was the only direct descendant of the original R5, as the 1990 Clio would change everything. It wasn\u2019t until 2000 that a small orange prototype named ECHO, designed by Fran\u00e7ois Leboine\u2019s team (now Fiat\u2019s design director), revived the DNA of the 1972 Renault 5. It became the R5 E-TECH, and one imagines that the designers at the \u2018phase advance\u2019 team must now be working on its replacement\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BONUS: GANDINI\u2019S UNKNOWN PROJECT<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, our archives reveal projects that never saw the light of day. This is the case with the car shown below, which was proposed to Renault by the Italian consultant Marcello Gandini. It\u2019s very much in keeping with the 1980s, with the design theme of the Supercinq created by the Italian\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But the scale is significantly larger. We don\u2019t know what project Gandini was working on at the time\u2026 A mega Supercinq? The future Renault 11? If any former Renault employees are reading this post and know the answer, we\u2019d love to hear from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below are the original documents, which have been scanned to ensure greater consistency across the subject matter<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On sale since 2024, the all-electric Renault 5 E-TECH has been a commercial hit for Renault. The question on the minds of design and innovation enthusiasts is whether it will be updated. And I can only imagine the brainstorming sessions that went into deciding on the concept for this future […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45379"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45379"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45436,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45379\/revisions\/45436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}