Slow car ahead, or wait, now behind.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@news.individual.net, Elder wittered on forthwith;

Many moons ago a friend and I had a Renault 4.

We also had a fabulously rusty Renault 5 Gordini Turbo.

Along with those two things we had a lot of time on our hands, and a mate who always went on about how fast his XR2 was.

The Renault 4 Gordini Turbo had to happen, so it did, and it was worth it. The handling was, um, amusing as the 4 still had the original 135 tyres, the original brakes, and untouched suspension.

After annihilating the XR2 with it, we then lowered the 4 - torsion bars are great-, fitted the Gordini wheels - hey, it was on 165s :-), turned up the boost, bodged a 3.0 Capri Weber onto it and fitted it with half the Gordini exhaust, a cherry bomb and an Astra 16v backbox.

It was possibly one of the most amusing things I've ever driven, and actually handled ok.. well, it went round corners in a flurry of tyre smoke and understeer but it did make it round the corner but it needed castors on the mirrors..

That would have to be a must see. Why did camera phones not get invented until legistlation made even extreme cars boring ;)

In news: snipped-for-privacy@news.individual.net, Elder wittered on forthwith;

Innit. The really criminal thing about it was that we gutted it and rebuilt another 5 Gordini Turbo with the innards.

In those days I could do an engine transplant on an R5 in an afternoon. I never did have any interest in the Phase 2 R5, when they moved the engine to transverse they made them so much less fun to play with.

Last one we had was a black 5 TS that had loads of trick bits we'd accumulated over the years, competition torsion bars, trick head, 1.7 block, Gordini 'box, Gordini Turbo interior (orange... lovely). I think we sold it for £100.

I'd actually quite like another Gordini Turbo.

In news:ej02cj$gd6$ snipped-for-privacy@registered.motzarella.org, Pete M wittered on forthwith;

Bollocks...

Somehow i don't think that engine pic is of that car...

That's a Gordini Turbo motor in a Gordini Turbo.

Early (Phase 1) 5s had the engine mounted longditudinally, as you know. The Gordini motor was the only crossflow Renault 5 engine, and thats the same turbo lump my Gordinis had..

There's a scruffy Gordini Turbo on Ebay at the moment - as I type it's on 67 quid. I'm very tempted. Just worried that the welding it needs will be right by the rear torsion bar mounting where they always go.

Hmm, I'm tempted too. I've always wanted these but I don't have time for a project car at the moment...

I reckon my next project will be in a couple of years when my lad is older. Something we can work on together.

And a renaultphile collegue of mine is now watching it...

Correct, the pic is obviously straight out of a gordini brochure tho!