Renault Teases a Possible 8 Gordini Sports Car After the R5 Turbo 3E

Renault may have a second limited-run electric performance car in mind, but the company is in no rush to commit. Speaking to Autocar, product boss Fabrice Cambolive said the 8 Gordini concept could follow the R5 Turbo 3E as a special edition built on the Alpine Performance Platform, the architecture underpinning the next-generation A110.

Cambolive was clear about the order of business. The R5 Turbo 3E, a hyper hatch with in-wheel motors producing a combined 533bhp, is limited to 1,980 cars, starts from around £135,000 and goes into production in 2028. Renault first needs to sell those cars and deliver the first examples. Only after that, he said, would a Gordini follow-up be one of the opportunities on the table.

The concept is a different kind of car from the one it honours. The original 8, launched in 1962, was a four-seat saloon with its engine at the rear. This version is a two-seat coupé, around 4,120mm long, which makes it slightly longer than a Clio. It rides on 19-inch wheels at the front and 20-inch at the rear, and Renault claims a 270bhp electric motor, although as a show car it is not a drivable prototype.

Design touches recall the Gordini heritage. The car wears the brand's traditional blue and white paint with racing stripes, and the round headlights of the original are joined by lower lamps that reference Gordini's rallying days. At the back, the lights are built into the bodywork and disappear when the car is switched off. The cabin mixes bucket seats, an aluminium dashboard with round digital dials, and a rally-style footplate for the passenger.

Renault's concept chief, Roman Gauvin, framed the car as a statement about fun rather than outright speed. He said the team had no interest in building something to shave half a second off a lap at the Nürburgring, and that the goal was a small, agile, approachable car. He pointed to the vanishing rear lights as a feature that could reach production, though it would need engineering work to get there.

Gauvin was also firm on the bigger question. Asked whether Renault would revive the 8 saloon, he said no, adding that the concept is just a concept and that its purpose was to celebrate Gordini. The car is destined for the company's new museum at Flins, where the original 8 was built. When pressed on whether public reaction could change that, he joked that people could always send emails.