Renault R5. From before globalization

Globalization is a thing. In the time of our classics, there were people who chose a brand with conviction. Others took a broader view and thought it would be good if their car - or let it have been a motorcycle - came from France, Germany, England, Italy or Sweden. And then we got globalization.

Volvo? That is a Chinese brand

The once illustrious MG? That's a Chinese brand. An Opel? That German brand with American adoptive parents (General Motors) is now under the care of Stellantis. The makers of Peugeots and Citroën. Jaguar is from the Indian Tata, Mini is no longer British, but from BMW. Rolls-Royce belongs to BMW and there was a fuss about Bentley and VW. Skoda belongs to VW. Dacia belongs to Renault. For example, everything apparently belongs to someone else than you think and you are a bit in front of Jan Maliepaard when you say 'I drive Swedish. I drive Volvo.' A Volvo is now 'just' a great car.

The trade in brands and names ran and runs in the motorcycle world just like with the cars

Benelli is a Chinese brand and the days when Harley was The All American Bike are also long gone. There was once a rage about the fact that there were Mahle pistons in Evo blocks. Now a Harley consists of parts purchased largely abroad and even Harleys are made in India. That's just the way it is.

What if a modern car has the biggest point of sale that it offers the ideal platform for your smartphone?

I've already given up on that. It will no doubt also be a generation or age thing. But I have little to nothing with cars from after 1995. When electronics took over mechanics and plastic pancakes started hanging over engine blocks, the fun for me as a mechanical engineer was pretty much over. I still understood the diagnostic plug in my 1991 Oldsmobile. That was reading at Miffy's level. But electronic ignition and ABS? I think that's the best invention after the black and white yarn and the draft beer.

Our classics usually come from the time when they were still purebred

And that we dream away about the highlights of that time. Ah. That's a boy's dream thing. Recently we saw a Renault R5 Turbo 2 in quick succession for just under a ton. At that time, an advertiser had an ordinary 5 R1984 in just such immaculate condition. And it cost much less than a ton. While an ordinary R5 is much more iconic than such an overwhelming Turbo. Because there was a time when R5s were as common as bottles of red wine in France. It was a car that contributed massively to Renault's revenue model. It was teeming with it. 1972 were made between 1986-5.500.000. And that's not bad for a car that was sketched out as 'project 122' in the spare time of designer Michel Boué. Funny: In the first sketches, the taillights extended all the way to the tops of the C-pillars. We only saw that much later with the Volvo 850 station wagons. The technology of the R5 leaned on that of the R4 and R8. They shared the engine and torsion bar suspension. But the R5 no longer had a platform chassis, but a self-supporting body.

The R5s came in all flavors.

From a 782 cc with drums all the way through to the vibrant turbo's. Left or right: really cool copies are scarce. Ordinary performances were often driven on. The sporty versions often came to a violent end.