Renault 5 Roland-Garros served up

So what's the first special edition R5?

This first one is the Renault 5 E-Tech electric Roland-Garros, and from today it's available to order to those Renault customers who've signed up for the Renault 'R-Pass' club. The Roland-Garros is, of course, named after the location of the French Open tennis championships (and also, by extension, after Roland Garros himself, a pioneering aviator and a WW1 fighter ace).

The Roland-Garros version of the Renault 5 is now the peak of the lineup, sitting above the Evolution, Techno and Iconic Five models in the range. The Roland-Garros comes only in four colours - Artic White, Midnight Blue, Diamond Black and the exclusive matte shade of Shadow Grey - and as standard there's a satin chrome roofline and specially designed 18-inch black diamond-cut 'Electro' alloy wheels with centres in Shadow Grey.

Any changes to the cabin?

Inside, there's unique light grey upholstery which Renault says, “is a cross between sports clothing and upholstery fabric, with a dense but fine, graphic weave.” The Roland-Garros emblem is stitched into the seatbacks, and the textiles used are based on recycled materials.

There's also a Cross of Saint Andrew featuring a Roland-Garros logo in the centre, down at the base of the front doors, which is inspired by the architecture of the Roland-Garros stadium.

The door panels and lower dashboard include insets in the seat fabric, alongside the deep blue material and a small French flag. On the satin metal dashboard, a vertical cross strip in an anodised metal finish includes a backlit area displaying the name Roland-Garros Paris.

Anything else?

There are also some rather more enjoyable touches, such as the tip of the e-pop shifter (or drive selector, to you and I) being inspired by the grip of tennis rackets, with a Roland-Garros logo embossed on the end, just like a tennis racket.

Down in the centre console, the wireless phone charger is now finished in a striking orange-brown colour, which matches the famous clay surface of the courts at Roland-Garros. That colour is also repeated on the edges of the floor mats.

Mechanically, the Roland-Garros version of the Renault 5 is based on the Comfort model, so you get the 52kWh battery with a 400km range, and the 110kW (150hp) electric motor driving the front wheels.

At the time of writing there is no information on Irish-market availability or pricing for the Roland-Garros variant.

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