In a car with such a short wheelbase, rear-wheel drive and an engine in an unconventional place, the gearshift is just one of the things to look out for when driving a Renault 5 Turbo 2.

with the 5 GT Turbo added as the mass-production hot model — akin to today’s Alpine A290 — with the mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo 2 as the limited-run flagship. The recipe was repeated in the ...