From the North American perspective, we tend to think of the Renault 5 as a car from the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, it actually debuted in 1972, and it’s a credit to its ingenuity as a design that it lasted in production all the way through 1985 in its first iteration, and a further 11 years in the second, which was a completely new Gandini-designed car with a very similar appearance. Imagine that this basic design spanned the presidential administrations of Nixon to Clinton, or from the years of the BMW 2002 to the E36 3-series, and you’ll see how avant-garde this car must have seemed at its debut. Even more amazing, the first generation was designed by a Renault employee in his spare time. You can find this 1974 Renault 5TL for sale for €1500 ($2077 today) in Tortefontaine, France.
Rusty But Trusty 