Tony Osborne with his Renaultsine 7 1/2.
TWO Renault 5s. They’re the long and short of the Bubblegum Bangers rally.
And I’m one of the select few who have driven them both.
The short is the Renault 2 1/2, in which Bubblegum organiser Brin Harrison completed the 2006 Barcelona Bangers Rally with Ben Remfrey, raising funds for the Mines Awareness Trust and getting the inspiration for the event that sets off from Crabby Jack’s at 11.30 on Saturday. How come two-and-a-half? Because it’s half of five.
Brin’s neighbours at Marion Place business complex, Turx Custom, chopped the middle section out of a Renault 5 auto and reunited the ends, creating the perfect car for back-seat drivers. Well, there’s nowhere else to sit.
My 2 1/2 road test helped publicise the upcoming auction at which the car was sold, raising another £1,500 for MAT.
So if it was sold, how come Brin is driving it on the Bubblegum?
Ace Renault slicer Richard ‘Turk’ Vaudin explained.
‘The guy’s in love with it – he’s infatuated – so his missus bought it back for his 40th birthday and now it’s his daily transport.
‘Brin even took his pregnant wife away in it – it’s his vehicle.’
After the Barcelona event, it was obvious that Brin – a successful hill climb and sprint competitor – was not done with banger rallying or with raising funds for the MAT.
What, I had asked him, would the next vehicle be.
‘Maybe a stretch,’ came the reply.
At the time I didn’t believe him – but that was my mistake.
The idea had already occurred to Brin and the Turx crew.
And so we come to the long.
A Renaultsine (as in limousine) 7 1/2 – as you’ve guessed, it’s a Renault 5 cut and with an extra centre section welded into it.
With Brin and his 2 1/2 seemingly inseparable, the Renaultsine will be driven by Tony Osborne, who works at Turx, and crewed by Turk, ex-Turx staff member Jamie Hancock, whose original team had to downsize their car, and VIP ticket holder Chris Stonebridge.
I drove the 7 1/2 the morning before it joined the Bubblegum cavalcade at the sprint and at the time it was fitted with a horse-frighteningly sporty exhaust.
‘That will be changed,’ said Turk. ‘I think the noise would get tiring over a couple of thousand miles.’
I could hear what he meant.
Still, the front seats are more in keeping with the limo image.
They’re big old Volvo leather ones and well up for a 2,000-mile drive.
The L-shaped rear seat had been fitted, but not yet upholstered and since the car was still sans its beer fridge, Playstation, 20-inch flatscreen and all life’s other little comforts, I stayed up front where I found the driving experience surprisingly good.
That longer wheelbase makes it feel very stable – the 2 1/2 felt a little bit twitchy – although of course it does not do much for the turning circle.
It is a bit of a long car to have a wheel at each corner – most things of that length have a relatively shorter wheelbase and a bit of front and rear overhang, which helps with the turning circle.
But it is quite liveable with. While it needs a lot more room to do a U-turn than the standard 5, it is no worse that some big people carriers or 4×4s.
And you do raise a smile wherever you go.
Article posted on 25th September, 2008 - 2.00pm
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