Tag Archives: Turbo

Forgotten Fuego

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This slice of ’80s Frenchness is a Renault Fuego, a compact lift-back coupe built from 1980 to 1986 In Europe, and up until 1992 in South America.

Powered by a range of engines from a 1.4 to a 2.2, via 1.6 Turbo (this was the ’80s) and even a 2.1 turbodiesel, the Fuego was the best selling coupe in Europe and the UK at the time, and was the first car to feature steering-wheel-mounted stereo controls, one of the earliest available with remote central locking, and was once the fastest diesel production car in the world, with a top speed of, er… 110mph. It was even marketed in America where, conversely to Europe and the UK, no-one cared.

Despite its success in TLCB’s home market however, such is the rate of attrition of ’80s cars just eighteen Renault Fuegos survive on the UK roads today. Which is rather a shame, so here’s a brick-built homage to the forgotten French coupe, created beautifully in Model Team form by SIM CAMAT of Flickr.

Cunning brickwork, opening doors, a detailed interior, an opening bonnet, and a lifelike engine all feature, and there’s more of SIM’s brilliant Renault Fuego to see at his photostream. Click the link above to blip your key remote, get behind the controls on the steering wheel, and hit a diesely 110mph on a French autoroute.

Twin Turbos

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Suggested by a reader, these two Porsche 911 Turbos come from Petey Bird of Flickr, who has captured the 1990s incarnation of Porsche’s iconic sports car beautifully in Speed Champions form. Curve bricks are used in abundance to replicate the famous shape, with some rather clever side-windows too, and there’s more of Petey’s Porsches to see at his photostream via the link above.

Stick it to ’em

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The Lego Car Blog regularly chastises LEGO for their increasing and often unnecessary use of stickers in sets. Said sticky pictures have been dubiously deployed to create details that should be constructed from actual LEGO pieces, until that is, they inevitably peel off and you’re left with no details at all. We hate them.

So here’s a creation covered in a veritable butt-ton of stickers…

No, we’re not consistent. But nuno_g_teixeira’s be-stickered recreation of the 1981 Monte Carlo rally-winning Renault 5 Turbo is glorious.

Underneath the beautifully accurate decals, custom 3D-printed wheels, steering wheel and Recaro seats applied by Nuno is Lachlan Cameron’s brilliant Technic Renault 5 Turbo road car that appeared here last month.

Nuno’s fantastic rallyfication of Lachlan’s design replicates the rally-winning Renault in spectacular detail, largely thanks to the incredible period-correct livery of which you can see more at Lachlan’s photostream. Maybe stickers are alright after all…

High Five

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It’s not just Chrysler from an earlier post this week that went mad for a bit. The French have a history of going berserk, automotively speaking, with even Renualt – who currently manufacture nothing but boring crossovers – having moments of insanity. This is their best.

The Renault 5 was an excellent city car. Front-wheel-drive, well packaged, safely slow. Not a rally car then. But Renault wanted to go rallying, and thus they took their aforementioned econo-box, removed the engine, turbocharged it, and then put it back in where the rear seats used to be. And let it power the rear wheels instead.

The result was the Renault 5 Turbo, a wild mid-engined super-hatch designed to go rallying, with just under 5,000 across two generations also produced for the road. Road cars made a healthy-for-the-time 160bhp, but in rally trim the R5 Turbo could make almost 400bhp (from just 1.4 litres!), and won the Monte Carlo Rally at the first attempt in 1981.

The spectacular Technic model pictured here is a recreation of the road going R5 Turbo, as built by TLCB Master MOCer Lachlan Cameron (aka Lox Lego). Featuring remote control drive and steering, LED lights, working suspension, opening doors, front trunk and tailgate, and – of course – a mid-mounted engine, Lachlan’s creation captures Renault’s moment of madness brilliantly, and there’s a whole lot more of it to see at his ‘Renault Turbo R5’ album on Flickr.

Click the second link above to make the jump to all the images, and the first to read how Lachlan creates his amazing models like this one.

Maximum Five

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Renault are weird. They’ve made wonderful cars, dull cars, terrible cars, and this… a supermini with a mid-mounted 1.4 litre turbo that produced – in race trim – around 380bhp. Back in the early ’80s!

That remarkable figure propelled the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo to the top step of the podium on its maiden event, at the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally.

This WRC success was to be relatively short-lived though, as the arrival of Group B and all-wheel-drive meant the Maxi Turbo was quickly outclassed on anything that wasn’t tarmac.

When an event was on tarmac though, the little Renault continued to be a formidable racer, finding success for the next two decades.

This lovely Speed Champions recreation of the legendary ’80s rally car was found by one of our Elves on Flickr, coming from Fabrice Larcheveque who has updated (and beautifully presented) a model he first created several years ago.

Authentic bespoke decals, a realistic interior, life-like engine bay, and even a roll-cage make for an exceptionally detailed Speed Champions creation, and there’s more to see – including a link to building instructions – at Fabrice’s ‘Renault 5 Maxi Turbo’ album on Flickr.

Click the link above to take a look and maybe recreate the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally on your desk at home. Not that we’re doing that right now of course, we’re much too grown up…

High Five

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Renualt’s humble 5 was a shopping-car favourite in the 1980s. And a joke by the 1990s. Now that most have been thrown away though, they are properly cool. Particularly in ‘Turbo’ flavour, from back when a whole model could simply be called ‘Turbo’ and nothing else, as it was clearly the most important bit.

Cue Darren Thew’s wonderful Renault 5 Turbo rally car, in tarmac ‘Tour de Corse’ specification, and sporting some fantastically accurate decals (which the Elves seem to really like too for some reason).

Blending Technic and System parts beautifully, Darren’s Renault 5 includes a detailed interior, complete with roll cage and harnesses, plus a highly accurate dashboard and controls, whilst under the opening hood is superb replica of the 5’s four-cylinder engine, including the famed forced-induction component that the whole car was named after.

It’s a brilliant build and one that’s definitely worth a closer look. Spool up your turbo and head to Corsica in the 1980s by clicking these words, plus here’s a bonus link of the real Renault 5 Turbo Tour de Corse winner in action.

A Whale of a Time

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We’re not sure why whales are renowned for having such a good time, but we guess their partying reputation fits with the matra ‘Go Big or Go Home’.

Whatever the reason, Porsche decided that their 911 could do with being a bit more whaley in the 1970s, and fitted it with a huge ‘whale tail’ spoiler. And a turbo.

Said turbo added to the whaley fun, providing absolutely no power at all for a long time, and then suddenly all the power at once. This meant ’70s 911 Turbo drivers did indeed have a whale of a time right up until the point when they were upside-down in a field. That’s ‘Go Big or Go Home’ again we suppose…

This brilliant Porsche 911 Turbo comes from barneius, who has recreated the whale-tailed classic superbly in 8-wide Speed Champions scale. There are more beautifully sharp images available to view on Flickr, where you can also find a link to building instructions so that you can recreate chronic turbo lag and snap oversteer in miniature at home!

Click the link above to have a whale of a time!

Creator Expert 10295 Porsche 911 | Set Preview

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Yes yes yes! LEGO’s partnership with real-world vehicle manufacturers is probably the best thing the company has done since inventing the brick itself, and in no set is this more evident than the brand new 10295 Creator Expert Porsche 911.

Containing a whopping 1,458 pieces and aimed at ages 18+, the 10295 Porsche 911 sets a new high for the Creator Expert series.

Two iconic ’80s versions of the Porsche 911 can be built from 10295; the pretty Targa, or the yuppie-killing Turbo. Each measures over 35cm in length and features working steering, opening doors, engine cover (under which the Turbo features a replica turbocharged flat-6 engine) and front trunk (under which the Targa’s removable roof can be stowed).

An excellent (and very brown) interior contrasts beautifully with the white bodywork, and makes this – in our opinion – probably the finest Creator Expert set yet.

The new Creator Expert 10295 Porsche 911 set will reach stores in March of this year with a recommended retail price of $150/£120, which is rather a lot for a toy, but not a lot at all for a classic Porsche 911. Plus there’s also the 75895 Speed Champions version so you can get your brick-built classic 911 fix for pocket money.

Top job LEGO!

Turbo

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Is there anything more Turbo-y than a classic Porsche 911 Turbo? We’d say no, and not just because ‘Turbo-y’ isn’t a word.

This is SP_LINEUP’s 964-series 911 Turbo, and it is remarkably lifelike considering the scale. Opening doors and front-trunk are included, as is a detailed interior, and there’s more to see at SP’s photostream here.

Numero Uno Turbo

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It’s the 1980s and literally everything has got ‘Turbo’ written on it. Aftershave, sunglasses, and – as of 1985 – even Fiat shopping cars. The Fiat Uno Turbo i.e. did actually feature a turbo too, with an IHI unit, complete with intercooler, fitted to its 1.3 litre engine.

Power jumped to 105bhp, which may not sound a lot (and isn’t), but ’80s Italian cars had the structural integrity of a paper bag, and thus were almost comically light. This gave the Uno Turbo a 127mph top speed and a 0-60 time of 7 seconds, which was properly quick for the time. We just don’t want to think about crashing one…

Fortunately Fiat had an answer, creating the Uno Turbo i.e. ‘Antiskid’, which was equipped with a rudimentary form of ABS. It’s this version that Zeta Racing has chosen to recreate – beautifully – in Technic form, adding another stunning ’80s Italian hot hatchback to his catalogue, following the incredible Lancia Delta HF Integrale’s published here yesterday.

Like the Lancias, Zeta’s Uno Turbo replicates the real car with jaw-dropping authenticity, including a full ‘Technic Supercar’ driveline consisting of a transverse 4-cylinder engine, suspension, steering, and gearbox, all motorised via LEGO Power Functions components.

The model also includes a fantastically realistic interior, with folding seats, a tilting sunroof, and some rather ingenious seatbelts that we suspect we’ll see on a lot more Technic creations after this is published. Opening doors, hood and hatchback complete the model, and there’s loads more to see at Zeta Racing’s photostream.

Click the link above to make the jump to Flickr for all the photos, whilst we squash down our hankering to buy one of these tiny tinny Italian deathtraps*…

*It seems that improbably thin Italian steel didn’t survive UK winters very well. Just a dozen Fiat Uno Turbo’s are left on UK roads, and only two ‘Antiskid’ versions. They may have crashed less, but they rusted just us much…

75895 Speed Champions Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 | Set Preview

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It’s a new set day here at TLCB, as LEGO have revealed their latest officially-licensed entry into the Speed Champions line-up from old favourite Porsche; the most excellent looking 75895 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0.

If 75895 looks familiar that’s because it is, as LEGO have recycled the design from 2018’s 75888 set, but Porsche have been recycling the 911’s design for decades now so if anything that makes it more authentic.

Featuring 180 pieces including a new-if-slightly-douchbaggy-mini-figure (wearing luxury car-branded clothing is never OK), 75895 includes rubber tyres, a removable windshield to give access to the cockpit, bespoke ‘Porsche’ and ‘Turbo’ decals, and a set of cones which – this being a 1970s Porsche – you can run over as you career off the road in a snap-oversteer/turbo-lag induced moment.

The new Speed Champions 75895 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 set will cost around $15 when it reaches stores in August of 2019 and we like it very much. Thumbs up LEGO.

Rally to the Maxi

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Lego Renault 5 Maxi Turbo

It’s the early 1980s, and everything has gone ‘Turbo’. Sunglasses, deodorant, razors… all of them could be found in ‘Turbo’ form, thanks to cars such as this one; the nuts Renault 5 Maxi Turbo.

Based on Renualt’s road-going hot hatch, the Maxi Turbo made almost 350bhp from its tiny 1.4 litre engine in rally form, enough to win the Monte Carlo Rally in its first outing in the World Rally Championship in 1981.

Ultimately the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo was quickly surpassed by the arrival of all-wheel-drive machines from Audi, Lancia and Peugeot, but it had left its mark, and a good road-going 5 Turbo is a sought-after car today.

This Speed Champions recreation of the Maxi Turbo comes from Fabrice Larcheveque who has recreated the car rather neatly in 6-wide form. Resplendent in an authentic livery courtesy of custom decals (and a bit of paint) there’s more to see of Fabrice’s 5 on both MOCpages and Flickr. Click the links to don your Turbo sunglasses and take a look.

Lego Renault 5 Maxi Turbo

Brabham BMW BT50

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Lego Brabham BMW BT50

This is a Brabham BMW BT50 and it was – frankly – a bit shit. Powered by a tiny four-cylinder 1.5 litre turbo the BT50 was hugely forward thinking for 1982, but also catastrophically unreliable. The Bernie Ecclestone owned team retired cars from 17 out of 22 race starts in 1982, although the car did prove fast when it worked, securing a race win at Canada.

Not one of Formula 1’s greats then, but nevertheless a car that pioneered the technology that almost all top-flight racing cars use today. This superb recreation of the Brabham BT50 comes from previous bloggee Greg 998, and it includes working steering, suspension, a well-replicated BMW Motorsport engine and a wealth of rather lovely decals. There’s more to see of the build at Greg’s Flickr album or via MOCpages – click the links to make the jump.

Lego Brabham BMW BT50

Teutonic Turbo

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Lego Porsche 911 Turbo

Certain cars are synonymous with the technology with which they popularised. Early on in the SUV’s meteoric rise they were all called Jeeps, whether or not they were made by the Jeep Company, and until recently all vans in the UK were known as Transits, regardless of their actual model name.

And then there’s ‘Turbo’. Back in the ’80s everything was a turbo. Turbo bags, turbo aftershave, turbo sunglasses. Turbo became a synonym for ‘fast’, and everyone wanted to cash in. There was however one car that defined the turbo era. The Porsche 911 Turbo.

Produced from 1975, first with a turbocharged 3.0 air-cooled flat-6 and then a 3.3, the Porsche 930 series was indeed simply badged as ‘Turbo’ in some markets. It was also terrifying. With up to 330bhp on offer – all of which would arrive some considerable time after the driver pressed the accelerator peddle – 930s became the second largest killer of stockbrokers after cocaine.

We’ll stick with this one then, which looks far easier to pilot than the real thing. Built by previous bloggee Dornbi, who’s better known for his superb Lego aircraft, this brilliant Model Team mid-’80s Porsche 911 930-series perfectly captures the real Turbo. It’s even in 1980s white! There’s much more to see at Dornbi’s photostream – take a look via the link above. Just be careful with the throttle.

Lego Porsche 911 Turbo

Forced Induction

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Lego Renault RS10 Formula 1 Car RoscoPC

This is a 1979 Renault RS10, and it was the first turbocharged car to ever win a Formula 1 race. It’s been faithfully recreated in Lego form by Master MOCer Luca Rusconi aka RoscoPC, whose recently re-uploaded creations have featured heavily here over the past few months. This is Luca’s first entirely new build, allowing him to take advantage of LEGO’s latest parts to brilliant effect.

Powered by a tiny 1.5 litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine the Renault RS10 produced over 500bhp… when it worked. Which to be honest it didn’t all that much, but when it did the RS10 was phenomenally fast. Renault’s single 1979 win with the new turbo engine forced every other front-running F1 team to hastily begin turbo engine development, and if it weren’t for F1’s constantly changing (and pointless) restrictions banning turbocharged engines by the late-’80s (when they were producing as much as 1,400bhp), we doubt any naturally-aspirated engine would have won an F1 championship again. Of course those same pointless restrictions now mandate the use of 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engines, so the sport has come full circle…

Lego Renault RS10 Formula 1 Car RoscoPC

Renault never won a Formula 1 Championship with the technology they pioneered though (although they did earn some excellent results), but the RS10 can be credited with completely changing the landscape of F1, ushering in the wonderful insanity of the ’80s turbo-era until forced induction was outlawed in 1989.

There’s more to see of this stunning recreation of one of Formula 1’s most game-changing cars at RoscoPC’s Renault RS10 Flickr album – click the link to make some boost.

Lego Renault RS10