| When is a Renault not a Renault? When it has been modified by Ernst Berg styling in Belgium. "Head To Head" sets the Five GTTurbo against the CJ. Both cars have 1.4 engines but they differ in price and performance. There is a certain amount of mystery behind the Renault Convertible. A prototype was unveiled at the Reanult stand in Amsterdam in 1988, though EBS were wholly responsible financialy for the project. At the time, Renault had a contract to build 10,000 cars, but after the assassination of the Renault Chairman they pulled out. Nevertheless EBS said they could build 1500 cars a year, with 300-400 available for export to Britain. The GTTurbo has a powerful engine - the Garrett T2 turbocharger produces 120bhp and 121 lb ft of torque and a 0-60mph of 7.4 seconds. The extra weight of the convertible has little effect on performance. The brakes cope well with the cars high performance and the gearchange is easy and smooth. Scuttle shake is virtually non-existant. In terms of safety, there should be no concerns. In fact, the EBS bracing makes the car 35-40% stronger than the 'ordinary' Fives. The hood is easy to operate - release two handles and the hood folds back to sit on the boot, though with the hood down the only access to the boot is via the rear seats. With the hood up the car maintains its hatchback look. As for the interior, it matches up well with the old. The only flaw is that the carpet is made for left-hand-drive cars, so the heel pad is found on the passenger side. A set of mats easily overcomes this 'problem'. Although information and details were available ata all Renault dealerships, the EBS Convertible was never an 'official' model. |
| Head To Head The Five Versus The 205 |
| The EBS Five Convertible |
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