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A new plant for the R5 was set up at Flins. One of the most important features was a mechanical robot, situated experimentally in the general assembly line. It was the forerunner of many such devices to be used in Renault factories. One senses that the workmen feeding the thing were undecided whether it was friend or foe-whether they should or should not allow the triffid like device to become a success. Basically it was a turret which could turn and tilt and which carried an extensible arm, at the end of which was a kind of mechanical hand. This hand could carry any required welding electrode and 'Its movements were controlled through hydraulic servo mechanisms which took their orders from memory tapes 'In the console of the turret. The thing had to be set up and programmed by a specialist or two; thereafter it got on with the job itself.
This is a tough, eager, powerful little car, however and there is little room for doubt that it would acquit 'Itself well even in the Himalayas. For a 1 litre car, the R5 is not outstandingly fast for today, but it is not much good having a racy engine if it wears out quickly or throws a rod in the middle of the Autoroute du Sud, and the smaller five-bearing-crankshaft Renault motors are renowned for their fantastic toughness. The performance may not feel urgent, but the cobby little car gets along quicker. It never for an instant feels strained, even when you are winding it up to its maximum indicated speed of 110kph (68 mph) in third, which means well over 6,000 rpm even allowing for speedometer error. The top speed claimed was 84-85mph, as you would expect from the 956 cc unit.
Kerb weight of the car is 1,730lb compared with 1,568lb for the original 956cc Renault 8, 1,687lb for the R8-1100, 1,654lb for the R6-850 and 1,808lb for the R6-1 1 00. You would not expect "thrust in the back" acceleration, but the car is no snail. The average figure for 0-50 mph was 12.8 seconds and that for 0-60 mph was 16.4 seconds based on the indicated speeds.
The 5 TL was untiring and not obtrusively noisy at an indicated 120 kph (75 mph) which seemed to be'ts happiest cruising speed, although 'It would go quite effortlessly to the 140 kph, all be it with a raised noise level. How noisy? Certainly much quieter than a Renault 4 in full song, and perhaps quieter than an R6 but not in the same class as the whispering R12 nor the hush-hush 16-in other words very much what one would expect.
At all times, with the new car, you get this feeling of rugged rigidity, as you do with the Renault 12, 15 and 17 and I think this is due to the monocoque construction. The R4 and 6 series are chassis cars with bolted-on bodies, and there is a different feel about them, although they are very rugged indeed. Since the new car's panellings stress-bearing, it 'Is somewhat thicker-from 0.7 to 1 mm.
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