It is the Calberson colours red/yellow/black that adorn the 1978 Renault 5 Alpine Groupe 2 with which Jean Ragnotti successfully achieved second place at the Monte Carlo Rally. An identical result followed a year later at the Tour de Corse and in 1980, together with Jean-Marc Andrié, he won the French national rally championship in an identically coloured 5 Alpine.

Red/yellow/black is used on several Renault and Alpine rally cars, but also has a connection to this Renault 5 TS Monte Carlo. On 25 March 1978, Renault's very first série limitée was announced to the world. In total, the marque produced exactly 2,400 units. Logically, 2,000 of them stayed in France and 250 of the remainder went to Belgium, 150 to the Netherlands and the last 50 units to Austria.

Photo: What a colourful set, this Renault 5 TS Monte Carlo that Vincent Decosne reconstructed completely by himself.

This beauty belongs to Vincent Decosne from Chazilly west of Dijon. At a young age, he fell under the spell of this Renault specifically. "In the early 1980s, when I was about ten years old, my neighbour's son drove one of those eye-catching Monte Carlo as his first car. The wings had been widened and the exhaust pipe ended below the driver's door. And that, of course, made a huge amount of noise. But I loved it. Occasionally I was allowed to ride along and that was a spectacular experience, for me this was a real rally car."

It took until 1994 for Vincent to get his own driving licence. But a Renault 5 arrived immediately, a Lauréate Turbo to be precise.

Vincent: "One day I drove to a scrapyard for parts for my car. It was at the time when many cars that were still good were taken off the road through a government incentive. Once in the scrap yard, the cars in question were only allowed to be sold for parts. During my search, I come across a genuine Renault 5 TS Monte Carlo. The car had already been partially dismantled. The photo I took at the time keeps reminding me of that. I memorised all the details very well. Someday I would own such a car!"

Vincent later bought a 1978 Renault 5 L. The idea was to make it a Monte Carlo replica. But this required so many modifications, that this plan fell through early on. What then to do with a 1977 5 TS that subsequently came his way? "That car was in far too bad a condition. Later, I helped an acquaintance with a major overhaul of his Renault 20 TS. As 'payment', he offered me his Renault 5. When I saw that it was a 1979 5 TS, I felt like a little boy on Christmas Day. The colour was Vert Algue, but it met all the requirements to make an exact copy of a 5 Monte Carlo."

Photo: He had the sticker set copied from an original he had been cherishing for years.

For the exterior, Vincent went in search of a 5 Alpine front bumper with the distinctive yellow Cibié spotlights. Of course Fergat wheels shod the car, in this case widened to 5.5J. Vincent found the stickers still new in their packaging. But since using old stickers is not recommended, these served as an exact reference to have new stickers made. Vincent: "A completely new sticker set was available on the internet, but I don't know how well it has been replicated."

Vincent is a coachbuilder himself so completely restoring and painting a body is child's play for him. With a replica like this, it is of the utmost importance that the three colours start and end in exactly the right places and that lines and stickers are correctly applied. That task was his. He took his time, as the whole process took a decade, a generous timescale.

One mystery remains as to the exact colour yellow. Renault mention Jaune Tournesol 308, but the car Vincent found at the scrap yard at the time had paint code 893 (Jaune Rallye). And he used a stencil to apply that number in the engine compartment.

The green 5 TS that served as the basis had all the elements that were also present in the 1978 model year. These include the door bins under the armrests, opening rear side windows and a radio console separate from the unit containing the climate controls, ashtray and lighter. The original black upholstery is still in neat condition, but is so thin that Vincent prefers to protect it while driving. The only unique element in the interior for the Monte Carlo is the Moto-Lita steering wheel as fitted to the 5 Alpine. Here, then, we find the only small detail that does not match the Monte Carlo. In the centre of the steering wheel is an Alpine logo, whereas the Monte Carlo did not have that. Given his eye for detail, Vincent will definitely remove it.

Photo: One more small detail and the car is indistinguishable from the real thing.

The 1.3-litre Cléon engine still ran nicely in the 5 TS. Nevertheless, he decided to remove the head and replace various parts, so that here, too, the good as new condition was achieved. The 1300 proves to be a lively little machine that picks up nicely immediately after downshifting for a corner. The sound is audible, but certainly not noisy. Of course, Vincent fitted a normal 5 TS exhaust to keep in step with the original.

The car had its premiere at Losange Passion International on 1 October. There are still a few little things that are not quite to Vincent's liking yet, but they will definitely be addressed soon.

Well, officially this car remains a replica, but one that cannot be distinguished from the original in any detail.

Photo right: Vincent Decosne.

En detail...

Renault 5 TS Monte Carlo 1978 (R1224)

Engine:

Type 810-25, in-line 4 cylinder, displacement 1,289 cc, bore x stroke 73 x 77 mm, compression ratio 9.5:1. Double Weber carburettor 32 DIR, power 64 hp (DIN) at 6,000 tr/min, torque (DIN) 92 Nm at 3,500 tr/min. Electrical system 12 volts.

Gearbox:

Type 354, 4-speed gearbox, fully synchronised. Gear ratios 1st - 3.833, 2nd - 2.375, 3rd - 1.522, 4th - 1.026, reverse 3.545. Tyres front/rear 145 SR 13, spare wheel on right in engine compartment. Suspension: front and rear torsion springs (lenticular at the front, transverse at the rear), hydraulic shock absorbers, stabiliser bar. Top speed: 151 km/h.

Dimensions:

Length 3,558 mm, width 1,525 mm, height 1.40 mm (empty), wheelbase 2,404/2,434 mm, track width (front/rear) 1,288/1,3251 mm, turning circle 9.75 metres (between pavements). Fuel tank capacity 38 litres, luggage space 215-900 litres. Empty weight 800 kg.