You can help this Renault 5 Turbo 3E become an official Lego model

Renault has given its backing to UK engineer Dave Collins, as he bids to have the 5 Turbo 3E he built from Lego turned into an official model.

Collins, known as devonbricks on Instagram, recreated Renault’s £140,000 electric supermini using around 1,200 Lego brick pieces and taking around a hundred hours of work to complete. He now needs 10,000 signatures on the Lego Ideas site for it to be in the running for an official set and now has the backing of Renault, which is urging fans of the 5 to get behind the project.

Collins, from Newton Abbot in Devon, began creating his own designs during lockdown in 2020, transferring the skills from his day job as an engineer to Lego.

“The R5 was a natural choice”

“I had Lego and Technic as a kid, and as an engineer I have an inherent need to design, and love getting details right,” Collins said.

“Angular cars are easier to do in Lego, so the R5 was a natural choice. Plus, it looks great, and it’s immediately recognisable as an update of the eighties classic. I’ve certainly tried to race a few off the lights in my youth.”

He added that he had been “blown away” by the response, adding: “Some of the early coverage has already been amazing, and I can’t believe I’ve got national journalists from around the world following me on Insta. My wife and daughter are insanely proud of me – I guess this is the result of six years and many hundreds of hours of hard work refining my Lego designs.”

Only 1,980 examples of the real £140,000 Renault 5 Turbo 3E are set to be built, so the Lego version will at least offer those who missed out a more budget-friendly option.

You can sign the petition and support Dave here.

words: Mike Booth
pictures: Renault