In France, Renault is what Ford is to America: a whole era, a slice of national identity, a million family stories wrapped in tin. It’s the brand that everyone’s uncle, cousin, or grandparent had at some point. And just like Ford with its GT40, Renault cultivated a racing soul from Renault Sport to the Gordinis, the Alpines, and of course, the R5 Turbo. The Maxi 5 was its most unruly evolution.
A few days ago, my friend Arnaud seasoned collector, always chasing something calls me up. He’s got a lead. In some forgotten corner of the Bordeaux countryside, four incredible cars are lined up for appraisal: an original Maxi 5, a Turbo 1, and two replicas. One of them, rebuilt and reimagined by Christian Poumeri, with help from rally co-driver and mechanic Patrick Pivato, and coachbuilder Christian Chaminade. It’s a project that took thousands of hours. The result? A roaring, obsessive, bolt-perfect monster.
I jumped at the chance, dropped into my 944, and headed south.
Christian built his car by hand. First time he tried to fire it up, it caught fire. Yes literally. Flames. Powder. Chaos. But instead of walking away, he rebuilt it. Slowly, obsessively, and with purpose. He should be proud.
Christian is the definition of a rally-era renaissance man. Former driver. Manic detailer. sharp-edged personality. He used to blast through stages at full throttle with his wife Annick in the passenger seat calling notes.
The sun was out when I arrived. The cars, radiant. I started with the blue Turbo 1, red interior, flawless. Then the fully original Maxi 5, still on the lift. This one bore the livery of the Conseil Général du Gard, driven by Touren and Neyron in the 1985 Rallye des Cévennes, car number 8. A unicorn, concours clean. We stood around it in silence.
Then came Christian’s replica. Built thirty years ago with period-correct parts, dressed in the iconic black and gold DIAC livery that François Chatriot once made famous. One of the all time great Group B silhouettes. I even got to chat with its former co driver, Jean-François Liénéré.
Back to 1980.
Renault wanted to weaponize the R5 known in the U.S. as "Le Car" for competition. Codenamed "Project 822," the R5 Turbo was unlike anything else. The engine was stuffed mid-rear, practically inside the cabin. Wide track. Ballooned fenders. Four-wheel drive was considered and quickly tossed too expensive, too complex.
Group 4 homologation required a 2.0 liter cap and 400 road-going units. So it became rear wheel drive. The 1.4L Cléon Fonte block from the R5 Alpine got a big turbo and a second life.
The cast behind this car was wild: Marc Deschamps, future design boss at Bertone. Marcello Gandini, the man behind the Alfa Montreal and the car’s wild red and blue interior pure sci fi. François Castaing, who’d later help create the Dodge Viper. It all came together with the Turbo 2 in 1983, and by the time the Maxi 5 appeared in 1985, Renault had gone full mad scientist.
The Maxi was born from a reworked Turbo. 1,597cc, 350 horsepower, Formula 1-derived DPV turbo management, massive track width, oversized tires, reinforced brakes, six-headlight grille, reshaped aero. Philippe Coblence and Bernard Dudot (of V6 Turbo and F1 V10 fame) handled the engine, François Bernard did the chassis. They built a monster. 20 cars planned. 15 made it. The other five stayed boxed, disassembled.
Built in Dieppe at the Alpine plant, this was ultra-exclusivity. Only a handful ever drove them Jean Ragnotti being the standout, winning the Tour de Corse in 1985. This year marks the 40th anniversary. The 2025 Tour de Corse Historique will celebrate that victory.
That brings us back to Christian and Patrick.
Patrick Pivato former WRC co-driver helped finish Christian’s build. This car wears Carlos Sainz’s 1986 Spanish championship livery. Patrick’s story is a deep cut of French rally culture. First pace notes at 12 years old. First rally at 18 in an Opel Kadett GTE. “My first rally! A full week of racing. I was over the moon!” he recalls.
He co drove with Romaric Lescure, hunted wins early, and remembers wild ‘90s recces slicked-out Group B cars, night runs, open roads. Eventually, he reached the WRC. “The race is stressful,” he says, “but the recces? Way more relaxed. So we drove much faster!”
His job wasn’t just calling turns. He managed tire logistics, planned service points, wrote the stagebook like it was a screenplay. “We used to leave notes in plastic bags tied to the guardrails,” he laughs. Then came 2008. Rally Japan. Crash. Near death. He walked away. Roadbook closed.
That’s when he met Christian.
Christian, obsessed and alone, was mid-dream: not restoring a Maxi 5, but building one. From scratch. He started with a Turbo 1 shell for the aluminum roof. Sent it to Matter France for a full roll cage and structural mods. Real engineers from back in the day helped spec it for VHC homologation. The block and head are Turbo 1; the rest is Maxi. Gearbox? Dog engagement, custom gears, specially treated for durability. Period-looking parts fill the engine bay, but ignition and injection are electronically controlled.
"We’re tuning a 50-year-old car like it’s brand new," Christian told me. Pads, shocks, brake lines all modern, but compliant.
The body is kevlar/carbon with epoxy resin hand-molded, six wax-polish cycles before gel coat, then casting, demolding, sanding, fitting. Annick helped. Every piece perfect. Every line tight.
Then: disaster.
First track day. A faulty injector seal. A fire. The engine bay, the most complex part of the car scorched. The fire extinguisher’s powder? Corrosive. Instant rust.
Patrick remembers: “It all rusted immediately. With the heat and that powder… it was hell. After all those hours, it was heartbreaking.”
Christian: “I almost walked away. I nearly gave up. But I couldn’t.”
So they tore it down. Cleaned. Polished. Rebuilt. Piece by piece. By hand. Now? It’s done. Not a clone. Not a tribute. A vision made real. A car reborn. Christian built the dream of a lifetime with his own two hands.
And now it’s ready to howl.
From Left to right: - Christian Poumeri - owner and builder, Patrick Pivato - the former WRC co-pilot, now mechanic, Christian Chaminade - the bodybuilder
Photos: David Marvier
