This Renault 5 GTL restomod has a cool retro dash but only 50 miles of range

The world’s a bit in love with the new (TG-award-winning) Renault 5 EV, so no surprises someone’s taken a Renault R5 GTL and given it some electricity. Not much, mind.

We're told the conversion from 1976 petrol hatch to 21st-century electric runaround took four days to achieve, helped in part by the pre-homologated 'Retrofit' EV switch kit supplied by French conversion firm R1 Fit. The off-the-shelf plug'n'play pack gives the R5 a 22kW electric motor and battery pack that together eke out a rather frugal 50 miles of range. Supermarket sojourns only please.

Oh well. At least it looks the part, that two-tone yellow and red bodywork proving a let's call it 'eye-catching' combo, especially with the body-coloured accents on the rims.

Plus, the classic R5's cabin features a retro-styled digital dash. Supplied by Incari, the digital display replicates the analogue gauges in what’s known as (pub quiz trivia time, folks!) a ‘skeumorph’. And, no this one is not made of plasticine.

Apparently, the interface development was no mean feat. We can all appreciate how phenomenally realistic some gaming graphics can be, often taking months to develop. Incari uses a software code-free approach to slash development time to a few weeks, including testing, and thus saved this one-off project a hefty chunk of time and money.

Elsewhere inside the converted R5, the other components are made from recycled materials to keep the thing as sustainable as possible.