Being a long time Mini owner, back in '76, I always wanted the R5 Turbo when it first arrived into the USA.
To top it is the Clio.

 

Oui, bon bolide.

Yes, great fireballs.

I'd love to import a couple for fun.

 

I was crazy about the R5 Turbo, but only got as close as my aunt's regular R5. Being a fashion designer she tricked out her R5 with bronze paint, tan leather upholstery and a Louis Vuitton sunroof made from a garment bag. The R5 was fun to drive in that very soft French manner. It was great with rough roads. I could not imagine the R5 Turbo being so soft or, considering its height, good with potholes. But I got excited whenever I saw one of the half dozen or so that roared around my town.

I am astonished by Onasled's photo. The R5 Turbo used to look so stubby and purposeful to me--about as compact as I could imagine a powerful car to be (not quite the Lancia Stratos though), but in Onasled's photo its proboscis appears almost limo-like. Guess I have gotten used to the smudge front of the Mini (and more than a few generations of short nosed cars since the R5 was LeCar to get) without realizing the effect it has had on my perception.

So now I think the Turbo Clio is way cool and unbeatable for the look of a mean machine. I wonder how any car could appear more purposeful. But my many years of being shocked by the new and spoiled for the old has taught me that even the Clio's design might someday lose that edge for me. It happened a few years ago when I saw a Lancia Stratos and thought, for the first time, that it was looking a bit ungainly. I was disappointed in myself.

Remember when people used to buy a car to keep forever? Whether their technology was up to it I don't know, but many manufacturers tried to make durable cars and might have believed they were offering classic lines or else a look that would age gracefully. Just before and after WW2, this included, among others, some fine looking Lincoln coupes, Riley sedans, Mercedes, and, of course, Citroen cop & gangster saloons. The Mini may be that sort of car because it has not been styled to look current and so its anomolies might weather the slash and burn of tech progress.

Thanks for the detour down memory lane.

 

I had a LeCar, in fact, we had 4 in my family btw. my father, mother, and myself. Not all at the same time. My father kept his for years. He finally could no longer repair the rust.

We did some little mods, Ansa exhaust, and one or two other things that I can no longer even remember. Yeah, we're a little nutty, always liked quirky European cars. I had a blast with that car.

The guy that worked on mine had an R5 turbo, dark blue, it was beautiful. He took me for a ride in it, very cool. Of course, that was over 15 years ago! There was one, maybe two others that I'd seen around Philly at the time. They definitely drew a lot of attention!

I've always liked the Clios that I've seen when traveling in Germany. So, when the MINI came along, it was just what I'd been waiting for!