1984

Came to an end the career of this great little car that would soon be replaced by another equally famous: the second generation Renault 5, often referred to as the Supercinq (or "Superfive").
Of the latter, launched at the 1984 Paris Motor Show, there will also be a lot to say but... that's another story.

During 1984, all known models from 1983 continued to be marketed. However, since the Paris Motor Show, and while the new "Super 5" did not come into full commercialization (which took several months) a special series was launched under the name "Laureate", covering virtually all existing versions. In some countries, this special farewell series was marketed under the name "Le Car" instead of "Laureate".

At the end of his career in Europe, the R5 was marketed in the following models:

- R 5 Laureate L (3/5 doors) - 956 cm3
- R 5 Laureate TL (3/5 doors) - 1108 cm3
- R 5 Laureate GTL (3/5 doors) - 1108 cm3
- R 5 Laureate Turbo (3 doors) - 1397 cm3
- R 5 Turbo 2 - 1397 cm3

A total of 5,325,000 "Renault 5" units were produced (according to the Renault's official web page), in various assembly lines in the following countries beyond France:

South Africa, Belgium, Ivory Coast, Spain, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Thailand, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.

And yet ... Does this little car that apparently stopped being manufactured in 1984, survived until the present days thanks only to the care and dedication of its proud owners?

Maybe not!

The Iranian companies Saipa and Pars Kodro Co., manufactured and marketed models based on the "Renault 5" until very recently (see images below).
Iran began manufacturing the first R5, under license from Renault, in 1976. Later on, this model was renamed "Saipa 5" although it continued to be exactly the same as the original Renault model.

The subsequent models have already been subject to modifications and updates made locally by these manufacturers.

In 2005 the "Sepand PK" was launched. It was a model still based on the R5 but with profound changes as it was a car with a 1st generation R5 body (with some modifications), mounted on a "KIA Pride" platform and using a 1323 cm3 Mazda engine. The adoption of this platform and the body changes that were made, allowed this model to became a little bit more modern and gave it a few features missing in previous models such as air conditioning.
The PK designation is an acronym for Pars Khodro (the manufacturer).
Until recently (2010?), and after a slight "face lift", the "PK" model was marketed under the name "New PK". Apparently this model would be to discontinue after the Logan (Dacia) model release, referred to as "Tonda 90" in the Iranian market. The truth is that the "New PK" model is no longer referred at the Pars Kodro web site.