When Renault decided to replace the "old" R5, it seems they followed a portuguese saying stating that "one must not change a winning team". So, they decided to launch a model that would take advantage of the R5 legacy while maintaining the same stylistic lines (we can almost say that this new model was a "face lift" from the old one). However, this new model, althought looking like the old one, is technologicaly completely different.

The stylistic renewal of this 2nd generation was the work of Marcello Gandini and although the car has maintained a look very simmilar to the 1st generation, everything else was new. One might almost say that there is no single screw in the "Super 5" equal to the "R5". The body was new, the platform (derived from the Renault 9 ??/ 11) was also new, the mechanical architecture has abandoned the longitudinal engine solution in favor of a more modern transverse mounting, and the suspension torsion bars were replaced by a MacPherson type solution.
The result has been a model longer and wider, with about 20% more glass area, a lower penetration coefficient (0.35) and a reduced consumption (cheaper models) of about 4.1 L/100 km.

Of the various models and versions produced there are a few that deserve a special mention like the "Baccara" version, the "GT Turbo", the "Belle Ile" or the convertibles.

The "Super 5" production ran from 1985 to 1996, competing in the market since 1990 with the Renault CLIO (assuming a place as a cheaper alternative to it). In this ending market phase, production (at low volumes) took place only ??in Slovenia.