Renault 12
| Renault 12 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Renault |
| Also called | Renault 1.4 Litre (Australia) Renault Virage (Australia) Renault Toros (Turkey) Dacia 1300 |
| Production | 1969–2000 |
| Assembly |
Boulogne-Billancourt, France Guarda, Portugal Santa Isabel, Argentina (IKA) Heidelberg, Australia Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, Canada Los Andes, Chile Duitama and Envigado, Colombia Ciudad Sahagun, Mexico Mioveni, Romania Valladolid, Spain (FASA-Renault) Bursa, Turkey (Oyak-Renault) Mariara, Venezuela Haren-Vilvoorde, Belgium (RIB) Thames, New Zealand |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Large family car (D) |
| Body style | 4-door saloon 5-door estate 3-door car derived van |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Related |
Dacia 1310/1410 Ford Corcel Ford Del Rey |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,440 mm (96.1 in) |
| Length | 4,345 mm (171.1 in) (saloon) 4,410 mm (173.6 in) (estate) |
| Width | 1,616 mm (63.6 in) |
| Height | 1,435 mm (56.5 in) (empty) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Renault 8 and 10 |
| Successor | Renault 18 |
The Renault 12 is a large family car introduced by French automaker Renault at the Paris Motor Show in October 1969 and produced in France till 1980. Available as a saloon (Berline) and estate (Break), it was also produced under licence in many countries around the globe into the early 21st century.
In its first few years the 12 received praise from the European press for its spacious, comfortable interior, its styling, its performance and its low fuel consumption. However it fared worse in the North American press: in a test of the 1974 model, Road & Track was critical of the engine's "obtrusive" noise, and called the heavy, non-power steering "a serious design flaw". They also gave it "very poor marks" for the ventilation system.
Renault 12 production and sales ended in western Europe in 1980, but the model continued to be produced and sold by Renault affiliates elsewhere. The last R12 was produced in 2000 in Turkey, whereas Romanian automaker Dacia continued producing the R12-based 1310 sedan and estate until 2004 and the R12-based Dacia Pick-Up until December 2006.
Commercially the Renault 12 was a successful car, selling 2.5 million units.
In January 1964, the Styling Center begins the design of the 117 model. This was a new model to bridge the gap between the Renault 8 and the Renault 16. The demands for Project 117 were:
The Renault 12's design dates back to the genesis of the Renault 16; indeed, some initial R16 concept designs resemble the R12 more than the ultimate design of the R16. However, the R12 was technically quite different from either the R16 or the smaller Renault 4. Like all new Renaults at the time (and in common, by now, with more than 60% of the cars produced in France) the car had front wheel drive, but the R12 had a very different layout from Renault's existing fwd models. The engine was placed longitudinally ahead of the front wheels, while it was behind the wheels on the R4 and R16.
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Wikipedia