Cléon-Fonte engine
| Cléon-Fonte engine | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer |
Renault Dacia |
| Also called | Sierra engine, C-Type engine |
| Production | 1962–2004 |
| Layout | |
| Configuration | inline-four |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Billancourt engine |
| Successor |
Energy engine D-Type engine |
The Cléon-Fonte engine, also known as the Sierra engine or under the code "C-engine" or "C-Type" (C for Cléon), is a family of four-cylinder, in line automobile engines manufactured continuously by Renault and its subsidiary Dacia from 1962 to 2004. For more than four decades it was a mainstay in Renault's compact models, before being gradually replaced by the E-type engine from the late 1980s onward.
The C-type is an overhead valve, water-cooled design, with a 5-bearing crankshaft, a chain driven, side-positioned camshaft operating the valves via pushrods and rockers, and an aluminum cylinder head.
When production started in 1962, this (then) modern engine was initially called the "Sierra"; it was soon renamed the "Cléon-Fonte", taking its name from the ultra-modern Renault factory where it was first manufactured. This four-cylinder provided power for generations of Renaults over the years, with displacements from 956 cc to 1565 cc. Cars fitted with the engine range from the Floride/Caravelle through the first generation Twingo of 1993, thirty years after this power unit was presented to the press at Geneva.
Technical adaptations enabled the production of this engine in many displacements in single and dual carburettor forms, later with fuel injection, with or without turbo. The Cléon-Fonte was coupled initially to four-speed manual transmissions, and then later five speed and automatic gearboxes according to its applications and the natural progress of the automotive industry.
It was fitted in one form or another to an impressive list of Renault models, in rear-, mid- or front engined (longitudinal or transverse) configurations, including: Floride/Caravelle, Alpine A110, R4, R5 (Le Car in the USA), R6, R7 (Siete), R8/R10, R9/R11 (Alliance/Encore in USA), R12, R15, R18, R19, R21 (Export), Estafette, Traffic 1, Express (Rapid / Extra), Fuego, Twingo, Clio 1, not to mention the Renault R12 based Dacia 1300/1310 range produced from 1969 to 2004. On Monday, 29 November 2004, Dacia produced the last C-engine, which was a 1.6 litre, fuel injected model, producing 68 horsepower and with the serial number 2527155. The C-engine stopped production four months after that of the Dacia 1310. Dacia continues to manufacture components of the Cléon-Fonte engine for the purposes of service in Romania and abroad. In total, more than 27 million units of the Cléon-Fonte were produced by Renault and Dacia since its launch, 15 million of which were built in France. This engine was also assembled in Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Colombia and Argentina.
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