Today, another quite rare Renault, the Vel Satis, which was sold between 2001 and 2009. Following on from the R20/30, R25 and Safrane, it was in some ways the last in the line of big French Renaults, with the later Latitude and Talisman leaning on cooperation with Renault Samsung of South Korea. This car was seen at last year’s Festival of the Unexceptional.
Yesterday, I mentioned that Dacia had made a pick-up version of its old Renault 12 based 1300/1310 series. When the Logan was introduced in the 2000s as the first car in the new range of modern budget Dacias, a pick-up variant featured once more. This model never came to the UK but I snapped this one in the South of France in 2013 while I was on the press launch of the then-new Peugeot 208.
More old Dacia today with this 1310 estate/station wagon captured at last year’s Festival of the Unexceptional. Like yesterday’s Dacia saloon, this was based on the equivalent Renault 12 body but the Romanians did their own thing with pick-up and coupé versions that had no Renault equivalent. More Dacia tomorrow.
All of them from the very same #Renault-set, all of them without actually driving that thing, all of them basically presenting the specs + design only.
However, this is a really nice car. Get's on my short-list in case I want to buy an EV in a couple of years from now.
C'est quand même amusant que depuis 40 ans, toutes les #Renault, de tous les modèles, aient toujours les feux arrières niqués, et toujours à cause d'un défaut de masse.
Yes, we are talking a lot about @Vivaldi in cars. We are very proud of Vivaldi being available in cars from #Polestar, #Renault, #Volvo, #Audi and #Mercedes-Benz, with #Porsche, #Ford, and #Lincon coming soon, as well as more vehicles from the VW group and a lot more. It is a big deal!
At the same time, what allows us to build a great browser for cars is the effort we put into our desktop and mobile browsers in general. We are upping our efforts there as well!
To find out what this is all about, just download #Vivaldi from:
Yesterday, the Matra P18 prototype, today the Renault Espace product line to which it gave birth. Here are the first four generations of Espace, with the 1984 original in the foreground. The current Espace is the sixth incarnation. The first three generations were made by Matra, while later models were built by Renault itself. The most recent models have moved away from their people-carrier roots and are more SUV-like. Pic: #Retromobile Paris 2014.
Today, after Projet 900, another milestone on Renault’s journey towards a new practical vehicle type, in the form of the 1981 Matra P18 prototype, displayed here at #Retromobile Paris in 2014. Peugeot, the new parent of Matra’s original partner in the project, Chrysler Europe, decided not to proceed with production, and the P18 instead went to Renault, where it became the Espace. If only Talbot had been able to sell this instead of the Tagora.
A few weeks ago, I was explaining how Renault, with the R4, R6 and R16 was one of the pioneers in the introduction of a then-new body type, the hatchback. But long before that, the company had been experimenting with new, more spacious and practical types of vehicle than the three-box sedan/saloon, such as this, the 1959 Projet 900, with its rear-mounted 1.7-litre V8 (yes, really), snapped here at #Retromobile Paris, 2014. Weird back-to-front styling.
Today, the original 1966 Lotus Europa, which gave its name to the noughties Elise-based Europa S/SE featured yesterday. As @adrianco mentioned when I did the Renault 16 a week or two back, the original Europa borrowed the R16’s engine and gearbox. Later cars had a Ford-based Lotus twin-cam engine but kept the Renault gearbox. Small, low and light, the Europa showed what Lotus was all about. Pic taken at the #BritishMotorMuseum Gaydon, 2024.
Today, a third Philippe Charbonneaux design, the Renault 8, seen here in sporty Gordini form at #Retromobile Paris (2014). As I mentioned before, Renault continued to develop its rear-engined car line alongside its modern FWD hatchbacks like the R4, R6 and R16. The R8 replaced the curvy Dauphine in 1962, and was still being made well into the 1970s. Also produced in Romania as the #Dacia 1100, the start of a whole different story.
I thought it would be interesting to do a few more pioneering hatchbacks, so today we’re looking at the Renault.4, which was first introduced in 1961. Some people say this is a small estate rather than a hatchback; I think it can be argued either way. I snapped this late model at the #BremenClassicMotorShow in 2014. I think the modern plastic exterior trim detracts somewhat from the R4’s original look.