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Renault 18
The Renault 18 is a large family car produced by French manufacturer Renault between 1978 and 1989, with South American production continuing until 1994. It formed the basis for the closely related Renault Fuego Coupé, with which it shared its floorpan and drivetrain, but with the Fuego initially using the negative offset type front suspension from the larger Renault 20/30, which became standardized across the 18 range from the 1983 model year onwards.
The Renault 18 was intended as a replacement for the Renault 12, which, having been in production since 1969, was beginning to show its age by the late 1970s, though the 12 was kept in production alongside the 18 until 1980. Unlike the earlier car, the 18 was designed quickly; the time between its initial conception and its actual launch date was only eighteen months, primarily due to the fact that the 18 was based upon the 12's underpinnings. Production peaked early: 1979 was the R18's biggest year, after which sales began a gradual decline. Originally, the 1.4 was the most popular model, but this soon changed to the 1.6. By 1986 the largest, 2-liter engine represented the biggest portion of the production.
Although Renault made numerous forays into international markets in countries such as Argentina with the 12, their first true "world car" was their 18, hence the slogan Meeting International Requirements, which (as well as in France) would later be produced in ten other countries and four continents around the world. In 1981, the Renault 18 was selected by India's massive public sector car manufacturing project Maruti Udyog to be built there at a rate of 100,000 cars per year - including a pickup truck version meant to compete with small Japanese trucks. However, after closer review and at the direction of Rajiv Gandhi (who had always wanted to build a small people's car) it was determined that the economics did not make sense and that a smaller, cheaper car would be the better option. Maruti instead linked up with Japanese Suzuki to build the subcompact Alto under license.
The Renault 18 also formed the basis for the "Renault Eve" research car. This experimental fuel efficient concept car, powered by a 1.1 L engine from the R5, featured then state-of-the-art microcomputer microprocessor, an array of specialised sensors, an electronically controlled carburettor, continuously variable automatic transmission, as well as aerodynamics and use of lightweight materials. The resulting body shape resulted in a very low 0.239 Cd drag coefficient. The project was sponsored by the French government.
The Renault 18 went into production at Renault's Flins factory in France in December 1977. It was presented at the Geneva Salon in March 1978, with marketing and sales starting the following month.
Initially, the R18 was only available as a four-door saloon, in TL, GTL, TS and GTS trim variations. The TL and GTL were powered by the 1397 cc Renault Cléon petrol engine (which was developed from the 1289 cc engine from the Renault 12), which produced 64 PS (47 kW; 63 hp). Both models had a four-speed gearbox. The TS and GTS were powered by the 1647 cc A-Type engine (which was the same as used in the Renault 17 TS) but without the fuel injection, which lowered the output to 79 PS (58 kW; 78 hp). The TS had a four-speed manual gearbox, while the GTS had a 5-speed manual gearbox, with optional 3-speed electronic automatic transmission available for both models. The automatic versions of the TS and GTS models were called the TS Automatic and GTS Automatic to distinguish them from their manual transmission counterparts. Beginning in 1978, the Renault 18 was also assembled in Romania under the name Dacia 18. Fewer than 100 cars were built by Dacia, mainly for the government. It had been intended as a replacement for the Dacia 1300, a model derived from and based on the Renault 12, but the license and production between Dacia and Renault ended in 1979 and the model was dropped.
The 18 was Renault's first car to use the 1.4 L Cléon engine in the medium-size car sector. The Renault 18 also used three-stud wheels (similar to those of the Citroën 2CV), rather than the four- or five-stud wheels common on most of its contemporaries. In 1980 Turbo and Diesel R18 models came fitted with four-stud wheels (necessitated by using suspension parts and wheels from the larger R20 and Fuego), with all versions using four-stud wheels from the 1983 facelift onwards.
Deliveries began early in April 1978 and sales in the United Kingdom began just before Christmas. On the British market, it was designed to compete with the market-leading Ford Cortina, Morris Marina, Vauxhall Cavalier and Chrysler Alpine – with all of these cars except the Alpine featuring rear-wheel drive. It was initially hugely successful on the UK market, peaking in 1980 as the tenth best-selling car there with over 30,000 sales, but sales declined over the next few years in the face of new British-built competitors in the shape of the Ford Sierra, Vauxhall Cavalier, and Austin Montego.
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Renault 18
The Renault 18 is a large family car produced by French manufacturer Renault between 1978 and 1989, with South American production continuing until 1994. It formed the basis for the closely related Renault Fuego Coupé, with which it shared its floorpan and drivetrain, but with the Fuego initially using the negative offset type front suspension from the larger Renault 20/30, which became standardized across the 18 range from the 1983 model year onwards.
The Renault 18 was intended as a replacement for the Renault 12, which, having been in production since 1969, was beginning to show its age by the late 1970s, though the 12 was kept in production alongside the 18 until 1980. Unlike the earlier car, the 18 was designed quickly; the time between its initial conception and its actual launch date was only eighteen months, primarily due to the fact that the 18 was based upon the 12's underpinnings. Production peaked early: 1979 was the R18's biggest year, after which sales began a gradual decline. Originally, the 1.4 was the most popular model, but this soon changed to the 1.6. By 1986 the largest, 2-liter engine represented the biggest portion of the production.
Although Renault made numerous forays into international markets in countries such as Argentina with the 12, their first true "world car" was their 18, hence the slogan Meeting International Requirements, which (as well as in France) would later be produced in ten other countries and four continents around the world. In 1981, the Renault 18 was selected by India's massive public sector car manufacturing project Maruti Udyog to be built there at a rate of 100,000 cars per year - including a pickup truck version meant to compete with small Japanese trucks. However, after closer review and at the direction of Rajiv Gandhi (who had always wanted to build a small people's car) it was determined that the economics did not make sense and that a smaller, cheaper car would be the better option. Maruti instead linked up with Japanese Suzuki to build the subcompact Alto under license.
The Renault 18 also formed the basis for the "Renault Eve" research car. This experimental fuel efficient concept car, powered by a 1.1 L engine from the R5, featured then state-of-the-art microcomputer microprocessor, an array of specialised sensors, an electronically controlled carburettor, continuously variable automatic transmission, as well as aerodynamics and use of lightweight materials. The resulting body shape resulted in a very low 0.239 Cd drag coefficient. The project was sponsored by the French government.
The Renault 18 went into production at Renault's Flins factory in France in December 1977. It was presented at the Geneva Salon in March 1978, with marketing and sales starting the following month.
Initially, the R18 was only available as a four-door saloon, in TL, GTL, TS and GTS trim variations. The TL and GTL were powered by the 1397 cc Renault Cléon petrol engine (which was developed from the 1289 cc engine from the Renault 12), which produced 64 PS (47 kW; 63 hp). Both models had a four-speed gearbox. The TS and GTS were powered by the 1647 cc A-Type engine (which was the same as used in the Renault 17 TS) but without the fuel injection, which lowered the output to 79 PS (58 kW; 78 hp). The TS had a four-speed manual gearbox, while the GTS had a 5-speed manual gearbox, with optional 3-speed electronic automatic transmission available for both models. The automatic versions of the TS and GTS models were called the TS Automatic and GTS Automatic to distinguish them from their manual transmission counterparts. Beginning in 1978, the Renault 18 was also assembled in Romania under the name Dacia 18. Fewer than 100 cars were built by Dacia, mainly for the government. It had been intended as a replacement for the Dacia 1300, a model derived from and based on the Renault 12, but the license and production between Dacia and Renault ended in 1979 and the model was dropped.
The 18 was Renault's first car to use the 1.4 L Cléon engine in the medium-size car sector. The Renault 18 also used three-stud wheels (similar to those of the Citroën 2CV), rather than the four- or five-stud wheels common on most of its contemporaries. In 1980 Turbo and Diesel R18 models came fitted with four-stud wheels (necessitated by using suspension parts and wheels from the larger R20 and Fuego), with all versions using four-stud wheels from the 1983 facelift onwards.
Deliveries began early in April 1978 and sales in the United Kingdom began just before Christmas. On the British market, it was designed to compete with the market-leading Ford Cortina, Morris Marina, Vauxhall Cavalier and Chrysler Alpine – with all of these cars except the Alpine featuring rear-wheel drive. It was initially hugely successful on the UK market, peaking in 1980 as the tenth best-selling car there with over 30,000 sales, but sales declined over the next few years in the face of new British-built competitors in the shape of the Ford Sierra, Vauxhall Cavalier, and Austin Montego.