This
year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most ingenuous saloon cars of its
day, the Renault 16. In 1965, the Renault 16 stood out as the first status
saloon to feature a tailgate, providing it with an unprecedented level of
versatility for its day.
The model’s original lines lost no time winning over
French families of the baby boom years looking for a prestige motor car. The
Renault 16 will also be remembered for its modern, avant-garde equipment
specification.
1965:
The Renault 16, the original family ‘Voiture à Vivre’
The
history of Renault’s family cars started 50 years ago in France during the
post-war boom. In early 1965, the brand unveiled an innovative new vehicle at
the Geneva Motor Show: the Renault 16. This new hatchback featured an original
body shape founded on a two-box design complete with a tailgate for access to
the boot. The model combined functional qualities with elegant looks and no
fewer than six windows, carrying over the ingredients that were behind the
success of the Renault 4 to an upmarket family vehicle. It was the perfect
family car.
Renault’s
determination to innovate
The
project to design a successor to the Frégate was an ambitious one, especially
as Pierre Dreyfus – Renault’s CEO from 1955 to 1975 – wanted it to stand out
from its rivals. “We have to take a different approach,” he proclaimed. “Cars
can’t just be four seats and a boot any longer. They must be viewed as a
volume. “The result was the Renault 16, a radical car penned by Gaston Juchet
and signed off by Dreyfus who predicted it would be “a car for families drawn
by modern consumer society.”
Crossover
thinking The Renault 16 was a cross between a saloon and a van, a design that
made it exceptionally versatile for the era. The boot could be arranged in four
different ways, with a carrying capacity ranging from 346dm3 to 1,200dm3 thanks
to a sliding, folding and removable rear bench. The seats were designed to suit
all types of use, from fixing a child seat to a reclined position for resting,
and even a couchette position for two. From the outset, the Renault 16 was
thought through as a family car which was fundamentally different from anything
produced by rival makes.
Technically
avant-garde
The
Renault 16 also marked its time thanks to its modern, avant-garde equipment
specification. Front-wheel drive was still unusual in its class at the time,
while the front-central engine ensured first class road manners. The engine,
like the gearbox and cylinder head, were made of aluminum and produced using a
pressure-die casting process. From 1968, with the introduction of a TS version
(‘Tourisme Sportif’), a range of innovative new features became standard,
including a defrosting rear window, additional iode headlights, two-speed
windscreen wipers with four-jet washers and an interior rear-view mirror with
day/night settings. In 1969, the Renault 16 gained reversing lights, along with
front power windows, an electric sunroof and leather upholstery. This rich
equipment list made the Renault 16 a prestige car, in perfect keeping with the
day’s consumer society trends, and represented a new way to go motoring.
Car
of the Year 1966
Unveiled
at the 1965 Geneva Motor Show, the Renault 16 surprised visitors with its
offbeat styling. However, it quickly won the public over by meeting its demand
for simplicity. The gamble was acclaimed by the industry, too: in 1966, the
model was named Car of the Year, ahead of the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, no
less!
The
range-topping Renault 16 TX
From
1973 until the end of the model’s career in 1980, the Renault 16 was available
with a 93hp 1,647cc engine for the TX version. Top speed round a circuit was
175kph, while equipment included central locking and inertia reel seatbelts,
innovative features that contributed to improving the quality of Renault 16
owners’ everyday lives.
In
the course of the Renault 16’s career, 1,851,502 units were made, chiefly at
the make’s purpose-built Sandouville plant in Normandy.
Credit: media.Renault.com
No comments:
Post a Comment