History Renault 12

October 1969, Salon de Paris. The Renault 12 is introduced to the world.
Until then, Renault was not very well represented in the segment of cars with 1100 to 1500 cm³ engines, while this segment saw a growth globally from 34% in 1964 to 46% in 1968. The R12 fitted well in the gap between the R8/10, which it was to succeed eventually, and the 16.

L'idée de base

In 1965, «projet 117» started. The demands for this project were:
The car had to be economical, not very sophisticated. It had to have a roomy interior, and a large boot, and a small engine will suffice. The car had to be easy to produce, so it could be made all over the world. It had to be reliable for the export-markets, and comfortable enough for France. The car had to be usable as a base for multiple variations.

L'évolution technique

The engine of the R12 was a further development of the R8/10 Cléon engine. For this occasion, bore and stroke were enlarged, resulting in a engine of 1289 cm³. Output was 40 kW. As all new Renaults this car had front wheel drive. The car had a very different layout as the R4 and R16 had. In the R12 the engine was placed, longitudinal, ahead of the front wheels, with the gearbox behind it, just the other way round as in the R16 and R4. The R12 was not as technically advanced as the R16. It came initially with a dynamo and the fan was driven by the waterpump, with a fixed coupling.
The placement of the engine made that the R12 had a gear-selector placed on the floor of the car, and not, as the R4 on the dashboard or, as the R16, on the steering column. The handbrake-handle is placed under the dashboard.
The R12 had coil springs at the front and the rear, and a rigid rear axle.
Renault never had a real philosophy regarding technical solutions, they rather choose the most pragmatical solution for a specific model. The R12 had to be simple and reliable, and had to be sold to the masses.

Le développement du style

Although «projet 117» didn't start until 1965, the development of the style began much earlier. Already in 1961, when the first designs for the 16 were made, you can see the first attempts to come to the typical design of the R12. Some designs of the R16, although with a tailgate, resemble much more the R12 than the R16. In 1963 a design study is made, called «ligne en flèche». This influenced greatly the design of the future 12.

Not all of the features of the first designs made it into the final product. The first models had three headlights, two at the right side, and one at the left. Unfortunately, research showed that it would be impossible to homologate it, and the idea was dropped. The same fate struck the spare-wheel, which was initially placed on top of the boot-lid, like has the Rover P6. In the final model the spare-wheels sits in the luggage compartment.

L'introduction du nouveau-né

Initially there was only one version of the 12, a sedan with a 40 kW engine, in two different versions, the L and the TL. The TL was better equipped and had two separate front seats instead of one bench, with adjustable backs, armrests on the doors, a light in the boot-compartment and the glove-box, a rear window demister, more control-lights. The car had a top speed of 140 km/h.
It got praised by the press for its spacious interior, its modern styling, its comfort, its performance and its low fuel consumption.
The success came soon. Already six months after its launch, the R12 was made at a rate of 700 cars a day.
The R12 was the «grand routière» to suit all purses.

La gamme s'enrichit

It took not long before new versions were introduced.
July the 19th, 1970, it was «jour G», D-Day, with G as in Gordini. Ten thousand people had come to the circuit du Castellet in the south of France, to say their goodbyes to the beloved R8 Gordini, and to welcome the new R12 Gordini.
October 1970 this R12 Gordini was brought to the market. The R12 G had the 1565 cm³ engine of the R16 TS, with two double carburettors, different admission and exhaust tubes, larger and wider opening valves, a reinforced crank-shaft, a five speed gearbox, ventilated disc brakes on the front wheels and normal disc brakes on the rear wheels. The suspension had been adapted to the much more powerful engine. The engine output was 83 kW, and the car had a topspeed of 185 km/h. The kilometer standing start was done in 31.8 seconds.
The R12 Gordini was only sold in the colour blue, with white stripes. The car did not have any bumpers.

Also in 1970, a new body type is introduced, the break. Apart from the bodywork this car is almost the same as the standard R12.

In october 1972 the R12 TS is launched. a faster and more luxurious version of the 12. This car had the same 1289 cm³ engine, but now with a double Weber carburettor, resulting in a output of 44 kW. The topspeed was raised to 150 km/h. The car was recognizable by its special Gordini type wheels, a chromium strip along the side of the car, and two extra headlights. In the interior a new type of seats was used, with integrated headrests, and a rev-counter and a cooling-fluid temperature gauge were standard.

October 1973 an R12 with an automatic gearbox became available. This was the R12 TR, a mixture of the TS and the TL.

Un traitement de rajeunissement

After six years the R12 started to date a bit. Especially the interior and the dashboard began to look old-fashioned. In october 1975 a renewed version of the R12 was introduced. The car had gotten an all new, modern looking, dashboard, and a new, four-spoke steering wheel.
The exterior was changed also. The car had gotten a new front, new and much larger rear-lights, new bumpers, new wheels. The stale air-outlets, in the C-posts were changed also. Only the L version kept the old dashboard for another year, as was also the case for the R12 Service, the commercial edition of the Break with only two doors and no rear side windows. The R12 was ready for many years to come.

Fin de carrière?

In 1975 production of the Gordini ended. In 1978 the production of the TR and TS berline stopped. A year later the same happened to the TR and TS break. In 1980 all the R12 were taken out of the catalogue. It was the end of the Renault 12. But was it really? For France and most Western-European countries this was the case. But the R12 was not only made and sold here, it had made quite a career all over the globe. And in those countries the R12 was still very popular, and there was no question of stopping! The R12 continued to be build until 1999, when the last was made in Turkey. And that's still not the end of the story, because until this day Dacia makes R12 derivatives.

À la conquête du monde

The R12 was a real world car, it was made and sold in almost every continent.

Australia

Spain

South-America

Argentia: R12 Alpine with 1.4 R5 Alpine engine. Face-lift, big plastic bumpers. Production end 1994.

Brasil: In Brasil Renault had a contract with Willys do Brasil to make Dauphines. They were also going to make R12's. But then Ford took over Willys, and also the Brazilian factory. Since everything was already set up to make the R12, Ford continued with it. They started selling the R12 as Ford Corcel, and did so more than one million times between 1968 and 1983... They even had the première of the model, since it was launched before the R12 in France!

Turkey

North-America

Romania

Dacia

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Last modified: Monday, June 12, 2000 at 14h06