History Renault 6 and Rodéo

The history of the Renault 6 and Rodéo

Projet 118

«Project 118», which was to become the Renault 6 was an effort of Renault to make a "better" R4, larger, better looking, more luxurious and more expensive. The R6 was to be Renaults main competitor for the Citroën Ami and the in 1967 released Dyane. The car was going to be made at Renaults Billancourt factory.

Introduction

The new model was introduced on the Salon d'Automobile in Paris in 1968.
The R6 was technically the same as the R4, with a changed front wheel suspension, which was also changed for the R4 from that date, but the bodywork was much like a small R16. It had the 845 cm³, which was the same engine as found in the R4 and Dauphine and originated in the 4CV engine.

New versions

At the Paris Motorshow of 1970 a new version of the R6 was introduced: the R1181. This car had the 1108 cm³ Sierra or Cléon engine, from the R8 Major, an engine originally introduced in the R8 in 1962. The car had a new gearbox, with a different shifting pattern, it had front disc brakes, and a different cooling system, with an electrically driven fan with thermoswitch. The radiator was placed directly behind the grille, and not immediately ahead of the engine. The R.1181 was better equiped, it had wheels with holes and an extra air-inlet in the front. The number plate was now mounted on the front bumper and not above it.
For the Spanish market the R6 was also available with a 956 cm³ engine because in Spain cars with engines larger than 1.040 cm³ had to be included on the annual tax declaration.

Face-lift

In 1974 the R6 was modernized. The most obvious changes were the new, black plastic grille, and the rectangular headlights. The bumpers were new, and the front indicators were now put in the bumper, instead of in between the bumper and the headlights. The rear lights were changed also.

End

Production in Western-Europe ended in 1980, but in Spain and Argentinia the car was still available for several years.

Rodéo

A special version of the R6 was the Rodéo 6, introduced in 1972. This car was based on the R.1181 and had the 1108 cm³ engine with 47 hp.
The body of the Rodéo 6 was completely different of that of a normal R6. It had a glasfibre reinforced polyester bodywork, with a foldable windscreen, a soft-top or a hard-top. The Rodéo was Renaults answer to the Citroën Méhari.
Available versions were: «Évasion», «Chantier», «Coursière» and «Quatre Saisons».
The Rodéo models were not built by Renault, but by ACL - later Teilhol - located in the Auvergne, and sold by the Renault organisation.
From 1970, there was also a Rodéo 4, this car was based on the R4 and had another body as the Rodéo 6. Although based on the R4, this car is also described on these pages.
In 1980, modelyear 1981, the appearance of the Rodéo 6 was changed, and a 1289 cm³ engine from the R12 became available.
Only a year later it was replaced by the Rodéo 5, which was not based on the R5 as its name indicates, but still on the R4/6. It had the engine of the R4 GTL. The modelyear of the Rodéo 5 was easily recognizable by its colour: the 1982 cars were orange, the 1983 models were green, 1984 yellow, and 1985 and 1986, the last year of production, the cars were ivory.

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Last Modified: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 at 11h36