Renault 12 – 1st generation (from a Renault catalog)
My father has always been a fan of Citroen cars – his first car was a 5CV, his last car a ZX. With a couple of Traction Avant, IDs and an AX in between. There had also been a Panhard at some point, I remember it leaving us stranded on our way to the beach when I was a little kid (one of my oldest memories – the final betrayal of the Dyna Z) – and it being replaced by yet another Traction.
For whatever reason, my parents were united by a common dislike of Peugeot and Simca, and, as it was unthinkable for my father to drive a car sold by a foreign brand, Renault was the only other option when they decided that big Citroens were definitely too complex and too expensive to maintain. That’s how we ended up with our first Renault 12.
Renault 12 – 1st Generation – Renault catalog.
The Renault 12 was the exact opposite of the big Citroens – a simple, economical car. With an architecture (front wheel drive, longitudinal engine ahead of the front wheels) inaugurated by Renault’s perennial delivery van, the Estafette. Graced by a very conventional 3 box body with a large trunk, it was motivated by a 1.3l version of the Cleon- fonte, Renault’s ubiquitous OHV engine, which looked positively lost in a front compartment that would have been large enough for a V8. At least the car was easy to service. To the universal disdain of the French motoring press, the rear wheels were attached to a pressed steel rigid rear axle, suspended by coil springs (they would have preferred an independent suspension setup, obviously).
Renault 12 1st generation (1969). Probably an official Renault picture. At the time Renault was not trying to use an attractive industrial design to appeal to buyers.
My father’s was a white first generation R12 TL that he had bought second hand (I don’t think he ever bought a car new). The R12 TL formed the middle of the range, there was also a simpler R12L, and a marginally nicer R12TS version with a more powerful engine – 64 HP instead of 54). Renault had hoped to replace the already legendary R8 Gordini with a souped up R12 Gordini (blue with white stripes of course), but it never got the same following as its predecessor, or as the R5 Alpine that followed.
The first page of the Renault catalog distributed at the launch – it’s telling that the car is not shown…
A face lifted model was launched in 1975, with a nicer front end, and much more modern dashboard. That was my father’s second R12 after the white R12 was stolen and never recovered, and the first car I had the opportunity to drive after getting my driver’s license. The second gen R12 was better looking, but it was still not very refined, (the engine was economic and energetic but rather loud, the car was nose heavy and under-steered furiously).
The Wikipedia image – my father’s second R12 TL looked exactly the same except for the piece of chrome trim running from the headlights to the rear lights which is probably an aftermarket addition – a huge progress over the original design of 1969.
Renault’s objective when designing the R12 was to appeal to a large range of buyers in export markets all over the world with a reliable, solid and easy to assemble car, and the goal was reached: it was sold (and very often assembled) in every continent, in excess of 2 million units, not counting another 2 million plus manufactured by Dacia in Romania until the early 2000s. When Ford bought Willys do Brasil in 1967, they inherited the prototype of a R12 derivative almost ready for production, that they brought to the market as the Ford Corcel.
Renault 12 TL – the engine bay with the 1.3L “Cleon-fonte” of the European markets
In the US, the Renault 12 was sold from 1971 to 1977, powered by the larger 1.6 aluminum engine of the Renault 16 and fitted with double round headlights. The case is not exceptional – the Renault 12s manufactured for foreign markets were often fitted with better engines and more flattering standard equipment; even the R12s built in Valladolid for the Spanish domestic market were nicer than their French siblings.
The second generation dashboard.
The R12’s platform – which was shared with the R15 and R17 sport coupes, was retained for their successors, the R18 saloon and the Fuego Coupe. All in all, more than 7.0 million cars would be built on that platform – not bad for an architecture pioneered by the Estafette of 1959.
Renault 12 TL – the 1975 face-lifted version – in sorry state but 100% original (incl. the horizontal bumper overriders)
I don’t recall anything really remarkable or out of the ordinary with my parents two R12s, they were good cars by their standards and served them well. They were satisfied customers and remained in the Renault fold for a few more years – they bought a R18 when it became available on the second hand market.
Renault 18 – a 1982 model, probably shot in front of the Renault headquarters, in Boulogne Billancourt.
The R18 was a much nicer car (inside in particular) but when they bought it I had already left the family nest and I don’t remember having spent much time in it, and I probably never drove it.
Unfortunately, that one (like many other R18s if I remember), developed some brake issues – and a particularly scary close brush with a sign post gave my father a powerful pretext to get rid of it. I had just bought an AX which I suppose – reignited his desire for a Citroen, and made convincing my mother to let him return to his one and true love a bit easier.
Was the 12 the Renault that had different wheelbase lengths on the left vs the right side of the car? This is a vague recollection.
You are thinking of the 16. I had a friend who bought one new. It was a nice comfortable car but it wasn’t reliable and he didn’t keep it long.
The 16 had a rear transverse suspension link to the other side of the car which was the design reason for having the rear wheels offset so the links missed each other.. Why ? French… Why not !!
A friend had the renault 12.. all went well until a head gasket change by a
” mechanic” who put it in upside down or back to front which blocked off the oil feed to the head and the rest is history.
I believe it was a torsion bar, not a suspension link. To get the right spring rate it had to be more than half as long as the width of the car.
The Renault 5/LeCar had a similar setup. I think the Renault 4 and 6, not sold in the US, also did.
The Renault 12 had a very conventional layout (solid beam rear axle and coil springs) and the wheelbase was the same left and right. Most of the other front wheel drive Renault of the time (R4, R5, R6, R16) had an independent rear suspension with transverse torsion bars. In order for the torsion bars to be long enough to offer a smooth ride, the bars had to be installed one behind the other one.
We had a 1975 Renault 12 wagon my parents bought to replace our aging VW bus. It was a sort of chocolate brown metallic with a beige vinyl interior. My strongest memory is of nearly tumbling out onto the highway when the hatchback unexpectedly opened as I leaned against it while riding in the “way back” (No seat belt laws in those days). The Renault —which even the dealer pronounced with a hard “t”—lasted until about 1978 when we replaced it with a VW Dasher (Passat) that, much to our delight as kids, had air conditioning. Incidentally, we were the only family around who drive tiny foreign wagons and I envied my friends and neighbors with their 18 foot long Colony Parks and Town and Countrys. Though they envied us at the filling station.
The R12 always gives me the impression of having been designed as a wagon first, and the sedan adapted from that by someone making two great whacks with a sword on a quarter-scale clay model.
Nice homage to a car that got a bad rep here in the US, but was a very successful car in so many other parts of the world.
It’s been ages since I last saw an R12 in the US; I was pleasantly surprised to find an R18 in Eugene, although I had doubts that it was still running.
The R12/17/18 period was not a happy one for Renault in the US.
In the mid-80s I was working as a typesetter, and one of my employer’s customers was a married couple who had a business organizing tours of France. Their stuff was usually assigned to me because I (somewhat) know French.
When they first started doing business with us they drove a Renault 18 wagon. At some point they switched to a Japanese car. In hindsight I should have asked them for the story on that.
The last live Renault R12 I saw was at a show and it was the only example they just disappeared though were apparently good cars, complex Citroens have a rep as reliable these days even 18 year old versions like mine have been bullet proof so far.
Although I have never owned one, I have always liked Renaults. My favourite is the R5, but I also like the R4 (both the early round and later square ones). The styling of the R12 does not work for me. I think it is the slope of the hood and trunk. In the late 70s a guy I was working with almost bought an R12. He loved the styling but didn’t like the R5. I guess it really is a matter of personal taste.
The Dacia version was sold in Canada, but I don’t remember ever seeing one on the road.
Renault 12 fan from the US right here! I owned a 1975 wagon for some years in the 1990’s, and it delivered me to my destination reliably and comfortably every time. The seats were amazing, and the car felt solidly built. The materials quality even seemed a cut above other cars in its range. It did feel a bit nose-heavy even with the Cleon-Alu engine, but winter traction was superb. The only downside was that parts often took some chasing to find here in the states, and could be a bit expensive. This last bit kept the car from true front line service, but there was more than one cold winter morning where the Renault was the only car that would start.
I always thought the station wagon shape was rather appealing, but found the sedans quite peculiar looking. These days, I would welcome either bodystyle, as the basic car has earned my respect and the memories are fond. I still wonder how Renault might have done in the US if they had put forth the effort to create a parts and dealership network like Volkswagen.
We travelled in Turkey in 2015. The locally built Fiat 124 and Renault 12 were by far the most common cars in rural areas. But unlike the Fiat I never saw a spotless R12 fitted with allow wheels, low profile tires, and driven by a young man. The Renault was invariably driven by a farmer, perhaps with a goat or at least a hay bale stuffed in back.
One place the 12 was assembled was Quebec. In 1970 I spent a few days in Montreal. I saw a number of 12s with “Fabriqué au Canada” rear-window decals.
But the opposition was probably even blander, a Ford Escort, an Opel Kadett, Datsun 120Y, the 124 Fiat or a Morris Marina !
And with the 12 TS Renault introduced their Gordini wheels and those very large front seats with integrated headrests and a TS had a much cooler appearance.
Australia is one of the many countries in which the 12 was assembled, til about ’79. It did alright, even winning the local COTY in 1970. Oddly enough, it was a bit of a snob’s car, for the educated (ie: teachers and academics and Euro hankerers). The less educated made the better choice: these had French reliability, meaning lots of niggling problems, and then rust. Much, much nicer to ride in than any of the Japanese alternatives, though. I test drove one in about ’88, and it was still nicer to steer and ride in than the Japanese, but it was awfully slow. And it needed a clutch, which was a very common failure, perhaps related to it being quite a large-ish car for such a wee motor. Overall, it didn’t feel special enough to be bothered.
As you indicate, an underrated car in many countries, either because it was too conventional (like, not enough like a R16 or GS) or too unconventional for no immediately apparent benefit such as the R16’s hatch or GS’s ride but still FWD (perceived as complex) and not that elegant.
But if you ask someone who owned one, chances are they’d recommend it. My cousin swore by his for years, well in to the 90s. A handy estate car too, and the basis for the R15 and R17 (a favourite of mine).
A flock of Racing R 12 Gordini’s in fighting in their own Gordini cup
The flying introduction of the R12 Gordini in 1971, it had an 83 liter fuel tank and an R 16 TS engine coupled to a five speed gearbox.
These have been neglected by collectors and classic car fans for a long time but prices are rapidly increasing of this particular model .
In spite of the odd looks of the first generation, this sounds like a car I’d cotton to .
I remember the endless fiddling most Renault owners did in the late 50’s and early 60’s but overall those who like Renaults were die hards .
Please someone post a picture of the R12 & R18 station waon .
-Nate
My Father too owned a Renault, bought new after his ’59 Beetle was totalled in front of our house where it was parked….his was a R10.
He really wasn’t a car guy, but he wasn’t afraid of trying something different. Polar opposite of me, he would wake up, decide he wanted to buy a car, and have the car bought and in the garage by the end of the same day. But he was pretty practical, only once having bought (what I think of as) a midlife crisis car (and it wasn’t too impractical, a Dodge Omni 024). Right before that he had a Subaru, which doesn’t sound too odd, but he bought his new in 1976, before they had much of a following. We lived in Vermont, wanting front wheel drive back then you might have paid a lot to get a VW or Honda (he ruled out Fiat due to my disastrous purchase of one earlier that year). Maybe he should have bought another (FWD) Renault they were still available (Le Car…don’t think the R12 was still available) but he didn’t (plus the dealer who had sold him the R10 was no longer in business). His most luxurious car really wasn’t that much; he bought a 1978 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Wagon pretty much loaded from the showroom (though by today’s standards, it probably wouldn’t be that big a deal).
The R10 was his commuter car, and he really didn’t drive it much, he only had maybe 22k miles on it when he traded it in. It was RWD, but still pretty good traction with rear (watercooled) engine. I just started driving within weeks of him trading the R10, so I never got the chance to drive it…he used to keep a battery charger in the front trunk (not sure if it was 6 or 12v, the charger was capable of both). He also lost his clutch, coming home from a rare Washington Senator’s game (we’d moved to Northern Va, then back to Vermont a few years later…and neither I nor my Father followed baseball, guess it was kind of a father-son thing with timing during the baseball season). Ironically, the first gas shortage is what caused him to trade the R10, as it was manual transmission, my Mother (who just this year stopped driving) learned to drive on a 1951 Chrysler Windsor with semi-automatic but was really never comfortable driving anything but automatic, and my Father wanted her to drive his car more, to avoid the poor gas mileage on her car (’73 Ford Country Sedan)….so the replacement car had an automatic.