Renault Fuego (1980)
The Renault Fuego ("Fire" in Spanish) was a sports car produced by French automaker Renault from 1980 to 1995, replacing the Renault 15 and 17 coupés of the 1970s. It was marketed in the United States by American Motors Corporation (AMC), and was also assembled in Argentina.
Development:
The Fuego's exterior was designed by Michel Jardin, working under Robert Opron (who had previously designed the Citroën SM, Citroën GS, Citroën CX, and later followed with the Renault 25 in 1984).
The Renault Fuego was heavily based on the Renault 18, sharing its floorpan and drivetrain, but featuring a new front suspension design developed from the larger Renault 20/30. The design kept the familiar double wishbone layout common with the Renault 18 but no parts were interchangeable and the design incorporated negative scrub radius geometry. The new suspension design would later be introduced in the facelifted Renault 18, and with minor refinements (larger bushings, etc.), it was used in the Renault 25. In 1984, the Fuego dashboard was added to the facelifted R18. European production continued into 1986 (to 1985 in France and 1986 in Spain), while Renault Argentina produced the Fuego from 1982 until finally ending production in 1995 with the 2.2 litre "GTA Max" (the final phase III facelift introduced in 1990).
It was the first mass-produced four-seat sports model to be designed in a wind tunnel[citation needed] (with a resulting drag coefficient (Cd) factor of 0.32-0.35 depending on model and year). In October 1982, the Turbo Diesel model was classified as the then-fastest diesel car in the world with a top speed of 180 km/h.
The Fuego was the first car to have a remote keyless system with central locking that was available from the 1983 model year (from October 1982). The system was invented by Frenchman Paul Lipschutz (hence the name PLIP remote which is still used in Europe), and later introduced on other Renault models. The Fuego was also the first car to have steering wheel mounted satellite controls for the audio system (European LHD GTX and Turbo from October 1983). This feature became popularised on the new 1984 model Renault 25.
A convertible version was unveiled by the French coachbuilder Heuliez in 1982, but never made it to production due to cost[citation needed] - the R11/Alliance convertible taking its place.
[Text taken from Wikipedia]
I had a friend who owned one of these in the late 1990s, and among its many oddities, the thing that annoyed them them the most was the use of metric tyres. (Tyres with a 'cm' diameter as opposed the the usual 'inch' diameter). Combined with the fact that the wheel PCD was quite odd, and you couldn't easily replace the wheels with something else.
This Lego miniland-scale Renault Fuego has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 85th Build Challenge - "Like, Totally 80s", - featuring vehicles from the 1980s decade. This Renault Fuego of France started out the decade in 1980, though was very modern looking at launch.
Renault Fuego (1980)
The Renault Fuego ("Fire" in Spanish) was a sports car produced by French automaker Renault from 1980 to 1995, replacing the Renault 15 and 17 coupés of the 1970s. It was marketed in the United States by American Motors Corporation (AMC), and was also assembled in Argentina.
Development:
The Fuego's exterior was designed by Michel Jardin, working under Robert Opron (who had previously designed the Citroën SM, Citroën GS, Citroën CX, and later followed with the Renault 25 in 1984).
The Renault Fuego was heavily based on the Renault 18, sharing its floorpan and drivetrain, but featuring a new front suspension design developed from the larger Renault 20/30. The design kept the familiar double wishbone layout common with the Renault 18 but no parts were interchangeable and the design incorporated negative scrub radius geometry. The new suspension design would later be introduced in the facelifted Renault 18, and with minor refinements (larger bushings, etc.), it was used in the Renault 25. In 1984, the Fuego dashboard was added to the facelifted R18. European production continued into 1986 (to 1985 in France and 1986 in Spain), while Renault Argentina produced the Fuego from 1982 until finally ending production in 1995 with the 2.2 litre "GTA Max" (the final phase III facelift introduced in 1990).
It was the first mass-produced four-seat sports model to be designed in a wind tunnel[citation needed] (with a resulting drag coefficient (Cd) factor of 0.32-0.35 depending on model and year). In October 1982, the Turbo Diesel model was classified as the then-fastest diesel car in the world with a top speed of 180 km/h.
The Fuego was the first car to have a remote keyless system with central locking that was available from the 1983 model year (from October 1982). The system was invented by Frenchman Paul Lipschutz (hence the name PLIP remote which is still used in Europe), and later introduced on other Renault models. The Fuego was also the first car to have steering wheel mounted satellite controls for the audio system (European LHD GTX and Turbo from October 1983). This feature became popularised on the new 1984 model Renault 25.
A convertible version was unveiled by the French coachbuilder Heuliez in 1982, but never made it to production due to cost[citation needed] - the R11/Alliance convertible taking its place.
[Text taken from Wikipedia]
I had a friend who owned one of these in the late 1990s, and among its many oddities, the thing that annoyed them them the most was the use of metric tyres. (Tyres with a 'cm' diameter as opposed the the usual 'inch' diameter). Combined with the fact that the wheel PCD was quite odd, and you couldn't easily replace the wheels with something else.
This Lego miniland-scale Renault Fuego has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 85th Build Challenge - "Like, Totally 80s", - featuring vehicles from the 1980s decade. This Renault Fuego of France started out the decade in 1980, though was very modern looking at launch.