(first posted 6/19/2011) This is the only R17 I’ve ever seen and shot since starting this gig. They were rare when new; now they’re French unicorns.
Unfortunately, this one’s front end wasn’t available, but here’s a nice one:
The R 15 and R17 coupes were based on the R12 sedan, and it’s hard to say exactly why Renault chose to offer two coupe variants, with different roofs. But Renault sometimes worked in mysterious ways.
It must be the summer sun, because it took me a bit too long to correlate that face to what is undoubtedly the source if its inspiration, Virgil Exner’s 1960 XNR (see post here).
Which of course was reprised in the Sebring of 1971. Which happens to be the same year the Renault coupes appeared. Coincidence, or?
Here’s an R 15, with its very different rear window design. The R 15 was the lower-priced and less overtly sporty of the two.
And here’s the whole family, with an enthusiastic Renault owner. The R 15 on the right has the earlier chrome-surround bumper/grille, while silver one above sports a later version. The R 17 was succeeded by the Fuego.
Finally, my shot of the Eugene car’s interesting dash. That dash and wheel just scream 1970s French style. J’amie!
If only Renault could BUILD cars like they DESIGN them!
As an armchair Jeepophile, I of course had a passing interest in the health of American Motors; and it was at once sad, laughable and pathetic how the Alliance worked out after all the hoopla. The right car, the right time, AMC now has a patron with deep pockets and designs it can take, right off the board. Only sad thing, I thought, was that AMC wouldn’t get to keep the AMC name on the new Franco-American selections.
Ohh, how wrong I was. The sad thing was watching those Alliances and Encores hitting the streets of America like the Titanic hit the iceberg…disappearing almost as fast. The depreciation on those things must have been so fast, there would NEVER be a time a financed unit had equity. Those things were mostly gone, even before AMC was – before the Chrysler deal was done.
And me. I was a connisseur of the weird and the cheap; having owned Pintos and Yugos and Postals…there was a dealer advertising a three-year-old Le Car for $300. Now, I knew I wasn’t getting a keeper at that price…but, come on! Three years old, how bad could it be?
Pretty damn bad. Sales dude and I went around the block in it…that was the plan. After two stops, one light, one screeching brake and one funny shift in the rear, the salesman told me: “Stop. Park it. I’ll walk back and get a car and pick you up…this car is NOT for sale!”
Which, I guess, was more a typical Renault experience than should have been. Perhaps now, as they’ve been teaching Nissan how to design for a market, Nissan has been teaching Renault how to build to last more than ten months.
What a shame about your experiences with that Renault.
I attribute them more to poor dealerships than to unsavoury cars.
My own personal experiences with Renault products are more like what I’ve heard others, up here in the frozen white north of Canada, telling me they have had.
I’d had several Citroen DS cars and even a Peugeot 404 or two, before I discovered Renaults. My first one was an R16TS I got from the Citroen dealership where I’d come to trust the owner.
It went through hell in my hands, fording creeks, careening along dusty gravel roads, charging through high snow drifts with NO SNOW TIRES…and getting through them. I even rolled it after losing traction on an icy S-curve, and spinning off onto the shoulder tail first, digging in to the edge of the gravel shoulder with the trailer hitch and flipping backwards over a fence, into a pasture beside the embankment. I pushed it over on to its wheels, and sought help from the farmer onto whose field I had landed. With a tug on the hitch from his tractor, I was freed and chased him out of the field in reverse.
An earlier incident saw me discovering to my horrow that the last 50 feet before a T intersection was shaded from the thawing effects of early morning sunshine upon the black iced surface of a dry winter day road, and as I blasted along, having left late for work that day, and braking late for the stop sign, all four wheels locked up and I slid through the T intersection with essentially no brakes on glare ice, rapidly approaching an embankment and a fence below that, into a pasture covered in about 5 inches of snow. I made a split second decision to ride it out and I shifted down a gear, and floored the throttle….giving me just enough added speed to clear the fence and land heavily in the field…with enough momentum to encourage me to keep my foot in it long enough to churn my way out of the field again, having found an open gate and a laneway to assist in my escape.
That car stayed together following being flipped, had the ridges in the roof filled up with bondo and a new windshield placed in it, and I drove it for another couple of years before rust captured its spirit forever.
Several R16s came and went, and I truly regret passing on the last one…hopefully to have been restored but that never happened. I could enjoy it still.
A Renault R8, bought to replace my then wife’s rusted out 6 cylinder 67 Mustang notchback was another revelation. It never had ANY issues, and withstood being sandwiched between two far larger US cars at a stop sign, where, having stopped behind one of them, my wife’s car was hit from behind by some idiot on full oblivious in an early 70s LTD wagon. With 5 little kids in the car…(no seat belt laws, no car seat laws, then), all of them survived uninjured, (my wife as well, thanks to the proper height head rests and a seat back designed to collapse backwards in rear end accidents). All four doors were able to be opened and the rest of the car took the impact…and was a write off. I shudder to think of what would have happened had she been in the first generation Honda Civic she bought to replace it.
I later discoverd the R5, or Le Car as some call it.
This was an extremely tight, tough little car…I took mine through bushes, over creeks, cross country chases behind 4×4 Toyota pickup trucks, through deep snow again with no snow tires, did stupid street races with it, beating a modified Mazda B2300 pickup on one occasion.
Any mechanical issues were not hard to solve…I fixed the car myself, and I am not a trained mechanic.
Those “Sierra” engines were replaceable wet liner engines, with stout main bearings and understressed designs. Problems related more to neglect than flaws…such as happened when people didn’t change oil often enough or left the coolant system with air locks thus causing poor cooling and possibly warped heads.
Again…that’s applied owner ignorance, not a bad car.
The benefits of having one of them…and I used these cars in series for a total of 19 years…were cheap reliable operation in any weather, a huge sunroof, hatchback design that allowed incredibly outsized loads to be carried, (stove, couch, dishwasher, that sort of thing…) and when not being a beast of burden they were fun to drive, hilarious to do high speed railway crossings in, leaving the ground and landing with a poise and grace unlike any other car…whether they were a longer or far more expensive car..
. ..
The only other cars that could jump like an R5GTL would have to be a Peugeot 404, 504, 505 or a Citroen DS….but there would be more noise on landing, because they’d likely bottom…R5s never seemed to bottom out.
I got into buying French cars because I had lost interest in paying the heavy gas bills attendant with US cars, knew Brit cars weren’t reliable,and that Italian cars rusted out…and so did Japanese cars…which had no soul. German cars were expensive from beginning to end. The comfort levels of French cars, even the cheapest ones, far exceeded much more expensive US cars and saved my back from high chiropractic bills.
So, the experience you had was sadly a limited and unfortunate one….you REALLY missed some great cars.
True, the Alliance was feeble in some ways, and lots of them were due to dealer ignorance and lack of knowledge on the part of mechanics there.
The rest I attribute to Renault feeling they had to compromise the basically good genes of the R9 and R11 to sell into the US car market. Few recall the later Medallion, which, as the R21, was a good enough car that it still has an enthusiastic following in many other countries outside of the perversely illogical tastes of the North American market.
I think that history has a way of retelling itself so important truths often get lost..and this applies to car history as well.
Maybe this note can help set the record straight.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I love French cars, but then I love all cars. And their bad rep in the US not all deserved; folks (owners, mechanics, dealers) didn’t understand them, and know how to keep them happy. They had much to offer.
The American car market is much poorer since Renault left. Enthusiasts hue and cry about losing Alfa Romeo and Citroen, but Renault’s were an incredibly interesting line of cars that could be kept running without spending a fortune. And they were wonderfully different without getting confusing.
An no, having the Nissan Versa (which I’ve always understood to be something of a rebadged Renault model) isn’t enough. It’s too mundane, like the Japanese took the French-ness out of it, or at least remade the least-French French car they could get.
The first Versa was on a Megane platform although the rest was different, and it and the Quest from around then were definitely styled by some French designers. The head of Nissan design was a French guy around then.
My Renault experience resolved to ambivalence. Loved the way my R5 drove. The 2500rpm torque peak came on at 35 in third gear and 45 in fourth and made for quiet and responsive urban running. The rigid body structure and supple suspension invited flogging down a winding canyon road near my apartment when I was in Niki Lauda mode, in spite of the typical patched and uneven Michigan blacktop.
But there were the master cylinder, proportioning valve, voltage regulator, leaking radiator, rear wiper motor, all within 2 or 3 years of new, and *not* from lack of maintenance. Most discouraging was how the body dissolved in 5 years.
I mused at the time, why was it that the really neat small cars (VW, Renault, Fiat) were all so fragile?
I worked in the factory when the alliances were built. We were not allowed to work on the engines. The car was assembled, and if when it got to the end of the assembly line, it would not start, the engine cradle was unbolted and the entire drivetrain, disc brake to disc brake,was shiped back to France. And they shipped back tons of them. We also had problems with waves in the sheet metal stampings, no one on this country had ever tried to stamp a car body out of sheet metal that thin. Then there was the time they were developing the convertible. They cut the top off in Kenosha and four engineers drove it out to the proving grounds in Burlington. Upon arrival they had to climb out over the doors because the car was folding in half and the doors wouldn’t open. The only thing good I can say about what we laughingly called the “Appliance” is that the rear suspension makes an excellent single place snowmobile trailer.
The Le Car was even worse! The entire car is exemplified by the wheel lug pattern. What is the absolute minimum you could get by with? 3. To which we add a safety factor of ZERO. The sheet tin is so thin on the R5 you can dismantle the entire body with a can opener. I won’t waste my breath any further.
Finally someone who used the Alliance/Encore rear suspension for a trailer. I’ve never done it, but the simple attachment to the sub-frame got me thinking when I saw them in the junkyard.
My family came to the Renault marque following the untimely demise of a Citroen DS19 via fire. An R10, dark green with the Jaeger controlled 3-speed automatic was the first Renault. The Regie was trying to get people to forget the Dauphine. The seats of that R10 were covered in a black vinyl that would last nearly forever. Four-wheel disc brakes, generous front boot, it served as the family runabout for several years until it was totalled. The second Renault was an R16, possibly the last Renault sold by the local dealer, who’s main line of vehicles was tractors. The 16 replaced the remaining DS19 and dad loving referred to the Renault as his “poor man’s Citroen.” It lasted long enough for me to drive it through high school. Same “wear like iron” upholstery, cargo capacity that rivaled a mini-van, incredibly supple suspension, excellent hadling in slippery conditions, it was a car that could do it all. Perfect? No. In its later years, head gasket issues became frequent. Dad was not one who believed in preventive maintenance. The American market never got the commitment from Renault to make a serious go of it, and that’s a shame, the R16 might have changed the minds of many buyers. Dad would go on to buy seven more Renault/Renault derived products, but none matched the versatility or quality of the 16.
How bad? I desperately wanted a Le Car, found myself a very clean used one at a good price in ’81. Took it out on a test drive.
Five miles from the dealership, it caught fire.
Only time I ever saw a car salesman back down after I’d obviously said “no” to a car he was trying to sell me. Didn’t even try to get me interested in something else on the lot.
I guess that was God saying, “You don’t want a Le Car.”
Just the same, I’d still love to own a Renault or two. Preferably a 17, I could stand a 15 if it wasn’t an automatic, the 12 sedan was nice (my partner in crime during my glam rock days almost bought one new) – and I’d really love to own a 10. Something about those cars were really wonderful, rode in a neighbors back when I was a kid.
Interesting lady: In her early 60’s, very much the “let’s do tea” type (in coal and steel Johnstown, PA), her garage had the 10 and a 1934 Ford coupe, restored to original of course).
My parents bought a new 1986 Renault Alliance. Despite the fact that the Encore they test drove broke down on the test drive.
It worked out about as well as you would expect. It was a great car to sit in, but broke down on a regular basis, mostly with electrical issues. Eventually, my he parked it and bought a stripper Eagle Summit as a commuter car. The plan was to give the Alliance to my brother when he got his license. A few days after my brother got his learner’s permit, the timing belt went and grenaded the engine.
In an odd twist, several years later, the Neon that replaced the Summit got sideswiped and totalled by what had to be the last running Encore left in the state of NJ.
I’ve read about electrical problems with Fuegos (which I really wanted one of back then but never owned one) that were because of a kind of connectors they used at least for the first few years. Like with British cars they seemed to often find some hot idea and then not test it well or long enough before being put into production.
That’s a coincidence. I bought the Matchbox toy version of this car at an antique shop just last week. Dated 1974 and they were still made in England then. Just fifty cents!
First thing I thought of when I saw the post. I had a red one, which I think is still floating around at my parents’ house. I have no memory of ever seeing a real one.
IINM, all Matchboxes were made in England up until Lesney went bankrupt in 1982, and some continued to be made there even for a few years after that.
I don’t know about that little French loaf, but that Imperial looks better and better to me every time I see it. I think it’s the wheels that make it work, though a lot of old American cars are like that–throw a set of Cragars or even no-name chrome steel wheels on them and they look better instantly.
The sedan varsion must have been popular in Aussie , there were plenty of used ones about in the 80s they would have been more fun to drive than ths local cars of the time. Havent seen 1 for years now
12s were popular in Australia until Renault stopped local assembly and their new prices shot through the roof. My cousin had one. It was very nice to ride in once you got past the odd looks. But through the seventies people were discovering Japanese reliability, service backup and value. My cousin had so much trouble with hers that the RACV service guy cheered when he saw it being towed off to the wreckers.
17s and 15s were much more expensive that the 12, but you still saw an occasional one.
Wow what a find.
Wow…… love that green one w/ the chrome surround bumper grill ! Very sexy car. That dashboard shot looks all wrong, the steering wheel looks nailed onto the dash, akin to a soapbox racer!
It’s little brother , the Renault 18 or the Fuego was a huge hit in Argentina.
What’s funny is that the car was a bit of an optical illusion as t looked to be built on a longer wheelbase in Argentina. When this car was seen here in the states it looked sooooooo tiny when compared to the Detriot behemoths.
Wow, they still exist, didn’t know these were exported to the US. Even in France these are rare finds, neither the R15 nor the R17 ever sold well, same for the Fuego. I guess “sporty” and “Renault” in one sentence simply do not sell, despite some being good material, like the R21 Turbo, Alpine GTA and Mégane R26R.
That R17 actually looks surprisingly uncorroded for a 1970’s Renault, a restoration project?
Cars don’t rust here, even Renaults!
As to the reason Renaults didn’t sell well in America:
1. Johnstown, PA. We had a Renault dealer, the line was picked up by the local Oldsmobile dealer (Pristow’s) to compete with the Volkswagen franchise two miles down the road (back in the 50’s these were the only foreign cars you could buy in Johnstown). While he may have shown some enthusiasm for the brand in the 50’s, by the early 60’s they were shoved into a back corner of the showroom and attempting to talk to the salesman about one would get you pushed towards an F-85. By the late 60’s, the dealership had also taken on Datsun, and Renault was completely forgotten. I think they had dropped the marque by the AMC days.
2. Erie, PA. This was worse. The Renault dealer was a small foreign car repair shop which lived up to all the stereotypes. The building was a two repair bay gas station, minus the pumps, with a double-sized office area allowing a big enough showroom to cram in two cars. The yard was uncut weeds with derelict vintage Lancias, etc. stripped for parts laying around. At the beginning of the year, the dealer (who was the head, of two, mechanic and salesperson) would get three (count ’em, three) cars in. If he sold one, he might order a replacement. The showroom was dirty. And it was on PA route 5 (the minor east/west corridor thru Erie, vs US 20) about ten miles west of town. If you weren’t looking for the place, you’d drive right by it. And he never advertised. His reputation as a mechanic was very good for ability, but he wasn’t above stealing parts from a customer’s car in the yard to install on one on the lift.
With that kind of support, you think the company had a chance?
If only the reliability of Renaults matched their looks…I owned an ’85 Renault Encore; my most remembered ownership experience was fixing one problem after another. Something was always breaking-at least it served as an educational experience-I will never own another French car.
Only 3 wheel lugs??
Do you need more?
Old joke: Why does Renault use 3 wheel lugs? Because 2 aren’t enough.
wow, thanks paul! i was really smitten as a teenager by the version with the cloth sunroof. i love the ’70s. look at the picture that featuring the r15 & r17. my first thought is what car company today would feature orange yellow or traffic light green cars with blackout trim and a tan leather interiors? my second thought is why don’t they? and why don’t woman where thigh high boots, hot pants and lilac tops anymore, either? the world has become so bland!
I kind of remember the R17’s. I do remember the Fuegos, they were one of the cars I would have liked to have owned. But, I knew about the Renault ownership experience. That was enough to keep me far, far away.
What really knocks me out is the R15. That looks like it would have made an excellent little GT car. And the single headlight grille combined with the loop bumper is the late model Javelin to the fuselage bodied Satellite. All good in my book.
I’m glad FIAT is re-entering the North American market again, as I have wanted to see European alternatives to the Universal Asian Car (UAC). Detroit in it’s attempt to win back buyers, aped the UAC for many years, IMO. Maybe if FIAT is successful, Renault Nissan will join the party and send over some little French cars, too. How cool would it be to have a Twingo in the US? Maybe VW would send us the Polo or some Skodas? Or maybe a SEAT?
Ahh, more mental masturbation…
My first car was a 1976 Renault R17 Gordini, which I purchased in 1979, and ultimately sold in 1984. I still miss it. Would love to have one again.
It had all sorts of wonderful & totally French design features, like the huge electric canvas sunroof with fiberglass cover for the winter, sloping dash, the aforementioned 3-lug wheels with Michelin XAS tires, the asymmetric hood bulge, the rear side louvers, blacked out deck with spoiler, huge resin rear bumper, and on and on. Hemi 4-cyl. with injection & front wheel drive, the car moved pretty well.
You didn’t see them around very much even back in the ’70’s. When you did see one, everyone always flashed their headlights.
Quality was pretty iffy — I had the brakes totally fail on me once, pedal went right to the floor before they locked up completely — but when it worked, it was really a blast.
The design was unfortunately marred by battering ram U.S. bumpers front and rear on ’74 and later models.
The first R17 I remember seeing (in Michigan) was the Gordini variant. I ended up thinking “Gordini” was the actual model name until I found out otherwise.
Ive hardly ever seen these coupe Renaults quite rare here but as usual Paul does a CC and next day one pops up for sale on trademe locallyan R15 I dont want one but this isnt the first time its happened
I really, really wanted an R-17 Gordini that I fell in love with at the local Volvo/Mazda/Renault dealer in 1976.
I was driving a ’74 VW Dasher (B1 Passat) at the time that was plagued repair problems.
It was just too expensive and I ended up with an new Olds Omega instead.
I don’t recall where my head was at the time. I liked all sorts of completely different cars and looked at Fiats, Renaults, Datsuns, Toyotas, Mazdas, Volvos, Saabs, VWs, Fords, and Hondas.
I probably dodged a bullet because the Olds was very reliable, but always regretted not getting my dream Renault.
About the best way I can describe the difference between the Renault 15 & 17: Look at the difference between a Mustang 289 automatic and a Boss 302. Now dial down the scale. The 17 had the horsepower, handling, and was manual transmission only. And it could nip at a Porsche’s heels. The 15 was the secretary’s boulevardier, offered an automatic, and had looks that the performance couldn’t live up to.
So was that R17 a runner? Was it for sale? I have lived in Portland for 4 years and it is still rare to see a Renault in town – and they are usually not the neat ones…
Renault has brought their quality gremlins over to Nissan. Many loyal Nissan owners unaware or Renaults influence in their Nissans were greeted to issues unheard of in their pre-Renault Nissan cars. I hate to say this but Renault is like a Cancer. They’ve left a reliability mess with every partnership they’ve encountered. Which shouldn’t be surprising given their own reliability track record. Nissan engines are failing ( prematurely for a Nissan), burning oil, bad transmissions, bad motor mounts. It’s a shame because people are now vowing not to buy Nissan again. And I can’t blame them. Honda and Toyota, provide true Japanese quality. Nissan is slipping thanks to Renault.
Nissan is the 1970s Chrysler of Japan.
I have the fortune to own 2 R-17’s. In 1980 I bought from the original owner, a dentist, a 1975 orange R-17 TL with the sliding soft top. It had a bad head gasket on the 1647 CC engine. It had 54 K miles. I fixed it and drove it for a 3 years. I towed a U-haul trailer with it 634 miles with all my belongings when I changed colleges. Up hill – 3rd gear on I-40 through the Appalachians in NC and TN.
Still have a 1974 white R-17 TL in the old country. It was purchased new by my father. 40 years later, he still uses it more like a farm implement, hauling apples, grapes and pomegranates from the orchard to the village. This one has the 1565 CC Hemi engine since it is a euro spec TL. Original engine, transaxle replaced twice.
The other R 17 TL in the US.
Looks like it was taken in the seventies! How about today?
(Update: I just saw your other comment. Nice!)
The picture of the orange TL was taken in 1980. I think I sold it in 1984 or 1985. Still have the white TL. The picture of the white TL was taken in 2009. very unique cars. I plan to restore the white TL one day to original condition.
In the 1980’s and into the 1990’s I owned a Canadian spec 1980 Renault 30TS and boy that was a wonderful car that I still recall fondly. It never gave me any undue problem despite university student level of maintenance and use. Loads of charm and character from door lock indicators that were tiny transparent tubes on the top of each door which indicated the state of the lock, to the electric sunroof motor that sounded just like the flap adjusters on a jetliner. The rear seat cushion folded by tilting up against the back of the front seats in the normal fashion, but the backrest would flip upwards to be suspended from the handrails above each door.
The PRV V6 was always reliable if fairly thirsty, and there were numerous R30’s around my area with 250,000 to 300,000kms on them with no issues so I’m usually puzzled when I read what a troublesome engine it was. The best part of the car was the armchair-comfortable seating and the incredible ride quality which gave a cossetting ride and still capable handling, if a fair bit of body roll in the French fashion. It was an excellent highway cruiser and on occasion I saw an indicated 180kph on vacant rural roads. I really miss that car.
The Renault 30 was sold in Canada?? I definitely never saw one of those.
They did, from 1977 to 1980. No idea of the numbers but I did speak once with the owner of the dealer in Calgary and he said the total sold through his shop was 64 over four years. Options were metallic paint, automatic transmission, leather upholstery (cloth or vinyl standard) and electric sunroof. My 1980 model sold for about $16,000 new. I heard that they sold quite well in Quebec. I still have a couple of brochures somewhere.
to the electric sunroof motor that sounded just like the flap adjusters on a jetliner.
R&T December 74 test of a 17 Gordini “Two electric motors sounding very much like the flap motors on a Boeing 707 drive this folding panel rearward…”
I still have my ’79 17 Gordini Coupe/Convertible as well as an equally nice 1978 17 Gordini. Fairly reliable these many years.
Paul, given your magical powers of being able to conjure up a car merely by writing about it. I request that you publish stories on Renault R8 Gordini and Renault R5 Turbo II. And if it’s not too much trouble have them appear on my local Craig’s List with a very low price.
Thanks in Advance
Jorge
+1
And throw in a Peugeot 304 sedan on that Craigslist ad.
While your at it…don’t forget a 404 wagon for yourself.
The fragility of French automotive products in much overemphasized – like the USA distances are often long between places and automobiles are absolutely necessary to get about outside the cities. Unreliable product would not sell in France. That said there have always been some duds on the market and both Renault and Peugeot have had reliability issues of late. Citroens I find very reliable.
Does the lovely lady in that picture of the R15 and R17 come with the cars?
By now that lovely lady in the picture is probably a grandmother.
The Renault 15 was based on the Renault 12 TS running gear and the 17 was based on the Renault 16 TS running gear
That said, Renault simply wanted a piece of the Ford Capri / Opel Manta action in Europe, they were in the middle of their hatchback period and combined a fast back with a hatch.
The 17 TS (Gordini in the US) as it was sold in Europe was the top of the line model and you could get it with an elelectrical sunroof and a hard top ( well a sort of shell) for winter time
In Europe these were quite expensive and underpowered compared to the competitors but they had far better handling.
Unfortunately we remember them as rustbuckets, not so much as an unreliable vehicle.
The R12′ s were highly popular and so was the R16 so parts were cheap and posed no problem here in the old world.
There’s one of these I see on the way to the supermarket, it’s been cut in half and probably hasn’t run in years. Only one I’ve ever seen.
Wonder if the blue one in the OP is a grey market import. Every 17 I saw over the years in the US was the Gordini version, with the sun roof, leather seats and breathed on engine.
I did see one 15, maybe 8 years old at the time and I didn’t even want to look hard at the tops of the front fenders lest the pressure of my gaze cause the rusted remains to collapse.
All of the 17’s in my memory banks were Gordinis, too. This one does have side marker lights, which were only used in the US/Canadian market, so I’m betting it’s not a grey market car. Also guessing that it’s a 1972 or 1973, going by the lack of a 5mph rear bumper.
I had a yellow 17 TL for a number of years, I really enjoyed it. I dropped the suspension, fitted Konis, put 7 inch bands on those nice styled rims with Pirelli CN36s, an extra anti roll bar at the front and it handled like a go cart. I set out to drive the 1064 km around Tasmania in it, missed a hairpin turn at Scottsdale and ended up in a paddock with a cow looking at me. I flattened the nose and broke the floor under the seats. Not to be too put off, I flew to France to pick up all new parts for it and in no time it was back on the road again.
I remember driving from Melbourne to Charters Towers, around 2000 miles, in 33 hours in that car. It was an excellent car. This was around 1982 to 1986.
KJ in Oz
The blue car in the picture is a US or Canadian 1972 model. That was the only year with the exposed gas cap, like the European models. All other years had the gas cap behind a gas cap cover recessed into the fender.
You can see the side marker lights.
I have a 1973 R17. It is very similar in spec to the european 1973 R17TS. Bosch D Jetronic fuel injection, 4 wheel discs, power windows, but only the 4 speed gear box. If you look in the picture you can see by the 73 model year the gas cap was relocated.
Love the car still have her and enjoy driving her when ever I can 🙂
Steve
That’s a great looking car! I bought the orange Matchbox version from the ’70s because of pertinent articles on this website. There must be only a handful of R17s running around North America, and I’ve never been lucky enough to come across one here in rusty Michigan.
Hi there,
Thanks for the kind words, there are only a handful of R17’s still left running in the US, maybe 10, I think we all know of each other 🙂
There was a very nice R17 in Michigan for sale last year, but it is now back in France. I’m pretty sure I have the only one in Colorado I am pretty sure.
Keep the memories going!
Steve
Updated picture of engine compartment
I had the Renault 30 on uk in 84. Manual heaps of power fron the big v6 out in front of the axle.
In 78 I had the Renault 16 with the engine behind the front axle. Best features were the seats and handling. Parts prices were scary.
We must have had a very active dealer in Kalispell, MT back in the 70’s as these cars were not uncommon in my area when I was growing up. The 17 Gordini was much more common than the 15, of which I only saw one or two. Looking at US sales numbers more recently, I was blown away at how few were actually sold…
Now, for the sad part- by the time I was growing up in the 80’s-90’s most of these 17’s were already parked in permanent places in back yards and driveways. I owned a Renault 12 wagon in high school, and yep, it came from someone’s back yard… only down due to a bad electric fuel pump. I drove the car enough to become familiar with it. Verdict? Loved it! It was sturdily built with decent materials, and performed well. As I enjoyed my car, though, I could see the problems; the biggest being that parts were a pain to source in those days when the internet was in its infancy. I think that mighta been the big killer going back to the early days when VW was preparing to squash Renault into submission… you could always get parts easily for a Volkswagen, thus making it much easier to keep on the road.
My first landlord had an R17 – he was an utter bastard.
Briefly I owned an R12. Great ride and handling. But the 4 cylinder buzzed and vibrated at different levels depending on RPM and was just unbearable. A Pontiac iron Duke runs smooth like a Cadillac V16 in comparison. I only got 18 mpg as well, so I traded it off. I think all Renaults in Colorado are long gone.
I have 2 R17 Gordini’s a 73,and a 75 with the soft top.
I had a 76 Growing up and loved my car then and love them now.
Here is a picture of my 73
Steve
That’s odd. Mine ran with no noteworthy buzzes, shakes, or vibrations. It had an automatic transmission, and the steering wheel quivered slightly in gear at idle, but it wasn’t thrashy feeling or sounding like an Iron Duke. Quite the opposite; it was one of the better sounding four cylinders I’ve encountered, so I never bothered replacing the muffler, which had the baffles pulverized into rust chips (the rest of the car was rot free).
Let’s see: R15 and R17, antidotes for the unloved 16–which might have been the love child of an Ro80 and an Ami ?
Heh-heh . . .
My first car was a ’74 Gordini 17 I bought for $1400 up here in Vancouver Canada in 1982 when I was 16 years old. I learned to drive the stick on the way home after the purchase. It was originally brown but I painted it burgundy, blacked out the rims and looked pretty decent. The best features were the huge electric folding sunroof and well-designed seats. My first date with my wife was in it and enjoyed driving it for another few years.
Another shot
Great to see this thread keeps going.
Here’s a picture of my 75 Gordini
Almost the same color as my 76 that I had in the 70’s