Renault Fuego - L'Aerodynamite

At the end of 70's the Renault offered two sport coupes - the R15 and R17.

Projects of new coupe series

The R15 and R17 models were launched in 1972. The bodywork design was modern and the cars well equipped. The difference between R15 and R17 were small - the R17 was a bit more sporty.
Both of the cars were not a sport cars, allthough the R17TS with Bosch injection system reached top speed of 185 km/h. These cars were rather meant for comfort and design than for performance and handling. The cars looked modern and perfectly fitted to those days.

As a small kid I had a pleasure of beeing a passenger of R17 and it was a really exciting and pleasant experience. The car was very comfortable and quick.

As an explanation for foreign visitors I would like to say that at the begining of 80's in Poland such car was like a pink hippo - the most popular cars in Poland were a Polish Fiat 125, 126 and FSO Polonez. If you put R17 next to these cars - it was like a different dimension.

R15 & R17 brochure

R15 & R17 were produced till 1980 when the new coupe was launched. For the whole time of production Renaulr produced about 210 thousand of R15's and about 100 thousand of R17's

Fuego design

In 1980 during the Geneva Auto Show the Renault showed a new model called Fuego. It was a succesor of R15 & R17 and it was based on model R18. At the begining it was planned to be named R19, but finally it was called a Fuego - (some sources say that it was named a Fuego because of a place of a first presentation in Spain - anyway it is rather a speculation because in the projects it is already called Fuego)

Fuego prototypes 1976-1977

Fuego prototype during road tests - september 1979

The design work was followed by Robert Opron - a man who became a legend by designing cars like Citroen Ami 8, DS, GS, CX, SM, R9/11 and others. The Fuego design was very interesting and it was easily recognizable among other cars. It was not a typical coupe, but it had a sporty line. The Interesting fact is that the aerodynamic test gave rate 0,34 cx - it was was a very good result. Most likely it was an idea for commercial slogan - "Renault Fuego L'aerodynamite"

The design of a new can met with a lot of interest and Fuego became quite popular car in Europe, but also in USA and Australia. Unfortunately the US version lost a lot of its charm because of different lights and bumpers...Of course it is a matter of taste.

History of models

1980

official presentation at Geneva Auto Show
basic version TL & GTL with 1397cm³ engine developping 64 HP
version TS & GTS with 1647 cm³ engine developping 96 HP

Fuego GTS

best version of the year 1980 - TX/GTX with 1995 cm³ alloy engine developping 110 HP. Standar eqipment list is very rich: 5 gear transmission, remote central lock (IR), power-steering, electric windows, head lights washers with wipers.

1983

turbodiesel version with 2 068 cm³ 88 HP engine

Fuego Turbodiesel

new version of a dashboard and front grill

1984

the best version is launched - Fuego Turbo with 1595 cm³132 HP engine.Standard eqipment is enriched by 4 disc brakes (front ventilated), on-board computer, electrical rear mirrors. For American market the engine was equipped with Bosch L-jetronic injection system and developped 107 HP.

Fuego Turbo

new version for American market - GTX with 2165 cm³ engine developping 91 HP. The engine was equipped with Bosch L-jetronic injection system.

1985

production in France was stopped with total number of 226.583 cars produced. Production is continued in Spain till 1987, and in Argentina till 1992.

Numebr of cars produced shows that the model was succesful - especially considering that Alpine produced 1137 cars in the best year. Of course Fuego was much cheaper than Alpine, but it was very competitive car on the market.

Keeping the spoty character Fuego offered very comfortable travelling also for rear seat passengers, what was not a standard.
Turbo version offered also great performance - acceleration 0-100 km/h in 9 seconds, top speed 200 km/h. Unfortunately the performance of the suspension was not good for sport driving. Fuego was a dynamic coupe with inimitable design and extraordinary comfort in its class.

Fuego did not have a succesor in Renault offer, but some sources say that the experiences and conclusions from its production were used in former Alpine models.

Right now Fuego is becoming a ca for passionates and in a short time it will take part in the youngtimers shows.