September 2010 44 Pages Draft.pdf - Renault Owners Club Forum

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C L A s s I C A N d C o L L E C T o R sfuego 30 th AnniversaryAt a recent car show, mainlyaimed at the more “modern”cars, it was noted that theRenault 30 on display was allbut unknown to some people there. Whilstsingle model clubs may of course be able todedicate resource solely to one model orgroup, this is often at the loss of the indepthknowledge of the heritage that led toor from their vehicles.Often this heritage can help one to learnwhy one’s car is what it is. So we have theFuego, perhaps an unusual in-betweencoupé, neither an Alpine nor even aGordini but nonetheless a vehicle ofinterest. What is more, it’s probablyconsiderably rarer than most of the othercars, for which the Owners’ Club caters.Now Fuego is not the brother of a famousArgentinian handball star (should that befootball?) but a 1980s Renault (it’s otherclaim to infamy is it’s one of only threeRenaults in the last 30 years to leave meby the roadside - all when they werenearly new rather than classics. In theFuego’s case a fuel pump fault, the othertwo were an 18 when a jack from a lorrywent through the floor and a 9 when aradiator was holed. So, all-in-all, quite agood record bearing in mind now I covernearly 20,000 miles a year, only 1 faultnot accidental.The fuego was a three door (hatchback)with four seats that replaced the 12 based15 and 17 from the 70s. Its floorplanderived from the Renault 18 (saloon). Atthe time it had its own suspension whichit later donated back to the revised 18 andlater, with a few modifications to theoriginal 25.It stayed in production, albeit inArgentina, until 1992 and was exported tothe US although with different (anduglier?) safety features. A soft top wasplanned and a prototype was suggested(primarily for the US market) by Heulliezbut it never made it into production. TheRenault 9 Alliance offered this insteadand perhaps the next real worldwideconvertible was the 19 and then coupéconvertible returned with the Mégane -start to see the heritage?With the Fuego, Renault dropped thenumbers-based system for identifyingcars, used since 1961 and started again togive cars names, as in the times of theDauphine, Ondine, Floride and others.Records include being the first windtunnel-designed car, top selling, two-doorcoupé in the early Eighties, fastest dieselcoupé and first to have keyless entry. As amatter of interest, this system wasinvented by Frenchman Paul Lipschutz(hence the name PLIP remote which isstill used in Europe.) It also had the firststeering column mounted audio systemcontrols (so-called “satellite controls”).Engines included a 1.4-litre, two 1.6s (onewas turbocharged), a 2.0, 2.1 diesel and a2.2-litre. Total sales reached only 265,367and, although a Fuego II was discussed, itwas laid to rest, owing to the company’sfinancial difficulties at that time. It was“replaced” by the Renault 21 range and nodirect line successor was built. ExcludingAlpines, Renault built nothing like theFuego until the coupé versions of theMégane (Mk. 1), although there was athree-door version of the 19, which didnot carry that designation.A facelift in 1984 saw trim, bumpers,front bonnet/grille layout and interiorschanged and another (Argentine) versionin 1990, called the GTA. In 2009, apotential concept Fuego the GTR was alsodrawn up. Watch this space?The launch of the Fuego was covered indetail in the October 1980 AutoWorld,Renault’s in house magazine of the time.I’ve reproduced a few pages in this articlebut have high resolution scans of all the20 R E N o T E s m A G A Z I N ER E N O T E S M A G A Z I N E
C L A s s I C A N d C o L L E C T o R sarticle, if anyone wishes tohave more details.The fuego TurboIt took another three years forthe range to gain a real sportsmodel. The Fuego Turbo,launched in 1983, featured theengine of the R18 Turbo,developing 132 hp @ 3,000rpm. Result: a top speed ofmore than 200 kph and 0-100kph in under ten seconds. The FuegoTurbo boasted a number of obviousstyling innovations , including a “Turbo”logo on the radiator grille, and aluminium“honeycomb” wheels.The Fuego Turbo reached the peak of itssuccess in 1984: it was visuallyaggressive, powerful and even affordable!But Renault had waited too long and itscompetitors had cornered the market. TheFuego disappeared in 1985. Traces of thisvisually striking vehicle remain in thefilm “Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose?” andin two James Bond movies.1980 Renault fuego specification:Wheelbase 2440 mm (96.1 in)Track front 1425 mm (56.1 in)rear1346 mm (53 in)Length4360 mm (171.7 in)Width1692 mm (66.6 in)Height1316 mm (51.8 in)Length:wheelbase ratio 1.79Kerb weight 1010 kg (2227 lb)Fuel capacity 56.8 litres (12.5 Gal)The car was paid an unusual complimentby no less than the mighty Toyota in1993. The Fuego's slippery shape ledRenault's marketing department to inventthe slogan, "L'Aerodynamite" for theTurbo version in 1984. The Britishcampaign included double-page Sundaysupplement ads showing a black carphotographed in a sultry, red-lit studiounder the "Aerodynamite" banner.Nine years later, either through totalignorance or else in the way of saluting agood idea, Toyota's Supra was advertisedin double-page spread splashes, in black,back-lit in electric blue in a darkenedstudio. Underneath, the tag-line read. . ."Aerodynamite".Quoting from Renault’s Collectors site,“Fuego: the commercial flop that peopleliked”.In terms of buying a Fuego now, it is stillbest to peruse the classifieds of websites,Ebay (of course) and the back pages ofmagazine. Being one of the cars theOwners’ Club has covered since birth,there is of course a wealth of additionalmaterial in the archive and experience inthe club. Whilst it moved into thecategory of “classic” a few years back, thespread of these cars means they shouldbecome collectors vehicles if they havenot already done so.In Argentina, where the sales went onmuch longer, there is quite a following forthese cars (albeit in Spanish) andenthusiasts have access to many of theparts, which, over here became limited orhard to find quite a while ago. Spares arestill available for a lot of the main items,as they continued to be used on laterRenaults. Even recently a clear-outbrought to light some front shockabsorbers, quickly snapped up by an eagerowner. If you know of the whereabouts ofany Fuegos, I would be grateful to knowof them.Alasdair WorsleyR E N o T E s m A G A Z I N E215
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