Renault 18
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The Renault 18 was a medium-sized automobile that was designed and built by the French manufacturer Renault between 1978 and 1994.
History
The Renault 18 was intended as a replacement for both the Renault 12 and Renault 16, though these models continued in production until 1980. The Renault 18 was designed rather quickly; the time between its initial conception and its actual launch was only 18 months, which is how it got the name Renault 18. Although Renault made numerous forays into international markets in countries such as Brazil with cars like the Renault 12, the 18 was the first Renault intended as a true "world car", which was marketed with the slogan "Meeting International Requirements." As well as France, it would later go on to be manufactured in Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela, and sold in North Africa and Asia.
At the time of its launch in April 1978, the R18 was initially available as a four-door sedan in TL, GTL, TS and GTS specifications. The TL and GTL were powered by the 1397cc Cléon engine (which was developed using the 1289cc engine from the Renault 12), which produced 64bhp. The TS and GTS were powered by the 1647cc engine (which was the same as theRenault 17 TS), which produced 79bhp. The TL, GTL and TS models all had a 4-speed gearbox, while the GTS had a 5-speed gearbox. The TS and GTS could also be had with 3-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission (the automatic versions of the TS and GTS models were called the TS Automatic and GTS Automatic). A total of 93,866 Renault 18s were sold in France during 1978.
On March 1st, 1979, the station wagon versions of the 18 TL and 18 TS were added to the range. These models were all mechanically identical to their sedan counterparts except the rear suspension used in the wagons was more like that in the bigger Renault 20 and Renault 30. During 1979, a total of 152,827 Renault 18s were sold in France. The station wagon proved almost as popular as the sedan.
In September 1979, the 18 LS wagon made its debut. It was essentially an 18 TL with the mechanical specification from the 18 TS.
In 1980, a 2.1 L naturally-aspirated diesel engine and a 125 bhp turbocharged engine was added to the range (initial turbocharged versions had 110 bhp), and a 2.2 L unit from the Renault 20 was introduced in 1983. The R18 underwent a mild revamp in 1984 (pre-revamp and post-revamp cars can be differentiated by their differing indicator light colors: before 1984 the indicators were orange, after 1984 they were clear).
The R18 station wagon was also sold in the North American market from 1981 to 1986, and the sedan in 1981-1982; it failed to even come close to living up to previous AMC products' reputation for reliability, and was not a success. It was replaced by the R21's North American equivalent, the Renault Medallion.
The R18 was discontinued in Europe in 1986, but continued in production until 1994 in South America, where it remains popular. R18s also remain popular in Northern Africa. In Argentina, there were other versions too, namely the TX and GTX. There was also the GTX-II, featuring a basic onboard computer that displayed fuel consumption, etc. It was available with 1.6 L (TL), 2.0 L and 2.2 L engines. There was a special edition of the R18 with two-tone paint (black top and light gray bottom) called the American (later updated with central locking and other items, which was named the American 2).
French Models
Renault 18 L
- Saloon (1980-1981)
- Saloon (1981-1985)
- Estate (1980-1986)
- Saloon (1978-1986)
- Estate (1978-1985)
- Saloon (1978-1986)
- Estate (1982-1986)
- 4x4 Estate (1984-1985)
- Saloon (1983)
- Saloon (1984)
- Saloon (1980-1985)
- Estate (1981-1982)
- Saloon (1978-1982)
- Estate (1979-1982)
- Saloon (1978-1980)
- Estate (1979-1981)
- Saloon (1978-1983)
- Estate (1982-1983)
- Saloon (1978-1980)
- 4x4 Estate (1985-1985) [4x4 Estate from 1985]
- Saloon (1983-1985)
- Estate (1983-1985)
- Saloon (1980-1985)
- Estate (1983-1985)
- Saloon (1983-1984)
- Saloon (1980-1985)
- Estate (1980-1982; 1985-1986)
- Saloon (1980-1986)
- Estate (1982-1986)
- 4x4 Estate (1984-1986) [Diesel 4x4 Estate from 1985]
- Saloon (1983-1984)
- Saloon (1984-1986)
- Estate (1984-1985)
| Renault car timeline, 1940s-1980s - edit] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| City car | Twingo | Twingo II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supermini | Super 5 | Clio I | Clio II | Clio III | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Small family car | 9 / 11 | 19 | Mégane I | Mégane II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Large family car | 18 | 21 | Laguna I | Laguna II | Laguna III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Executive car | 25 | Safrane | Vel Satis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mini MPV | Kangoo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact MPV | Scénic I | Scénic II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Large MPV | Espace I | Espace II | Espace III | Espace IV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Avantime | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coupé | Fuego | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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