Renault 20/30

Renault 20/30

Renault 20
Overview
Manufacturer Renault
Also called Dacia 2000
Production 19751984
Assembly Sandouville, France
Mioveni, Romania
Valencia, Venezuela (Sociedad Sueca PRV)[1]
Designer Gaston Juchet[2]
Body and chassis
Class Executive car (E)
Body style 5-door hatchback
Layout FF layout
Powertrain
Engine
Transmission
  • 4/5-speed manual
  • 3-speed automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase 105 in (2,667 mm)
Length 178 in (4,521 mm)
Width 68 in (1,727 mm)
Height 56.375 in (1,432 mm)
Curb weight 2,590 lb (1,175 kg) to 2,910 lb (1,320 kg)
Chronology
Predecessor Renault 16
Successor Renault 25

The Renault 20 (R20) and Renault 30 (R30) are two executive cars produced by the French automaker Renault between 1975 and 1984. The most upmarket and expensive Renaults of their time, the two cars were almost identical with regard to sheet metal and mechanicals; the R30 was the larger-engined and more expensive of the two. The two cars were easily distinguished between each other from their differing headlight configuration – the Renault 20 had two single rectangular headlights whereas the Renault 30 had quadruple round headlights. The interior specifications differed substantially however with the Renault 30 having a higher specification in all models. Over 622,000 R20s and 145,000 R30s were produced in Sandouville near Le Havre, France.

The 20 variant won 1978 What Car? "Car of the Year".

Introduction

Renault 30

Launched in March 1975, the Renault 30 TS was the first Renault with an engine larger than four cylinders since before World War II. It was one of the first cars (the other two being the Peugeot 604 and Volvo 264) to use the then newly introduced 2664 cc PRV V6 engine, which was developed jointly between Peugeot, Renault and Volvo; the PRV produced 130 PS (96 kW) and could power the R30 to a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph). The vehicle's hatchback styling was derivative of the extremely successful Renault 16.

The more affordable Renault 20, which was presented at the Paris Salon in November 1975[3] (exactly eight months after the Renault 30 TS) and used the same hatchback body styling as the R30 but with two rectangular headlights instead of the R30's quadruple round lights. The Renault 20 was essentially a replacement for the discontinued Renault 16, albeit in a rather larger body shell. Under the bonnet, the R20 had the smaller four-cylinder 1647 cc engine (from the Renault 16 TX) rated at 90 PS (66 kW). Other technical differences between the 20 and 30 were that 20 used drum brakes at the rear wheels, 13 inch wheel rims, and a smaller 60-litre fuel tank. The 20 came in three different trim variations: L, TL and GTL. The two cars were effectively two 'badge engineered' versions of the same car with separate numeric classification. The R20 received an all-new 2068 cc diesel engine in November 1979, Renault's first diesel automobile.[4]

Both the 20 and 30 were advanced in terms of safety, featuring front and rear crumple zones as well as side impact protection.

Reliability issues, such as niggling mechanical faults (which sometimes proved expensive to fix) plagued both cars throughout their lifetimes. Rust was another major concern (in a Belgian owner referendum 70% of owners named it as the car's biggest problem); as a response Renault improved rust protection and began offering a five-year warranty against rust on 1 January 1982.[5] Shortly after their introduction, it soon became quite clear that the Renault 20 was too underpowered to cope with the overall size and weight of the car and that the Renault 30 was seen as too expensive for what was effectively the same car. In response to this, the R20TS was introduced, and used a new four-cylinder 1995 cc overhead camshaft engine rated at 109 PS (80 kW) (which was shared with the Citroën CX and later the Peugeot 505). The new 2.0-litre engine was universally regarded as a big improvement. The following year (October 1978) saw the introduction of the R30 TX, a more luxurious fuel-injected version of the R30 TS, then the R20 Diesel in late 1979. By late 1981, all 1.6-litre R20s were discontinued, leaving the LS 2.0 as the smallest model in the range.[6]

In 1980 the NG1 five-speed transmission was switched for the longer-geared and smoother shifting 395 unit.[4] In July 1980, the 2.2-litre fuel-injected R20 TX was added to the range, followed by the R30 Turbo Diesel one year later.[6] The R30 Diesel Turbo has the trim of the R30 TX, albeit with unique alloys, with an engine delivering 85 PS (63 kW) derived from the naturally aspirated diesel engine. In a few markets this engine was also available as an R20. The range was facelifted for the 1981 model year.[4] Production of the 20 and 30 ceased on 16 October 1983 to make way for the Renault 25.

20/30 specifications

Capacity 1647–2664 cc
Power 64–144 hp
Max. speed 146 km/h (91 mph)188 km/h (117 mph)
Acceleration 0–62.5 mp/h: 20.6–10.0 seconds

Production figures

Rear view of a Renault 20 TS
A very early Renault 20 (Germany, 1977)

Dacia

In the early 1980s, the then state-owned Romanian manufacturer Dacia produced a small number of Renault 20s under the name Dacia 2000, reserved entirely for the dignitaries and secret police of the Communist government led by Nicolae Ceauşescu.

Motorsport

A specially prepared Renault 20 Turbo 4x4 driven by Bernard Marreau won the Paris-Alger-Dakar Rally in 1982.

Timeline

References

  1. "1979 RENAULT 30 TS (VE)" (in Spanish). Dkarros.com. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  2. "RENAULT AND THE FAMILIY CARS : 50 YEARS OF HISTORY SINCE THE RENAULT 16". Groupe Renault. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 Costa, André & Georges-Michel Fraichard, ed. (September 1981). "Salon 1981: Toutes les Voitures du Monde". l'Auto Journal (in French). Paris (14 & 15): 117.
  4. 1 2 3 Renaux, Jean-Jacques (1983-10-13). "Referendum van de eigenaars: Renault 20 Diesel" [Owner referendum]. De AutoGids (in Flemish). Brussels, Belgium: Uitgeverij Auto-Magazine. 5 (106): 14.
  5. Renaux, p. 20
  6. 1 2 3 Salon 1981, p. 118
  7. "The Renault 30 TS Expensive but technically worthy". Motorsport. May 1975. p. 45. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
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