The Renault Vel Satis is distinguished by its unusual height, which benefits interior space but results in rather ungainly proportions. It has a five-star EuroNCAP safety rating and is available with a variety of engines:
- 4-cylinder, 16-valve, turbocharged 2.0-liter
- Renault-sourced 24-valve, 3.5-liter V6
- 4-cylinder, 16-valve, 2.2-liter direct-injection turbodiesel
- Isuzu-sourced 24-valve 3.0-liter direct-injection turbodiesel
Repeated tests under judicial supervision with this car (Renault Vel Satis) and others of the same model have proven that the driver can always override the cruise control and bring the car to a stop by at least two independent means even if the conventional method of applying the brakes to disengage the cruise control fails:
- move the automatic transmission selector from Drive to Neutral
- press the cruise control’s on/off button five times in rapid sequence, as instructed by the car’s user manual
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The Renault Zoe (or Z17) is a 3.45-m-long open top car and was introduced at the Geneva motor show in 2005. The Renault Zoe is driven from a 1.2 liter 16V petrol engine giving 99 BHP. This develops a maximum torque of 145 Nm which distributes the drive to the front wheels. Gears (5) are selected via the switch paddles on the steering wheel. The main instrument cluster consists of two round instruments, the speedometer and the rev counter. Beside the instruments is a slot for a memory stick. Now instead of the gear leaver there is a multi function button that gives the driver access to many of the cars functions such as entertainment etc. In roof of the Renault Zoe there are LED’s which sparkle at night like stars. The door on the right side rises on rails to the back. The front of the car is a combination of round floodlights and aerodynamic admissions. The LED floodlights offer day driving lights of matt glass and the normal floodlights and the indicators are of transparent glass.
The Renault Juvaquatre was originally conceived in 1936 by Louis Renault as a small, affordable car designed to fit in the Renault range below the existing more upmarket models such as the Primaquatre or Celtaquatre. The company was focused on creating new customers who would not otherwise buy Renaults, and on appealing to the new class of lower-income consumer created by changing labor conditions and the rise of the Popular Front in France in the 1930s (which ironically had adversely affected Renault considerably). The Renault Juvaquatre was heavily inspired by the German Opel Olympia, a car which Louis Renault had been impressed by during a 1935 visit to Berlin . The Renault Juvaquatre was showcased at the 1937 Paris Motor Show and put on sale the following year. A van version was developed soon afterwards for commercial usage and was used extensively by La Poste, while public demand for four-door cars (and the introduction of affordable 4-door models from French rivals Peugeot and Simca) resulted in a 4-door Renault Juvaquatre in 1939. A station wagon model based on the van was also launched.
The Renault Fregate was initially available in two trim levels, Affaires and Amiral. Renault addressed the complaints about the lack of power from the 2 litre engine by introducing the new 2141 cc Etendard engine in 1956, which produced 77 hp. A popular estate model badged Domaine was also launched in 1956, along with the new, luxurious Grand Pavois specification. In 1957 a three speed Transfluide semi-automatic transmission, incorporating a fluid coupling, became an option along with with a slightly more powerful version of the 2141 cc engine for which 80 bhp was claimed in this combination. 1958 saw another modified front grill: the prominent wide chrome oval and horizontal bars were removed to leave only the row of thin bars over which, since 1955, they had been placed.
The Renault Dauphine was launched in 1956 to replace the highly successful Renault 4CV. Like the 4CV, the Renault Dauphine used a single-shell monocoque body. It was a 4-door saloon design as was the 4CV, but it lacked the rear-hinged “suicide doors” of the 4CV. It was also heavier and 12 inches longer than its predecessor, but used the same engine, albeit a version increased in size and power from 760 cc to 845 cc and 19 hp to 32 hp (14 kW to 24 kW) (the Renault Dauphine was infamously slow: Road & Track magazine measured the Renault Dauphine’s 0-60 mph acceleration time as 32 seconds). The Renault Dauphine was originally intended to be called the Corvette, but was changed to Dauphine to avoid confusion with the recently-launched Chevrolet Corvette.
The Renault Caravelle was a roadster automobile produced by the French manufacturer Renault between 1958 and 1968. Outside of North America for its first four years of production it was known as the Renault Floride. The Floride was unveiled at the 1958 Paris Motor Show. A small rear-engined convertible designed by Pietro Frua at Carrozzeria Ghia, it used the floorpan and engine of the Renault Dauphine sedan. The now infamously slow Dauphine running gear was something of a burden for the car however and it was dubbed “a sheep in wolf’s clothing” by the media in its early years. A model tuned by Renault performance guru Amedee Gordini was sold, which produced 40 hp (30 kW) as opposed to the standard model’s 35. The Floride was launched in the United States and Canada as the Renault Caravelle a year after its introduction in Europe.
The Renault 4CV was originally conceived and designed covertly by Renault engineers during the German occupation of France during World War II, when the manufacturer was under strict orders to design and produce only commercial and military vehicles. A design team led by Fernand Picard, Charles-Edmond Serre and Jean-Auguste Riolfo envisioned a small, economical car (similar to the Volkswagen Beetle) suitable for the economically difficult years which would inevitably follow the war. The first prototype was completed in 1942 and two more prototypes were produced in the following three years, with the Renault 4CV ultimately presented to the public and media at the 1946 Paris Motor Show. The Renault 4CV was easily modified and was used extensively as a racing car. The first collaboration between the Alpine company and Renault was the Alpine A-106 which was based on the Renault 4CV. The partnership which would go on to win the World Rally Championship with the legendary Alpine A-110 in later years,
The Renault Vel Satis is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Renault. It was launched at the 2001 Geneva Motorshow to replace the already-discontinued Safrane and has nothing in common with the 1990s concept car of the same name. The Vel Satis is distinguished by its unusual height, which benefits interior space but results in rather ungainly proportions. It has a five-star EuroNCAP safety rating and is available with a variety of engines:
The Renault Twingo is a city car built by French automaker Renault, first presented at the Paris Motor Show in September 1992 and sold in continental European markets from 1993. The second generation Twingo was launched in Summer 2007. The Twingo featured revolutionary features (at the time of launch) of a centrally-mounted instrument panel, consisting of a speedometer, fuel gauge and clock, with the odometer and trip recorder selected by pushing a button on the end of the steering column stalk. This left just a strip of warning lights in the area behind the steering wheel. It also had a sliding rear seat, which could be moved to either increase boot space or rear seat legroom. The boot parcel shelf was also unusual in that it was attached to the inside of the tailgate, and lifted up with the tailgate. It could also be clipped back against the rear window when not required. All the first-generation Twingos were equipped with straight-4 petrol engines. Initially available with an 8-valve 1.2-litre 55 hp (41 kW) engine, it was replaced with an 8-valve 1.1-litre 60 hp (45 kW) unit. A 16-valve 75 hp (56 kW) version was added in 2000.
Renault developed a four-wheel drive derivative of the original Scenic, the Scénic RX4. Featuring an electronically-controlled viscous center differential designed by Austrian specialists Steyr Daimler Puch, it offered part-time, on demand 4WD. Renault also fully re-engineered the rear suspension and strengthened the front. The redesigned rear suspension occupied the space required for the spare wheel well and led to the spare wheel being placed on the rear hatch. The RX4 rode higher with increased suspension travel and larger wheels. While these changes provided a rugged chassis, the RX4 was held back by a single range transmission and an engine, the 2.0 liter from the Megane, with limited low-end torque. Production of the RX4 ceased in 2003, and no replacement is expected.
