Renault worked out nicely with the Fuego line. There were Renault Fuegos in the flavors TL (1397 cc), GTL (1647 cc), GTS (idem) and GTX (1995 cc). The four-seater. Two-door coupe was presented in 1980 at the Salon de Genève.
Together with the R18
The preliminary work of the Renault Fuegos began in 1976 at the Renault Style Center, led by Robert Opron Citroën SM and Citroën CX) based on Michel Jardin's drawings. The whole idea was based on the use of the platform and many mechanical parts of the Renault 18. And that was of course done from a cost perspective.
The fastest in the world
The sporty-like Renaults was once advertised as' the fastest two-door car in the world. But that was a somewhat poetic freedom. The Renault Fuego was a car that was introduced to the market as 'sporty and dynamic' from the outset. And he could make that happen. At least: If the buyer had not opted for the TL version.
The TL was the entry-level version for the buyer who wanted something different. In fact, the TL was under motorized. He seemed faster than he could deliver. Driving efficiently, he did. The Renault Fuegos had to compete with Mitsubishi's Cordia and the Toyota Celica's, cars for sporting civilian pleasure.
They were great cars
Across the board, the Renault Fuegos scored well on all points. Later it turned out that they could also rust excellent. But that was not uncommon at that time (and that time returns or has already returned)
The Renault Fuego TL was a wise purchase. The purchase of a GTX gave bonus points in terms of fun. The two liters turned out to be dynamic enough and his stubborn steering behavior was kept under control by an energized rack and pinion steering. The Renault Fuego was already there as turbo diesel, but there was also a gasoline Renault Fuego with pressure filling. When it was introduced, the Dutch importer was afraid that this sporty would turn out to be too expensive for us-efficient Dutch people.
Such a GTX was a luxury sportsman
The interior is very beautiful. The readability of the instruments is good. But to drive a GTX, the cut had to be quite open. At the time, it cost such an 34000 rock-hard guilders. Added to that was 2250 guilder for the exclusive Philips / Renault radio cassette player. To drive a Renault Fuego with automatic transmission, an 1900 guilder had to be taken off.
They are scarce but not expensive
These Renaults are currently relatively rare and not very sought after. The prices are between a friendly 1200-3500 euro. A lot more is sometimes required for real toppers. But we have not been able to find out to what extent these asking prices have ever been achieved. You have the best chance of finding a Renault Fuego in France. But nobody knows what is still hidden here.
The pleasant price level also applies to other Renault vehicles that never came here en masse. R20s and R30s are also great fun and among prized classics. They were spacious family or business cars. A few years ago there were fewer than twenty R20s on Dutch license plates.
Who can explain to me the RENAULT type designations ... GTL GTS GTX is generally 1400cc 1600cc & 2 lit. version with G-luxury interior including electr. windows / rev counter clock, extra mirror or door handles painted in color
but what was the difference in TS-GTS or TX & GTX in the fuego 18 series?
The Netherlands knew GTL, GTS, TX, GTX but also come across foreign TL & TS versions ..?
We just have to write a Fuego story of more than 500 words!
Well, while we're at it… .. why don't I see a mention of 2.2 liters fuego phase 2 with injection and catalytic converter?
Various 2.2 liters drive around in our club, Fuego-Freunde Club Renault. This 2.2 was only intended for North America but was also sold in Germany!
Signed: co-founder of the Fuego-Freunde Club (Stef Kluijt)
Hello Cor,
Congratulations on your good taste and the additions. And glad there are even more healthy survivors. The pieces on the site can be about 500 words in size. You always run into some limitations. In AMK as it comes out monthly and is for sale, we have more room to go into depth. And a subscription is dirt cheap. - I always try to do my preliminary work with the messages online. But it's just not feasible to read me in for hours for 500 and then some words. In this article I focused on a number of yearbooks from the archive.
Dear Dolf, I have read your article with interest. I drive a Fuego GTL from 1983 to the present. Still a point of criticism on your article. When talking about versions, name them all: at introduction: TL and GTL, TS and GTS, TX and GTX. To which also a Turbo Diesel and a later (import) turbo can be added. With the Phase II, from 1983, the GTL is equipped with a “pinched” 1647 cc engine, and the automatic transmission was delivered in the GTX version.
Hi Olivier, Of course you can have comments within the 500 words for such a text. Grumbling without arguments is in any case not enlightening or constructive. But if you know it all better, we are happy to share your knowledge.
I follow your articles with interest, but I wonder who wrote THIS and whether the correction team has left on a journey. Are there more Fuegos registered than there are errors in this article, that is still the question ...