We review the history of the Renault 16, the luxurious two-volume French sedan with almost 2 million cars sold between 1965 and 1980.
Renault’s idyllic love affair with sedans has seen more ups and downs than sales frenzy. The truth is that, since the beginning of the 21st century, Renault has not enjoyed a model in this segment that has been as popular as vehicles such as the Clio, Megane or Captur.
However, the French company has historically opted for this type of vehicle and has even come to innovate in a segment that was very traditional at different times. This is how the story of the Renault 16 arose, a vehicle of which almost 2 million units were sold in a period of 15 years, but of which hardly any copies arrived in Spain.
The history of the Renault 16, the luxurious two-volume French sedan
Renault presented the Model 16 at the 1965 Geneva Motor Show as a luxurious and innovative alternative to the sedans in the popular D segment. The R16 arrived with a two-volume body, a tailgate with integrated rear window and front-wheel drive when sedans They were three-volume, with four doors and rear-wheel drive.
The brand with the rhombus had spent more than 20 years focusing its efforts on the segments with the greatest demand, those of simple and cheap cars, after World War II, and with the Renault 16 it once again bets on a superior market niche, but contributing that innovation that has characterized the brand for decades.
Its development officially begins in 1961 and is kept strictly secret so as not to reveal details of a model that was originally going to be called the Renault 1500.
Renault presents the R16 with a split front grille design, a long bonnet with a central slit, a fully glazed cabin, clean profile surfaces and a rear where the most characteristic was the sloped tailgate that allowed Renault to reinvent the car. saloon concept without turning it into a van.
In addition, it offered a spacious interior with space for up to five passengers and great modularity thanks to rear seats with longitudinal adjustment and folding backrest. This allowed even more performance to be extracted from the trunk and cargo capacity of the R16, being, to a large extent, a prelude to the popular MPVs of the ’90s and ’00s.
Its body measured 4.24 meters in length, with a width of 1.62 meters and a height of 1.45 meters, while the wheelbase reached 2.71 meters, which resulted in particularly short overhangs, especially in the front.
Different motorization options
The engine offer included different versions of four-cylinder in-line engines with carburetion and 2 valves per cylinder. At its launch it came with the 1,470 cc and 55 CV engine and in 1970 a 1,565 cc version was introduced that was available in various power levels: 55, 65 and 67 CV.
At the same time, a second 1,565 cc engine complements the range with 84 HP of power for the TS version. Soon after, the 1,647 cc, 93 PS engine is introduced for the TX, which could optionally be specified with a three-speed automatic gearbox.
The Renault 16 was made in France, Portugal, Yugoslavia and even Australia. It was active between 165 and 1980, with a total production of 1,845,959 units. Despite the fact that it was able to compete with models such as Citroën DS, the Peugeot 404 and the Simca 1500, in Spain it hardly enjoyed great popularity, like its predecessor, the Renault Frégate.
In 1976, the Renault 20 and the Renault 30 were introduced to the market as direct substitutes for the Renault 16, larger and more efficient models that offered more powerful engines. In turn, both would be replaced by the Renault 25 in 1984.
