| Renault 21 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Renault |
| Also called | Eagle Medallion (U.S. & Canada) Renault Étoile (Colombia) Renault Medallion |
| Production | 1986–1994 1990–1995 (Turkey) |
| Assembly |
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| Designer | Giorgetto Giugiaro atItaldesign |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Mid-size car/Large family car(D) |
| Body style | 4-doorsaloon 5-doorNevada 5-doorliftback |
| Layout | |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual 3-or-4-speed automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,600 mm (102.4 in) saloon 2,750 mm (108.3 in) wagon |
| Length | 4,462 mm (175.7 in) saloon 4,644 mm (182.8 in) wagon |
| Width | 1,715 mm (67.5 in) |
| Height | 1,415 mm (55.7 in) saloon 1,421 mm (55.9 in) wagon |
| Curb weight | 1,190 kg (2,624 lb)[1] |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Renault 18 |
| Successor | Renault Laguna |
TheRenault 21 is alarge family car produced by French automakerRenault between 1986 and 1994. It was also sold inNorth America initially throughAmerican Motors dealers as theRenault Medallion and later throughJeep-Eagle dealers as theEagle Medallion. A total of 2,096,000 units were produced.[citation needed]
The Renault 21saloon was launched in the beginning of 1986, as the successor to the successfulRenault 18, and this was followed a few months later by the seven seaterstation wagon, the R21 Nevada, marketed as the Savanna in theUnited Kingdom. In 1987,What Car? awarded the Renault 21 GTSBest Family Saloon. The Renault 21 Savanna was awardedCar of the Year, as well asBest Family Estate.
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Unusually, the Renault 21 was offered with disparate engine configurations. The 1.7 litre version featured atransverse engine and transmission, but Renault had no gearbox suitable for a more powerful transverse engine: accordingly, faster versions featuredlongitudinally mounted engines. The two versions featured (barely perceptibly) different wheel bases: the engines were all relatively compact four-cylinder units and the engine bay was large enough to accept either configuration without reducing passenger space.
However, at a time when production technologies were relatively inflexible, the need to assemble differently configured engine bays on a single production line, along with the supplementary inventory requirements imposed both on Renault and on the dealership network, did compromise the Renault 21's profitability.[citation needed]
The Nevada/Savanna station wagon/estate version was slightly longer than the saloon, and was available configured with seven seats, two of those a forward-facing foldable bench seat for children (up to about age 10) that used up much of the luggage space when up. It had roof rack side rails as standard.[2][3]
First unveiled on 20 November 1985 and officially launched in February 1986, the R21 gave Renault a new competitor in this sector after eight years of the R18, which was declining in popularity after a very strong start to its commercial life. It had a razor like design, which was different from contemporary cars of the era, e.g. theFord Sierra (with its "jelly mould" design) and theOpel Ascona.[4]
It was sold inright hand drive for the United Kingdom from June 1986.
The car was revamped considerably in May 1989, both technically and aesthetically – the new sleeker outward appearance was similar to the also recently revampedRenault 25, and aliftback body style was also added to the range (which soon became more popular than the saloon in France) along with a sporty 2.0 LTurbo version. Of the saloons, the TXi 2.0 12v and 2.0 turbo were also available with thefour-wheel-drive Quadra transmission. The Nevada wagons received four-wheel-drive in the eight-valve 2.0 and in the naturally aspirated 2.1 Diesel, as the 12-valve and the turbo were not available with this body style.[5] The front-wheel-drive 21 Turbo was capable of 227 km/h (141 mph).[6] At the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show the fuel injected 2.2i model was introduced, originally reserved for the German market (being a different model than the earlier 2.2s built for the US) where insurance and tax regulations suited larger engines with less peak power. Injected engines were equipped byRenixengine control unit, developed by ajoint venture byRenault andBendix. This car was also available with four-wheel-drive, exclusively as a Nevada.[5]
The Renault 21 liftback and saloon petrol models ceased production in the beginning of 1994, following the launch of the all newLaguna liftback, but the diesels and the Nevada/Savanna remained on the market, until their replacementLaguna variants were launched (end of 1994 for the diesels, and end of 1995 for the Nevada/Savanna).
A Renault 21 TSE, donated as a personal gift toVáclav Havel by the president of PortugalMário Soares just before theVelvet Revolution, served for a while as theofficial state car of thePresident of Czechoslovakia in 1989.
The R21 was built inArgentina at the Renault facility in Santa Isabel (Córdoba Province) from late 1988 until early 1996. Production continued in Argentina for some years after its demise in European markets. Two body styles were built: saloon and Nevada (station wagon). It has been equipped with both petrol and diesel engines, (carburetor for the early production,fuel injection for the later engines).
The available engines ranged from 1.8 liters (92CV carbureted/95CV injection), 2.0 liters (110CV without catalytic converter/105CV with catalytic converter), up to 2.2 liters (120CV without catalytic converter/110CV with catalytic converter), as well as the 2.1-liter diesel version (72CV)
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The liftback was imported from France and called by the trim "Alizé". It was replaced for the Laguna.
The R21 was manufactured in Turkey in the early 1990s, with two different engine and in three different trim levels. The entry level model was simply the 21 (1.7 L), the mid-range trim was called 21 Manager (1.7 L, 90 PS), and at the top-of-the-line sat the 2.0-liter fuel injected "Concorde." Later on, the lower cost 1.6-litre "Optima" and the "Manager 2000" with a 2 L, 122 PS engine were introduced. TheOyak-built Renault 21 was produced and sold up to the end of 1996 in Turkey.
The R21 was also sold in the United States and Canada from 1987 to 1988 as the Renault Medallion and later in 1988 until the end of the line in 1989 as theEagle Medallion with the 2.2 L engine as the only powerplant.[7] However, the car was only on sale for a few months in 1987 before Renault sold its investment inAmerican Motors Corporation (AMC) toChrysler. AMC dealers were now under the newly formedJeep-Eagle Division of Chrysler, and now as Jeep-Eagle dealers, they continued to sell the car as theEagle Medallion until 1989.[8] The North American version had somewhat different styling to comply with front and rear impact regulations and different lighting standards.
The 21 was launched in Colombia in 1987. Initially, it was only available with the four-door saloon body with the 2.0 L longitudinal engine. In October of the same year, the Renault 21 Nevada was launched, with the same engine as the saloon. in 1989Sociedad de Fabricación de Automotores S.A. (SOFASA) launched a version called RS with the 1.6-literC2L engine, also used in the TXE version of the Renault 9. In 1990, the name was replaced by the Étoile. This was the first car with electronic fuel injection assembled in Colombia. The three available versions available were:
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