Renault 7

Make	FASA-Renault
Production	1974 to 1984
Class	motor car
Fuel type	gasoline
Engines	Cléon-Fonte 1 037  cm 3 1 108  cm 3
Transmission	4 speeds
Unloaded weight	815 kg
Body	notchback
Length	3,890 mm
Width	1,525 mm
Height	1400 mm

The Fasa-Renault 7 is a model produced for the Spanish market built from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s .

History

Its body, which is based on the platform of the Renault 5 , is has a trunk, 4 doors and metal bumpers. Produced from 1974 to 1982, it was first marketed under the name Siete (seven in Spanish) before being renamed 7 in 1979 during a slight restyling.with a total of240,000 copies built. 

The design was based on a three-body model (engine, passenger compartment and trunk), and had been released in various prototypes in the early 1970s, but never produced a series model in France . On the other hand, its commercialization in Spain went ahead, since this type of vehicle covered the space and economy needs of middle-class families, which had been orphaned with the appearance of the new European B-segment vehicles.

With the move to front-wheel drive, small vehicles in Europe had one after another abandoned sedan bodies in favor of new hatchback bodies, with three-volume bodies being offered in higher segment vehicles ( Renault 12 , Peugeot 504 ). or designed during the previous decade ( Renault 8 , SEAT 124 ).

To denote its Spanish character, the initial model was called "Renault Siete", written in letters. It was equipped with a 1,037-cubic-centimeter, 50-hp engine, specifically designed not to exceed the 1,040-cubic-centimeter barrier, which in Spain then involved the payment of a tax. This car stood out for its good visibility, its balanced suspensions and its ample cargo space, with the brakes being its biggest flaw, somewhat fair in relation to the weight of the vehicle. It reached a top speed of 132 km / h, and the combined consumption was about 6 liters / 100 km. It was marketed in two versions, the "normal", without specific nomenclature, and the TL, with some additional aesthetic and comfort details. In 1977 the normal version disappeared, leaving only the TL.

In 1979 a restyling of the model was carried out by incorporating some aesthetic elements, such as a four-spoke steering wheel, a new dashboard and brake booster, to try to give the image of the vehicle a look more in line with the tastes of the time. At the rear, larger lights housed the reversing lights. In addition, the nomenclature was changed from "Renault Seven TL" to "Renault 7 TL". In 1981, the GTL version arrived, with head restraints on the front seats and the Cléon-Fonte 1108 cc engine in its high compression version and 45 hp (DIN) at 4,400 rpm, which also replaced the 1037 cc engine in the Renault 5. GTL.

These changes kept the model on the market until 1984. At the time of its production closure, 159,533 units had been manufactured.

The presence in the Spanish range of a sedan based on the Renault utility model did not continue when changing from the Renault 5 to the Renault Supercinco . However, it has been carried out in other countries with current models such as the Renault Clio saloon, which is manufactured in Morocco and South America , and is sold in some European countries such as Renault Clio Symbol or Renault Thalia.

Equipped with a  1,037 cm 3 "  Cléon-Fonte "  engine developing 50 hp for a maximum speed of 132 km / h and a consumption of 6  liters per 100  km , it was offered only in TL finish. In 1979 , a better finished GTL finish appeared, it benefited from a "  Cléon-Fonte engine  " of 1 108  cm 3 of 47 hp .