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Renault 8
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Renault 8 | £Sold
Mileage: 26,008Model History
The Renault 8 was launched in 1962, the main production run ending in 1971 however Spain and mexico produced cars until 1976.
The design of the 8 looks very similar to Alfa Romeo front wheel drive prototype tipo 103 as Alfa and Renault had a business relationship in the 50s and 60s, Renault marketing Alfa Romeo cars and Alfa building the Dauphine, Ondine and R4 for Renault under license in Italy.
The R8 was based on the Dauphine and featured disc brakes on all four wheels - a first for a car of its size.
Renault offered an automatic transmission developed and produced by Jaeger. It was a unique design that used a powder ferromagnetic coupler instead of a clutch. The driver gear selection is dash mounted utilising a push button control connected to various relays and a governor that sensed vehicle speed and throttle position. This would then control the coupler while a reversible electric motor engaged the gears. The result was an autobox that felt very similar to a manual box with the added benefit of comparable fuel economy.
Equipment
Automatic Gearbox
Exterior
This car still has its original 39 year old paint! It has clearly been stored in a garage for all its life and appears rust free and unwelded. It is fantastic to see a car of this age still without repair or paint. All the rubber seals look fresh and without sun damage. We have carefully treated the paintwork to bring it up to as best condition as possible however it still retains an age related patina.
Interior
Having covered only 26K miles in its life the interior remains in immaculate condition. The seats are incredibly soft and comfortable, with a bench seat in the front. This is a very rare automatic version that has push button controls on the dash to operate the gears, we understand only two of these are left in existence. The original main dealer plaque still remains on the wood dash. The boot is in the front of the car and has plenty of room for your weekend luggage. Another neat piece of design is the spare wheel's location, at the pull of a leaver the front number plate drops down revealing a storage container for the spare wheel, or a space for those extra duty frees!
Engine & Transmission
The rear mounted 1.1 engine still fires into life on the first turn of the key and purrs like a kitten, its by no means fast but more than up to the job of pushing this little Renault around with 4 passengers. The gear box is great fun and what I would describe as semi automatic, the gears can be selected by using some push buttons on the dash and there is no clutch, but be warned the gearbox does not hold the car on a hill so the handbrake is still needed for hill starts. As a treat for this quirky 8 we flushed the gearbox oil and put some fresh stuff in and at the same time we did the coolant system too.
Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
We have just had the car fitted with some brand new Michelin 135 SR 15 tyres. These were alarmingly expensive considering the amount of rubber you get. The good news is that the tyres we took off where the originals so the new owner should get another 39 years motoring out of them. The car still has its original steel wheels with some very smart undamaged chrome centre caps. The brakes work well pulling the car up in a nice straight line.
History File
This little R8 was first registered in June 1971, and was in regular use by its first owner for the first 8 years of its life. The original document holder is still with the car including a stamped up service book, driving and maintenance book, original V5, and all the original service receipts. Unfortunately she became too old to drive the car in the late 70's so it was stored in her garage until the current, second owner purchased the car last year. Amazingly the bodywork has remained rust free so with a little light mechanical recommission work she was back on the road with a fresh MOT.