Renault’s longest-lived motor in 31 cars

Under-bonnet hero

In 1962, Renault introduced a new engine once known as the Sierra or C-Type, but more commonly referred to now as the Cléon-Fonte – ‘Cléon’ for the Renault factory in the Normandy town of that name, ‘Fonte’ after the French word for cast iron, of which the block was made.

This apparently humble little engine became one of the most successful ever designed in Europe.

It remained in production for 42 years, powering everything from small vans to World Rally Championship contenders. Here is its extraordinary story.

1. Renault Caravalle

Also known as the Floride, the beautiful Caravelle sports car, launched three years earlier, appeared at the 1962 Geneva Show with a new engine behind the rear wheels.

The Cléon-Fonte was a more powerful replacement for the Billancourt unit, which had been designed for the immediately post-war 4CV (sold in the UK as the 750) and later fitted to the Dauphine.

At 956cc, the Cléon-Fonte was already substantially larger than the 845cc Billancourt engine. Two years later it would grow further to 1108cc.

2. Renault Estafette

Like the Caravelle, the Estafette van was originally fitted with the Billancourt engine, though in this case it was mounted at the front and drove the front wheels.

The Estafette was less powerful than its rival, the Citroën Type H, but both vans remained in production until the 1980s.

3. Renault 8

The Renault 8 was the first car designed from scratch to be fitted with the Cléon-Fonte engine, and from its launch in 1962 until production stopped 11 years later it was never fitted with anything else.

Most versions including the sporty 8S (but with an exception we’ll come to shortly) had 956cc or 1108cc engines.

The 8 was unusual for a small European car of its day in having the option of automatic transmission.

4. Matra Djet

This sports car was known as the René Bonnet Djet until Bonnet sold his company to Matra in 1964. He must have had good connections with Renault, since he was able to fit the car with the Cléon-Fonte engine at the same time as the 8 was being launched.

The Djet is best known for being the world’s first mid-engined production road car, beating the Lamborghini Miura by several years. (It would be fair to say that the Miura was more powerful.)

Using the Cléon-Fonte in a mid-engined car could have been an engineering nightmare. Bonnet solved it by using the transaxle from the Estafette van.

5. Alpine A110

Jean Rédélé’s previous rear-engined sports car, the Alpine A108, had been built using parts from the Renault Dauphine.

The donor car for the A110 was the Renault 8, and naturally the engine chosen was the Cléon-Fonte.

The A110 would go on to obliterate the opposition in the first ever World Rally Championship, held in 1973 and at that time open to manufacturers only.

Sadly for Cléon-Fonte fans, Rédélé had by that time switched to the much larger aluminium-block Cléon-Alu engine from the Renault 16. The only connection with the Cléon-Fonte was that it was built in the same factory.

6. Renault 8 Gordini

The Gordini was the equivalent of the hot hatch in the Renault 8 line-up. The Cléon-Fonte engine was used at first in 1108cc form, but highly tuned.

After a capacity increase to 1255cc in 1967, it could produce 100bhp, or about the same as a Lotus Twin Cam engine as fitted to the Lotus Cortina.

Renault 8 Gordini (cont.)

Young French race and rally drivers by the bucketload learned their craft behind the wheel of competition-prepared 8 Gordinis.

As pictured above, the car competed right up to international level. Three examples finished first, third and fifth on the 1965 Tour de Corse, with second and fourth places going to Alpine A110s.

In 1966, Renault created a one-make race series for the 8 Gordini, starting a tradition which has lasted for over half a century.

7. Renault 10

Although the styling was quite different at each end, the 10 was essentially a Renault 8 with an extended nose and tail, as a side-on view made clear.

Production lasted only from 1965 to 1971 (the 8 was launched three years earlier and discontinued two years later), but it was quite eventful.

Unlike the 8, the 10 managed to fit in a facelift, switching from round to rectangular headlights, and it was latterly fitted with a version of the Cléon-Fonte first seen in the Renault 12, measuring a monstrous 1289cc.

8. DAF 55

After years of building cars with two-cylinder engines, Dutch manufacturer DAF switched to the Cléon-Fonte in 1967 for its 55 model, which was sold in saloon, estate and coupé forms.

Already paired with two manual gearboxes and an automatic in other vehicles, the front-mounted engine now found itself driving the 55’s rear wheels through the Variomatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) which DAF used for all its cars.

The 55 was a surprisingly effective competition car. One example, crewed by Rob Slotemaker and Rob Janssen, placed 17th out of 56 finishers in the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon.

9. Dacia 1100

Now a wholly owned subsidiary of Renault, Romanian brand Dacia started out building Renaults under licence. Its first model, the 1100, was the local equivalent of the 8 (pictured).

In all, 37,546 examples were built between 1968 and 1972. Dacia’s second model would be produced in far greater numbers, but the 1100 had got the ball rolling.

10. Ford Corcel

Ford’s Brazilian operation was responsible for the Corcel which, though it didn’t look like it, was closely based on the Renault 12.

The Corcel in fact went on sale first, and was marketed in several South American countries.

The first engine was the 1289cc version of the Cléon-Fonte. Ford expanded it to 1372cc and later to 1555cc, and later yet created a derivative of its own called the CHT (for Compound High Turbulence).

Despite its relationship to the Renault engine, that’s the last you’ll be reading about the CHT here.

11. Renault 12

The angular but roomy front-wheel drive Renault 12 was introduced in 1969, taking its place in the line-up between the smaller 8 and larger 16.

Most versions used the Cléon-Fonte engine in various sizes, though some were fitted with the Cléon-Alu.

The 12 was sold around the world, and manufactured in several countries. As previously mentioned, it led directly to the Ford Corcel, and would hugely influence Romanian car production.

Few cars fitted with the Cléon-Fonte engine have been as significant as this one.
 

12. Dacia 1300

Dacia was quick to start building the Renault 12 under licence – its 12-based 1300 model was launched in the same year of 1969. Dacia now describes it, with justifiable pride, as the car that set Romania in motion.

In various forms, with slightly different names, the 1300 remained in production for 35 years, vastly extending the useful life of the Cléon-Fonte.

In that period, just under 2 million were built. Renault hit 2.5 million in less than a third of the time, but it was building its version for the world, not just for eastern Europe.

13. Renault 6

The 6 was effectively an upmarket version of the front-wheel drive Renault 4, which dated back to 1961 but will not be relevant to the Cléon-Fonte story for a while yet.

Unwisely, Renault used the same engine for the 6 as it did for the 4 – the old Billancourt unit, which had no place under the bonnet of a car launched in 1968.

Two years later, although the Billancourt remained available, the Cléon-Fonte was added to the range, greatly improving the performance of a formerly very slow car.

14. Renault 15

The Renault 15 and 17 were two-door coupés based on the 12 and sold for most of the 1970s.

By far the most common engine was the Cléon-Alu, but the Cléon-Fonte, not yet quite a decade old, found a place in the cheapest versions of the 15.

It would be used for a similar purpose in new models introduced by Renault over the next two decades.

15. DAF 66

The DAF 66 was a development of the 55 saloon/estate/coupé previously mentioned. As before, the drivetrain consisted of the Cléon-Fonte engine (now in 1108 and 1289cc forms) powering the rear wheels through a Variomatic CVT.

The 66 was the last passenger car DAF ever produced, but as we’ll see it was to live on under new ownership.

16. Renault 5

Renault was an early arrival in the front-wheel drive hatchback supermini sector.

The 5 was up against the contemporary Fiat 127 and already ageing Mini on its launch, which predated that of the Volkswagen Polo and Ford Fiesta by several years.

Despite the lesson of the 6, Renault found a place in the 5 range for the antediluvian Billancourt engine – in 1972! – but also offered the superior Cléon-Fonte in sizes of, eventually, up to 1397cc.

In the 5, the Cléon-Fonte was turbocharged for the first time, but only in the front-wheel drive Alpine (or Gordini) version to begin with.

17. Volvo 66

Volvo bought out DAF’s car division in 1975, and with it the rights to produce the 66. The Swedes dropped the coupé body style but kept the saloon and estate which, in line with Volvo’s safety policy, were fitted with larger bumpers.

Mechanically, the set-up was the same as it had been since the days of the DAF 55, with the Cléon-Fonte still mated to the Variomatic transmission.

18. Volvo 300 Series

The car that might have been known as the DAF 77 was launched as the three-door Volvo 343 and five-door Volvo 345 in 1976.

Both used the Cléon-Fonte and the Variomatic transmission at first, but Volvo would later add larger engines of its own and a conventional manual gearbox.

19. Renault 4

Renault’s second ever front-wheel drive model (after the Estafette van) was introduced in 1961.

A utilitarian car, never intended for high performance, it was well suited to the old Billancourt engine, but Renault brought out a version fitted with the 1108cc Cléon-Fonte in 1978.

Eight years later, the Billancourt was finally discontinued and the Cléon-Fonte became the 4’s only power source. Production finally came to an end in 1994, after more than eight million had been built.

20. Renault 18

The 18 was intended to replace the Renault 12, though as things turned out the two models were produced together for a couple of years after the 18’s launch in 1978.

As with the 15 coupé, the Cléon-Fonte was considered suitable for lower-spec models, in the absence of a more modern alternative. Where extra power was required, the Cléon-Alu and Douvrin engines were used.

21. Renault 5 Turbo

As mentioned earlier, Renault turbocharged the Cléon-Fonte for a high-performance front-wheel drive version of the 5.

The 5 Turbo launched in 1980 was not that car, but a homologation special developed for the sole purpose of allowing Renault to compete in international rallying.

Like the René Bonnet/Matra Djet, the 5 Turbo was mid-engined, and had room for only two seats, which was all it required.

This was by far the most spectacular standard car ever fitted with the Cléon-Fonte, whose power output in this application was, at 160bhp, more than three times greater than it had been in the Caravelle.

Renault 5 Turbo (cont.)

Jean Ragnotti and Jean-Marc Andrié took the 5 Turbo to victory on its first World Rally Championship event, the 1981 Monte-Carlo Rally, but this was not a sign of things to come.

Over the next five years, the car took only three more WRC victories, in Corsica and Portugal.

Although the Cléon-Fonte was eventually persuaded to produce well over 300bhp, the 5 Turbo’s limiting factor was rear-wheel drive.

Renault either couldn’t or wouldn’t develop a new four-wheel drive rally car or convert this one, and during the sport’s 4x4 revolution (led by Audi, though many other manufacturers quickly joined in), that just wasn’t good enough.
 

22. Renault Fuego

A remarkably aerodynamic car for its day, the Fuego was based on the 18 saloon, and the successor to the 15 and 17 coupés.

Fresh from its starring role in the 5 Turbo launched in the same year, the Cléon-Fonte resumed its now familiar position as the entry-level engine for the Fuego.

Its capacity was 1397cc in both cars, but here, in naturally aspirated form, its power output was a very modest 64bhp.

23. Renault 9

Introduced in 1976, the ambitiously designed Renault 14 was the company’s first small car in nearly a decade and a half to not be fitted with the Cléon-Fonte.

The old engine made a comeback, however, in several – though not all – versions of the more conservative 9 saloon of 1981. In some cases it was turbocharged, though here its output was well below that of the 5 Turbo.

A variant of the 9 was manufactured by American Motors Corporation (which Renault partly owned at the time), and sold in the US and Canada as the Renault Alliance.

24. Renault 11

The 11 was the hatchback version of the 9, and also had an AMC equivalent in the form of the Renault Encore. Mechanically, the two cars were identical, so once again the Cléon-Fonte appeared in several versions.

Renault used the 11 Turbo for rallying in the Group A category with some success, but since the car was front-wheel drive it had the same problem as the 5 Turbo when it came to competing against four-wheel drive opposition.

25. Renault 5 (second generation)

Unlike the original 5, the version launched in 1984 was just one of many front-wheel drive hatchback superminis on the market. Retro styling disguised the fact that it was a completely new car in most respects.

One thing that hadn’t changed was that the new 5 still predominantly used the Cléon-Fonte from the cheapest to the fastest versions, with some exceptions in between.

It would have been difficult to imagine at the time that the now 22-year-old engine was only just entering the second half of its production life.

26. Renault 5 GT Turbo

Renault’s fondness for achieving high power through turbocharging predated even its revolution of Formula One racing in the 1970s. It surfaced again with the 5 GT Turbo of 1985, which was the company’s hot hatch until the introduction of the naturally aspirated 2.0-litre 16-valve Clio.

With 115bhp at launch, it was more powerful than the original Peugeot 205 GTI. Hot-hatch enthusiasts spent a lot of money boosting the Cléon-Fonte’s output to well beyond that for many years after production ended.

27. Renault 21

As Renault’s large family car of the mid-1980s to mid-’90s, the 21 was not an obvious home for the little Cléon-Fonte.

A 1.4-litre non-turbo version of the old engine was used, however, for entry-level versions in markets where its sub-70bhp power output would not have been considered too tiresome.
 

28. Renault 19

In 1988, the Renault 19 (or Chamade, as the saloon version was called) became the single replacement for the 9 and 11. Some early versions used the Cléon-Fonte, but it was soon replaced by Renault’s new small engine, known as Energy.

The Energy is sometimes referred to as a development of the Cléon-Fonte, but if nothing else the fact that its camshaft was in the head rather than the block shows that it was a very different unit.
 

29. Renault Twingo

Early examples of the first-generation Twingo were fitted with a 1.2-litre version of the Cléon-Fonte.

This was replaced in 1996 by Renault’s new D engine, which was more modern but also – unlike the Energy engine – compact enough to fit under the Twingo’s short and steeply angled bonnet.
 

30. Renault Clio

After so many years of being used as the primary engine for small Renaults and a low-cost, low-power option for larger ones, the Cléon-Fonte had almost a non-speaking part in the Clio, successor to the long-running 5 supermini.

It was available briefly in the mid-’90s before being replaced by more modern units.

The Cléon factory finally stopped building it after producing 14,512,288 examples in 33 years, but there was still more to come…

31. Dacia 1310

The Cléon-Fonte story finally ended when Dacia discontinued its Renault 12-based 1310 saloon in 2004. (The related Dacia Pick-up continued for two years after that, but by then it was being powered only by diesel engines.)

From its earliest appearances in an attractive convertible and a small van, through four World Rally Championship victories, the Cléon-Fonte had survived for 42 years.

The Cléon factory’s 14.5 million output was impressive, but the engine was also built in other facilities around the world.

Global production is believed to have exceeded 27 million, an extraordinary figure for a European motor.