Renault 10
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 25, 1899 in France |
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Automobiles |
The Renault 10 is a compact family automobile featuring a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive layout, manufactured by the French company Renault between 1965 and 1971. Designed as a larger and more refined alternative to the Renault 8, it was succeeded by the front-wheel drive Renault 12 in 1971, which was produced concurrently with the Renault 10 for a period of two years.
Production of this model also took place in Bulgaria until 1970 through Bulgarrenault, as well as in Spain.
History
Introduced in September 1965 under the name Renault 10 Major (known in certain markets as the Renault 1100), this model succeeded the Renault 8 Major. The Renault 10 incorporated an extended front overhang along with a notably enlarged front trunk, expanding storage capacity from 240 to 315 litres. Although both the front and rear sections were redesigned, the passenger cabin's central dimensions remained consistent with its predecessor. Power was provided by a 1,108 cc engine borrowed from the Renault Caravelle, previously utilized in higher-spec Renault 8 variants.
In its home market of France, the Renault 10 competed with the popular Peugeot 204, which was also launched in 1965. In the United States, marketing efforts positioned it as "The Renault for people who swore they would never buy another one," aiming to improve upon the Dauphine’s unfavorable image.
Originally fitted with round headlights, a facelift two years after release introduced rectangular headlights to further differentiate it from the Renault 8. Nevertheless, North American versions retained round sealed beam headlights.
While the Renault 10 was in production, less powerful Renault 8 models with shorter bodies continued to be manufactured at the Flins factory.
At the October 1970 Paris Motor Show, Renault unveiled the Renault 10-1300, equipped with a larger 1289 cc engine derived from the new Renault 12. Although sharing mechanical similarities with the front-mounted engine of the Renault 12, this power unit was detuned via a reduced compression ratio and rated at SAE ( DIN), compared to SAE ( DIN) for its counterpart in the Renault 12. This resulted in two competing vehicles within the same market segment: the older rear-engined Renault 10-1300 was priced approximately 10% lower and had a maximum speed of 135 km/h (84 mph), while the entry-level Renault 12 could reach up to 145 km/h (90 mph). The original 1108 cc engine remained an option in 1970 but was exclusively paired with a Jaeger semi-automatic transmission that had been available on earlier models.
End of production
Manufacturing of the Renault 10 in France ceased in late summer of 1971 after overlapping production with the more commercially favored Renault 12 for two years. However, sales of the Renault 8 persisted domestically until 1973.
Alconi
In South Africa, Renault Africa Ltd—Renault’s local subsidiary—assembled a high-performance variant of the Renault 10 (model 1190) at their East London facility. Marketed solely within South Africa as the Renault Alconi—named after John Conchie and Eric 'Puddles' Adler from "Alconi Developments," who engineered its enhancements—this version featured engine modifications producing a net output of 68 bhp. Its performance positioned it between the standard Renault 8 and the Gordini with its 1255cc engine.
The Alconi could accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 11.9 seconds and reached a top speed of approximately 97 mph. Priced about 10% above the base model, it was sold through Renault’s South African dealerships and covered by factory warranty. This regional initiative leveraged success in South African "Sprint" and "Endurance" motorsport events to stimulate sales. Roughly between 400 and 500 units—including both Renault 8 and Renault 10 versions—were sold alongside hundreds of performance upgrade kits distributed through parts channels.