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Renault 21
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The Renault 21 is a large family car produced by French automaker Renault between 1986 and 1994. It was also sold in North America through American Motors (AMC) dealers as the Renault Medallion and the Eagle Medallion.
The Renault 21 sedan was launched in early 1986 as the successor to the extremely successful Renault 18, and this was followed a few months later by the seven-seater station wagon 21 Nevada (known as the Savanna in the United Kingdom), a rival for the Peugeot 505 Family Estate.
Unusually, the Renault 21 was offered with disparate engine configurations.
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The Renault 21 is a large family car produced by French automaker Renault between 1986 and 1994. It was also sold in North America through American Motors (AMC) dealers as the Renault Medallion and the Eagle Medallion.
The Renault 21 sedan was launched in early 1986 as the successor to the extremely successful Renault 18, and this was followed a few months later by the seven-seater station wagon 21 Nevada (known as the Savanna in the United Kingdom), a rival for the Peugeot 505 Family Estate.
Unusually, the Renault 21 was offered with disparate engine configurations. The 1.7 litre version featured an 'east-west' (transversely) mounted engine, but Renault had no gearbox suitable for a more powerful transverse engine: accordingly, faster versions featured longitudinally mounted (north south) 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
Design
In 1986, the R21 was launched. It had a razor-like design, which was different from contemporary cars of the era, e.g. the Ford Sierra (with its "jelly mould" design) and the Honda Accord (which had a straight-edge design).
The car was revamped considerably in 1989, both technically and aesthetically - the new sleeker outward appearance was similar to the also recently revamped Renault 25, and a liftback body style was also added to the range (which soon became more popular than the sedan in France) along with a sporty 2.0 L Turbo version. The turbo was also available with the four wheel drive Quadra transmission, and was capable of 227 km/h.
The Renault 21 liftback and sedan petrol-fueled models ceased production in early 1994 on the launch of the all-new Laguna liftback, but the diesels and the Nevada (Savanna in the UK) remained on the market until their replacement Laguna variants were launched (late 1994 for the diesels and late 1995 for the Nevada (Savanna)).
Other markets
The 21 also continued production in Argentina for some years after its European demise. The 21 was crafted in Argentina, at the Santa Isabel (Cordoba) Renault facility since late 1988 until early 1996.
All three body styles have been built there: liftback, sedan and Nevada (station wagon). It has been equipped with both petrol and diesel engines. The only petrol engine available was the 2.2 litre 8-valve (carburettor for the starting production, injection for the later models), and the only diesel engine available was the 2.1 litre. Both engines were available for the three body versions.
R21's were manufactured in Turkey in early 90's under the name Optima (entry model), Manager (later Manager 2000 with 2-litre engine), and (top of the line) Concorde.
The R21 was also sold in North America for a brief period as the Medallion, with the 2.2-litre engine being the only powerplant. However, the car was only on sale for a few months in 1987 before Renault sold its investment in American Motors (AMC) to Chrysler.
AMC dealers were now under a newly formed Jeep-Eagle Division of Chrysler, and continued to sell the car under the name Eagle Medallion until 1989.
The 21 was launched in Colombia in late 1987 with 2.0L longitudinal engine. Unfortunately warranty problems with cooling system, front suspension, and power steering compromise the 21's brand. Problems were difficult to solve for Renault and SOFASA (Colombia's assembly plan for Renault). The 21's reputation for Colombian customers was destroyed from since, even making Phase II being sold as the Renault Etoile in Colombia between 1990 and 1995.
Engines
- 1.4 L (1397 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4; ; top speed: (Turkish development from C series block, called C2J)
- 1.6 L (1565 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4; 73 bhp / 12.5 kg·m; top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 12.0 s (Argentinian development from C-series block, called C2L, available in Argentina and Colombia)
- 1.7 L (1721 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 carb.; 76 bhp (56 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 12.0 s (Available in TL and TLE models)
- 1.7 L (1721 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 SPI; 75 bhp (55 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 12.5 s
- 1.7 L (1721 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 carb.; 90 bhp (66 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 10.7 s (Available in TS, RS, GTS and TSE models)
- 1.7 L (1721 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 carb.; 88 bhp (65 kW); top speed:
- 1.7 L (1721 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 MPI; 95 bhp (70 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 10.7 s
- 1.9 L (1870 cc) diesel SOHC 8-valve I4; 65 bhp (48 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 16.0 s (available in SD and GSD models)
- 2.0 L (1995 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 MPI; 120 bhp (88 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 9.7 s (Available in RX, TX, GTX and TXE models)
- 2.0 L (1995 cc) petrol SOHC 12-valve I4; 136 bhp (100 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 9.8 s (available in the TXi models)
- 2.0 L (1995 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 MPI turbo; 175 bhp (129 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 7.2 s (available in Turbo and Turbo Quadra models).
- 2.0 L (1995 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 MPI turbo; 162 bhp (119 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 8.6 s
- 2.1 L (2068 cc) diesel SOHC 8-valve I4; 67 bhp (49 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 15.6 s (available in TD and GTD models)
- 2.1 L (2068 cc) diesel SOHC 8-valve I4; 73 bhp (54 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 15.1 s
- 2.1 L (2068 cc) diesel SOHC 8-valve I4 turbo; 88 bhp (65 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 11.8 s
- 2.2 L (2165 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 MPI; 110 bhp (81 kW); top speed: ; 0-100 km/h : 9.9 s
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