Jump to content

The Epic Austrian owned R16 from Germany doing French things in a Parallel Universe near England Saga


Junkman

Recommended Posts

 

1 hour ago, chadders said:

As Junkman is no longer on here can someone please explain the appeal of R16s? I can understand them being preferred to Maxis but they seem to attract an inordinate amount of praise.

Rarity. Non-conformity. Interesting design and engineering. Exceptional ride and handling.

Are you sure you’re on the right forum?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, chadders said:

I've never driven one so wondered  what was so good about them. 

Some of those attributes could also be applied to the Peugeot 205 which we ran for 3 years and eventually plan to get another.

edit : so how does the ride and handling compare to the Pug?


They’re very different cars and at least two generations of design apart, so I’m not sure how meaningful a comparison is (plus I’ve never owned a 205).  But I’m happy to talk about the 16.

The ride of is exceptionally smooth for a car with metal suspension;  it sort of flows along very evenly, somewhat in the manner of a hydropneumatic Citroën but with less of the fore-and-aft pitching/floating sensation you sometimes get with those.

On modern roads, you notice this most of all on speed bumps and lateral ridges, which simply disappear as if by magic.  The torsion bar rear suspension is the key: the right hand rear wheel is about two inches further forward than the left, so when one wheel is climbing up the hump the other is pushing down.

Here’s a photo that alcyonecorporation took of mine at Shitefest 2015.  You can just about see that the rear wheel on the far side is further ahead than the near one.

745BF506-DABE-41FA-BF0F-CAC1694A8CD4.thumb.jpeg.c522e17e232e2f0cf57ca3875a0f21d7.jpeg

It rolls at mad angles when cornering, with an eventual tendency to understeer, but grips strongly and is readily controllable and predictable.  (The Nankang tyres on mine do the car no favours in the wet, but that’s not Renault’s fault.)

The long wheelbase and short overhangs help, as does the even weight distribution. It’s technically mid-engined, with the block mounted longitudinally aft of the front axle and the gearbox in front of it.

The engine itself is aluminium — unusual for 1965 — saving weight and further aiding liveliness.  (Mine is a lowly TL with an autobox, so ‘lively’ is a stretch, but a manual crossflow TS like Junkman’s or TX would be more fun.)

 

Peugeot 205s are great little cars, by all accounts.  They were among the supermini class leaders when new and are still fun today.   I could readily imagine giving a GT, XS or GTI shedroom for a while.  

But I would argue that a 205 is simply a good execution of very mainstream design and technology, whereas the Renault 16 was a unique combination of interesting ideas that moved the game on.  That the demands of cheaper productionisation made many of them evolutionary culs-de-sac merely adds to the interest.

Plus there are only a couple of dozen running R16s left in the UK, I believe, maybe four or five of which are/were on here.

That’s what all the fuss is about, at least for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, egg said:

They also look great in any iteration in my view.

Quite right. 

I’d never seen one until I joined here - my childhood (in the 80s) consisted of Fords and Toyotas. There was one eccentric bloke who had an SD1 in our road but, save from the odd Renault 9, no French. 

Turns put my BIL’s father had one that he adored. I think people who had them - loved them; unlike my father who had no more than a measure of indifference toward his Escort. 

I would absolutely love one, but have come to accept that other things in life must come first. Firstly, I need a really dry garage. Secondly, I need more time and thirdly I need to sell a car or two. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've just headed out to the shed to see what's in my old copies of Blitz and other banger mag's I picked up in the '90s.

Just found a photo of Mr Reno 139 (Paul Cunningham). It describes the 16 as being his usual mount.

In another issue it reports on him winning the 'unders' final at the 5th Hednesford pre-68 and there's a photo of that 16. Seems like he raced one the following year too.

I'll scan photos in tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blitz! issue 15, Rye House Interpromo team meeting:

MrReno139_0001.thumb.jpg.c91d0a9f395590c8dc52f461cad2b3e6.jpg

Blitz! issue 19, Hednesford pre-68 Unders:

MrReno139_0002.thumb.jpg.2f0444dd41ccf3192d08dbde9c0fb025.jpg

Blitz! Photo special, from a meeting at Worthing:

MrReno139_0003.thumb.jpg.a030977a8951ddbdf297cbd4c7d055f1.jpg

Not easy to tell, is the last one definitely a 16?

These would all have been around 1996/97. Maybe it was starting to get scarce to see in regular use on the road, but there was still plenty of '70s bilge around and he could probably get them from various scrapyards as there wouldn't have been much of a market for parts.

Sobering to think that a 20-year old 16 then would be the equivalent of a Mk1 Megane now.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Blitz! issue 15, Rye House Interpromo team meeting:

MrReno139_0001.thumb.jpg.c91d0a9f395590c8dc52f461cad2b3e6.jpg

Blitz! issue 19, Hednesford pre-68 Unders:

MrReno139_0002.thumb.jpg.2f0444dd41ccf3192d08dbde9c0fb025.jpg

Blitz! Photo special, from a meeting at Worthing:

MrReno139_0003.thumb.jpg.a030977a8951ddbdf297cbd4c7d055f1.jpg

Not easy to tell, is the last one definitely a 16?

These would all have been around 1996/97. Maybe it was starting to get scarce to see in regular use on the road, but there was still plenty of '70s bilge around and he could probably get them from various scrapyards as there wouldn't have been much of a market for parts.

Sobering to think that a 20-year old 16 then would be the equivalent of a Mk1 Megane now.....

These photos/scans make me feel sad.

Do 16s roll like mk1 Renault 5s? I’ve only driven a 5, a supercinq and an 11 and I wasn’t keen on the roll of the earlier 5, it scared the absolute shit out if me. I’ve always been attracted to the R16, particularly the twin headlamp versions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dozeydustman said:

Do 16s roll like mk1 Renault 5s? 

Yes, 

For many years, my next door neighbour had a metallic dark green, (I think) five speed 16TX with tinted glass.

The car was interesting, I seem to remember the three lug wheels were alloy, but he was a complete twat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...