As a Renault owner and fan I’m not quite as scared of these cars as a lot of people seem to be. Whether that’s from direct experience or just repeating rumors and stories that they have heard for decades I don’t know. Maybe it’s a little of both. This 1984 Renault Fuego is located in North Miami Beach, Florida and it can be found on eBay with a current bid price of $3,250.
This is one great-looking car. I know that French cars aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but as far as condition goes I don’t know if a person will find a nicer looking Fuego. Hey, watch your French..
I really like the look and the detailing on the Fuego. The design was overseen by the gent who scratched out the Citroen SM – no slouch of a car by any means. This car came out at a time when Renault’s foothold in the U.S. market was tenuous at best and it didn’t make a dent in the market, at least enough to even come close to saving the company’s presence here. 1985 would be the last year for the Fuego in the U.S.
Insert screeching sound here. Oui, this car has an automatic transmission. That isn’t a deal-breaker for a lot of people on a “regular/normal” car, but on a car with 80 hp a manual transmission would be pretty nice. The interior, though, nice! Red leather, it’s hard to beat that for me and this thing looks perfect.
There were a variety of engines available in the Fuego starting with a 1.6 naturally-aspirated four-cylinder and a version with a turbo and 107 hp. This is the 2.2L inline-four, the engine that replaced the turbo, which was Renault’s J7T Douvrin all-aluminum inline-four with 110 hp named after the town in France where they were made. Have any of you owned a Fuego?
Never owned one, but got ticketed for speeding in an ’84 Turbo Fuego that I test drove and considered buying in ’86. Fun to drive and loved the design.
OOo-la-LA! (Sorry – couldn’t resist!) A friend had a Turbo, 5 speed Fuego, black with an interior like this one. The car rode well – and those seats! Def needs the 5 speed. Not many of these around. I’d like to know more, like mileage, repair history. This is still a bit overpriced (IMHO), not so much with a 5 peed, though.
I think I would have gone with only one left? Instead of nicest one left. I love this body style long with the Isuzu impulse, has to be two of my favorite designs in cars and both of them are pretty much extinct anymore but definitely on my list of cars I would love to own!
There’s an Impulse for sale on the “other” site. I think its a 1985, non turbo 5 speed.
Neither the turbo Fuego nor the Impulse held up worth a damn in the long run, which actually wasn’t that long. Engines were weak and blew up easily. I owned one of each since they were cheap and fun to drive while they lasted, but the normally aspirated ones are more a novelty at this point than anything you’d want to get around in…
I have an 82 turbo that has led a pampered life. Has about 65k and is very fun to drive. Not a powerhouse by any means but in its day it was considered quick
I have not seen one since the late 1990’s and it wasn’t as nice as this one!!
I had this exact car, new. It was a disaster. Fuego means “cursed.”
We nicknamed them ‘FewGo.’ I still can’t believe that Renault designed and built such incredible F-1 engines during this time frame, but we were offered such (blank) in the US.
A high school teacher had a Dauphine in the early ’60s that was her daily driver. The car survives today, and is driven to car shows by her great granddaughter. The engine has had minimal repair, mostly preventative service.
Dick, every time I see a post from you I have to do a double take. I’m an Aussie, and if you don’t know why I do the double take then you should type your name into Google. In Australia your name is synonymous with a legend! And it’s even car-related.
I’ve had three of these, two 2 litres and one Turbo. The Turbo was based on the little Cleon all iron pushrod engine from the R5, also used in the mid engined R5 Turbo rally car, and five speed manual only in both. I’ve still got the nice ‘Renault only’ fitment forged BBS cross spoke alloys on my Mk 1 Espace. They are incredibly light. Outside the USA these cars were quite popular and stayed on in production in Argentina until 1992,( after a slightly clumsy facelift and with the 2.2 version of the Douvrin all alloy four).
The last Fuegos after the tooling moved to Argentina.
We are only missing a pic of “El Flaco Traverso” here!
Thats wrong about theFuego turbo engine. The Engine was based on the 1565 12Gordini, but with low cr pistons(8,4:1(if I remember correct). The aluhead had small vales(34mm? inlet insted of 42/44 as the 12G, but withthe chambershape as 16/17 ) . In Euro the Fuego Turbo had 132hp/din btw.
The Cleon engine witch the 1397cc turbo in 5 are based on, came in 62 as 956cc are an different engine, but they both got pushrod camchaft.
They are all the same basic engine, the iron block pushrod ohv introduced in ’62 with the blocks cast at Renault’s new factory at Cléon-Fonte, hence the name, Cléon.The engine was also made/assembled in Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Colombia and Argentina.(From a world with high borders and tariff protection, that perhaps we’re returning to?)
Fitted to the Floride/Caravelle, Alpine A110, R4, R5 (Le Car in the USA), R6, R7 (Siete), R8/R10, R9/R11 (Alliance/Encore in USA), R12, R15, R18, R19, R21 (Export), Estafette, Traffic 1, Express (Rapid / Extra), Fuego, Twingo,and Clio 1, and to the 12 based Romanian Dacias.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Cl%C3%A9on-Fonte_engine
You are wrong I am a Renault guy who had some Renault and have 5 friend mechanic on Renault. The Renault Fuego Turbo in USA/Canada had a 1647cc. Turbo which the Renault 5 Turbo with rear engine had a 1397cc Turbo with 160 hp. Which came in 1980. I had 2.2L 5 speed manual Fuego fun to drive and also I bought a 1984 Renault Sportwagon 2.2L, 5 speed manual in 1993 with 170,000 km on it I had it until 1998 with over 385,00 km on it when I had 350,000 km on it was not affraid to do long trip over 2,000 km one way like I did 3 trip to Tampa, Florida from Ottawa, Ontario Canada with no problem the 2.2L was one of the best engine Renault made you could cruise at 160 to 180 km/ph all day at temperature of 30 C / 90 F. I did it with my Fuego.
Sorry Jean-Guy. The US Turbo Fuego 1.6 was 1565 cc. Non turbo 1.6 was 1647. (My 1565 got special made Venolia forged pistons) Never burned a hole through them.
Drove a friend’s once and found it mildly engaging. Ive always thought the chassis was game for more engine than they ever got, but not enough that I’d really consider embarking upon on such a project, given there’s other cars that, for the same money, are as good without an engine swap.
My cousin had one identical to this back in the late 80s. Even though it was only a few years old at the time, it spent most of the time under her ownership in the repair shop.
I worked with a guy once that had one of these, stick, seemed like an ok car, nothing fancy, cheaply made, but got him to work everyday.
If you compare the Fuego with similar cars of the same type produced in Europe and Japan at around the same time, the Fuego design has held up really well and still looks surprisingly fresh.
I’m hoping that someone may be able to clarify something about this for me. I’ve seen these with velour seat trim, and I’ve seen them with leather as well. I’ve never seen leather trim on a Fuego that was the same as this. The ones that I’ve seen (admittedly I am in Australia) with leather have generally been either red, black or brown, and some have had contrasting piping along the edges of bolsters, etc. I have never seen one with this type of pattern before. Is this something that we simply didn’t get here, or could this be a custom job?
I suspect it’s custom but each country often different?
It wasn’t an option here.
I have a UK brochure somewhere, will try to dig it out.
We didn’t have that engine either. trim here were TL, TX, GTX.(and Turbo)
I actually owned two. Had a very serious accident in the second one. (Brakes failed and hit a tree.. engine came through the dashboard)
Paul, that’s seriously scary. I’m so glad that you got out of it. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I look back at the things that I’ve managed to survive and wonder how I did it. When I was 21 I hit a loaded tip truck that was going in the opposite direction. I was driving a Datsun 510. We were both doing about 50mph. I walked away with my worst injury being a bruised knee! Why?
I hope that you can find the brochure. It would make interesting reading.
The interior was a top specification interior for one that was maxed out in terms of options. I believe it was only available for the 1984 and 1985 Years. Ours was exactly the same but with a white paint and not silver but with exactly the same red interior. The red color held up very well. Better than the XJ12 sedan that we had with a red interior that faded.
Not custom, factory
Hi Adam, agree … on think we thought we were invincible at that age too which doesn’t help.
Was very lucky, i just had a broken nose. A friend in the back headbutted the seat back rest which snapped and the metal leg dug in a little bit under his chin requiring a few stitches but we did really well all things considered. I am not sure it had rear seat belts but i might be wrong. ( too long ago)
I wil find the brochure, but it may take a while. This post will probably resurrect in a few weeks when i do!
Thanks Bruce, interesting on the interior… i didnt know that.
I suspect that it is customized. I bought a brand new one in the mid 80’s while in Germany. It was a beautiful silver/lavender color and had that red interior however it had the velour seats in the same lavender color. The only problems I ever had related to a car hitting the right rear only hours after I got it. From that day on the circuit board there had to be replaced pretty much each year. I loved that car and still miss it. Absolutely loved the automatic power moonroof!!!
This was my first car. My dad had bought it new. Very few left in UK now.
Hi Scotty.
No, I have never owned a Fuego, but I have owned a Fregate, Dauphine, R8, R9, R10, R11, Fluoride, Caravelle etc. and ALL of them were great cars although ALL of them were very soft, in that if you got a bit vigorous with the window winder or plastic switches, they would invariably break off. As for the engines, the bottom ends were practically unbreakable and the top only needed periodic adjustments.
I know how hard it is to keep my French Marchal fog lights working, so I can only imagine the challenges of a whole car.
Two i had were really reliable apart from the brake failure. (That was a problem with the mechanic who,had replaced oarts earlier that day)
Never an issue with anything else bar the exhaust. The day my dad picked it up brand new we drove down to the coast in it and the exhaust fell off.
Great styling, this and the Alliance GTA were my favourites as a not-yet old enough to drive teenager. Would love to own one of these.
One for sale on the Nashville, TN Craigslist currently. Bigger engine but, alas, an automatic. About half the price of this one. I’ve seen it listed for a couple of months now. Faded red exterior but the same interior.
Never had a Fuego, but I did have an ’86 SportWagon for a few years. It was probably one of the funnest cars to drive that I have ever owned.
like all french cars the pedals were too close together for my large american feet lol
Always fascinating French cars.
I put over 120K on ours and with minor exceptions was one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned. Not terribly fast, nor a truly great handling car but comfortable and that huge canvas top could quickly make it into a 5 seat convertible. More than once on long trips I would run into rain storms and roll the top closed and when past the rain rolled it right back open again without having to stop or even slow down. Amazed those with me at the time.
This was the FIRST car ever to come from the factory with the automatic door locks and infrared key clickers. When going quickly you almost do not need the wipers as the air flow pushes water right off and the back window stays dry unless you are stopped. Notice the exterior door handles, durning a severe ice storm here my car was the only one left out that was able to open the door because of those recessed handles that were also so aerodynamic.
The only problem we every had over 10 years of ownership was the electrical connections to the lights and the fuse box which caused us to sell the car. They used aluminum in the fuse box and over time that corrodes and will get hot. I suggest any owner have a duplicate of the metal within made of copper and replace it. That part is about as unobtainable as you get. The other problems were with the wires to the lights. It was the connectors and all you needed to do us just use some emery cloth on the connectors and it all worked fine again.
I really enjoyed that car. I had not just purchased something that car would be mine and off the market soon to be resting in my garage. For those that had trouble I would suggest that this car like some other cars is very delicate and when subject to the least abuse will bite back by not working properly.
I have heard that rust is a problem with these but we drove ours all the time thru winter salt seasons and not. We kept it clean with regular washing and we never had a bit of rust. Again how you care for it is critical. I truly hope it finds a good home.
Lotus Europa transmission donor.
I never owned one, but I did sell them as I was employed as a saleman at a local AMC-Jeep-Renault dealer in the mid-eighties. I did drive one for a few months as a “demo” car. It was a 2.2L with automatic. She seemed to be an anemic softly sprung and disengaging car especially with an automatic that never knew a proper gear for its engine rpm. I remember that I was a very good test driver for my demo cars and I really put them all through the ringer. This one had a propensity to vapor lock in hot humid weather if thrashed about. One time, I heard it whistling a high pitched tune after driving it rather hard and having parked it. The sound was coming from the gas cap area. So I twisted the cap quickly and the car gave me a baptism of a 1/4 gallon of hot gasoline all over my shirt. Nice. I guess the car knew I preferred any German iron compared to French idiosyncrasy. The 1.6 turbo with manual transmission was a much better car and more fun to drive.
Ooh la la !!
Very cIean beautiful car! I owned a 1984 5spd Turbo. My first new car! Black with gray and black trim. Absolutely loved this car. Drove it on the Honeymoon. Kept it until the kids started coming. Never any problems. I’ve considered buying again but parts are practically non-existent. Afraid it’s just a great memory. I’ll try to post a pic if I can.
Had a 1983 1.6 litre 5 speed in college and early married life. Got 21 mpg in town and near 36 on the highway as I remember. Looked sharp once I had it painted all one color red and it rode like a Cadillac, loved those seats! Learned how to adjust valve clearances on that car and reset them annually so it was still running well when I traded it on the Jeep Cherokee (2WD!). Later succumbed to an 85 2.2 litre 5 speed that’s still moldering out back due to shot motor mounts. Talk about parts made of unobtainium!
The car was Euro car of the year around 83 from memory.
My first one i pulled the seats and bolted in leather XJS seats, changed the steering wheel and removed the centre exhaust silencer. It was a beast.. all 1.6 litres.
Lots of fond memories ..
I bought a new Fuego in 1984 and drove it until 1988. It was a fun car despite some minor electrical issues. It had a 5-Speed manual gearbox and 2.2L engine. I did get a couple speeding tickets. I drove it all over New England. When I finally wanted a new car in 1988, I had to sell it as a private sale as no dearer wanted to take it in trade. I was lucky to find someone in New Hampshire who wanted to buy it. I never saw the car again and have to say, I miss it.
Alain Prost was dominating F1 back then. So I went to the dealer. They had 2 new cars that were on the lot for a year. On the test drive I went easy until I could floor it in 3rd. The salesman freaked as the Turbo started to scream. I guess he knew the Turbo was bad on his new 1 year old car. Sad.
Oh good Lord. Could believe when my dad bought one new! Great shifting five speed and plenty of power event though it was a non-turbo car. The build quality, however was horrendous, eapecially the electrical system. Went through a wiring harness the first week. Spent mor time in the shop for warranty work than any other car my parents ever owned. We had 3 different loaner cars.
Sold for $4045.
Yup. Had one. A 1982 that my dad drove until he passed it down to me several years later. Gold exterior, tan interior, stick. My first car and I loved it, although admittedly anything with four wheels would’ve had my heart. Got me through high school and all around the freeways of SoCal despite the typical teen-age abuse. IIRC, my parents traded it for lawn work after I left home.
My college roommates were identical twins. One brother had a 2.2L turbo model. He kept it immaculate…but his brother and I loved to remind him ,”Fuego means ‘Fire.'”
He sold it and lost track of it somewhat. Then it appeared once again. In a local junkyard
Had a red 5 speed turbo ’84 with the diamond pattern leather seats seen above. I drove it in FL, VA and MA, and in the cold, I liked to turn up the electric heat while opening the huge folding sunroof which was flexible and opened wide from the windshield back past the rear seats.
I liked the acceleration after the turbo boost built up and really did enjoy driving it.
However, I had black smoke pour out of the A/C vents when wiring shorted out in the engine compartment in the first year. The mechanic who fixed it had so many scrapes on the back of his hands when I picked up the car.
The electric cooling fan would come on when parked and would drain the battery, so I was pleased that the battery in the trunk had a large plastic positive terminal clamp and I could disconnect it when I parked. “Theft prevention.”
And it started swallowing coolant and mixing it with the oil – lubricating the engine with milky gunk. After the dealer and then an independent mechanic failed to repair the warped head, I traded it in on a ’88 Honda Prelude Si which was more fun and more reliable.
Did not get much for the Fuego as it was on top of a flatbed trailer when I had to have it towed to the Honda dealer. It had about 45K and had lasted almost 4 years.
I always liked the Fuego, as an AMC rep I had a few as field cars toward the end of the line. Interesting thing about the design, once you are moving you do not need that rear window wiper,above about 50 the rear window stays dry no matter how hard it is raining!
I live in New Zealand and I own 2 Turbos (1984 and a 1986 with only 53,000 miles). Ours were UK spec so had 1.6 litre carburettor engines and I’ve always found them fast, comfortable, and reliable cars. A few niggles with the electrics but nothing major and having a good mechanic helps. I put new 16inch wheels on the older one with wider tyres which significantly improved the grip, and combined with a sports steering wheel, she’s a lot of fun to throw around. A lot of kids love the look of the car too as most have never seen one before (like most cars from the 1980s now). As for parts, I’ve never had any major issues – in fact Renault provided main dealer mechanical parts support for the Fuego up until about 5 years ago – I doubt many manufacturers who do that for such an old vehicle. And for parts now? Ebay (USA, UK, France, Germany etc) is awesome and so reasonably priced for the most things.
Don’t lose the key. New ones have to come from France. $70NZ ten years ago.
The mention of eBay reminded me of an exercise I did last year.
There are less than 20 still driving on UK roads now across all the models including Turbos.
However if you look up parts on eBay there is over 40,000 parts for sale including over 5,000 sets of pads and 700 air filters :)
Yup znd dont miss it !!!! I gave it away ! Niiice interior though !
J-
I bought a 1984 Fuego. It was my first new car. I loved the styling and was sad when I sold it. I wasn’t looking for a fast car. The styling made my heart swoon.
My ’83 Fuego Turbo was my first new car too. The car was very fast off the line. I put Koni shocks in it and the car always cornered flat. What drove me crazy about it was the sun roof not working well. One detail I thought was great was the oil gauge display in the dashpod, so the driver would always know how full the oil was. The car was silver and black like the one that started this thread. I put Bosch driving and fog lights on it. Really cool looking. I miss the car.
I have owned a couple of them amongst all the Renault’s I have owned. My first was an ’83 in the dark blue…forget the color name. Also had a beautiful 85 Sephia metallic…like a champagne color with the red cloth interior. Had a silver 83 as a beater. My mom and sister both had red.
The best part of these cars were the electric rag top, there were 7 of these installed in other imports in SoCal in the late 80’s. I put one in my VW GTI covered with Mercedes cloth . The stainless frames were easily removed with 8mm nuts and the switch fit the VW dash with no cutting.
I had 3 – 5 speed turbos. 2 I drove and 1 for parts. Still have 2 sitting in a MO back yard. (2 with noisy power roofs)Both drivers caught fire as the name implies. Still drove them afterwards. If something could go wrong, it did. One car still sitting only has 45k miles. Went through 2 engines, multiple motor/trans mounts, brakes, rear axle, 2 turbos. The other I got 130k miles, but rebuilt the engine with Venolia pistons & custom rods. Still had to pull it 3 times for a rebuilds. Had 3 cracked heads on this one too. Hose came off the turbo wastgate and blew the intercooler and throttle body to bits. Cars are total complete junk in every aspect. But I loved them like a bad crack habit.
Hallo everyone.I own a 1984 Fuego turbo which I brought back to Greece from the states where I spent 13 years.I am an American citizen currently working as an aviation engineer overseas.I need to find the moonroof that my car has in order to restore it.If anyone knows any available for me to buy-of course in working and nice condition-let me know.Thanks in advance.