Renault 21

Renault 21/Medallion

Manufacturer	Renault
Production	1986-1994 1986-1995 (for Nevada/Savanna)
Assembly	Marseille, France Bursa, Turkey Medellín, Colombia Beijing, China Córdoba, Argentina
Predecessor	Renault 18
Successor	Renault Laguna
Class	Large family car
Body style	4-door saloon 5-door estate 5-door liftback
Layout	FF layout F4 layout (turbo only)
Engine	1.4, 1.7, 2.0, 2.2 8v 2.0 12V 2.0 turbo 1.9 D, 2.1 D 2.1 turbo D 2.2 i
Transmission	5-speed manual 3-speed automatic
Length	4,462 mm (175.7 in) sedan 4,644 mm (182.8 in) wagon
Width	1,715 mm (67.5 in)
Height	1,415 mm (55.7 in) sedan 1,421 mm (55.9 in) wagon
Designer	Giorgetto Giugiaro

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. It was produced 2 096 000 units.^{[citation needed]}

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 Opel Ascona (with its J-Car 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 TXi 2.0l 12v and 2.0l 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

Renault 21: 4-door saloon

Rear of pre-facelift saloon R21

Renault 21: Station Wagon Nevada/Savanna

Renault 21: Liftback

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 1990s 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; 68 PS (50 kW; 67 hp); top speed: 165 km/h (103 mph) (Turkish development from C series block, called C2J, also available in Portugal and Yugoslavia)
• 1.4 L (1397 cc) petrol OHV 8-valve I4; 70 PS (51 kW; 69 hp); top speed: 168 km/h (104 mph)
• 1.6 L (1565 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4; 73 PS (54 kW; 72 hp); top speed: 165 km/h (103 mph); 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 PS (56 kW; 75 hp); top speed: 173 km/h (107 mph); 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 PS (55 kW; 74 hp); top speed: 172 km/h (107 mph); 0–100 km/h: 12.5 s
• 1.7 L (1721 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 carb.; 90 PS (66 kW; 89 hp); top speed: 185 km/h (115 mph); 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 PS (65 kW; 87 hp); top speed: 181 km/h (112 mph)
• 1.7 L (1721 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 MPI; 95 PS (70 kW; 94 hp); top speed: 185 km/h (115 mph); 0–100 km/h: 10.7 s
• 1.9 L (1870 cc) diesel SOHC 8-valve I4; 65 PS (48 kW; 64 hp); top speed: 160 km/h (99 mph); 0–100 km/h: 16.0 s (available in SD and GSD models)
• 2.0 L (1995 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 MPI; 135 PS (99 kW; 133 hp); top speed: 220 km/h (137 mph); 0–100 km/h: 10.9 s (Available in GTX and TXE models)
• 2.0 L (1995 cc) petrol SOHC 12-valve I4; 136 PS (100 kW; 134 hp); top speed: 230 km/h (143 mph) ; 0–100 km/h: 9.2 s (available in the TXi and TXi Quadra models)
• 2.0 L (1995 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 MPI turbo; 175 PS (129 kW; 173 hp); top speed: 227 km/h (141 mph); 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; 175 PS (129 kW; 173 hp); top speed: 217 km/h (135 mph); 0–100 km/h: 8.6 s
• 2.1 L (2068 cc) diesel SOHC 8-valve I4; 67 PS (49 kW; 66 hp); top speed: 164 km/h (102 mph) ; 0–100 km/h: 15.6 s (available in TD and GTD models)
• 2.1 L (2068 cc) diesel SOHC 8-valve I4; 73 PS (54 kW; 72 hp); top speed: 170 km/h (106 mph) ; 0–100 km/h: 15.1 s
• 2.1 L (2068 cc) diesel SOHC 8-valve I4 turbo; 88 PS (65 kW; 87 hp); top speed: 177 km/h (110 mph) ; 0–100 km/h: 11.8 s
• 2.2 L (2165 cc) petrol SOHC 8-valve I4 MPI; 110 PS (81 kW; 108 hp); top speed: 192 km/h (119 mph) ; 0–100 km/h: 9.9 s

External links

• Club Renault 21 Argentina (in Spanish)
• Club Renault 21
• Forum and future Club of Renault 21 in Spain
• Kit Car Builder using the J7R Engine
• Forum and Renault 21 Owners Club UK