Achtung! Renault 11 Electronic
Remember the Renault 11? The topless car in A View to a Kill’and the French firm’s family car for pretty much the whole of the 80s.
Until this morning, I’d clean forgotten that in Electronic guise the car came with a quattro-style digital dashboard. I’d also forgotten that it also came with a talking dashboard, alerting you to such annoyances as the drivers door being left open, the hand brake being left on and low fluid levels.
Quite what Gene Hunt would have made of the car is anyone’s guess but I’m pretty sure a test drive would have resulted in a few choice words and fisty-cuffs with the hapless Renault salesman. No wonder he fired up the quattro.
This strangely amusing video gives a short look into the world of a Renault 11 driver. Figures from the early 80s suggest that suicide rates amongst Renault 11 drivers peaked during heavy rush hour periods.
For 2010, I’m thinking that a Renault 11 Electronic could make for an interesting episode of Top Gear. Lock James May in the car for an hour, ensure the doors are left ajar, drain all the fluids and remove the hand brake handle. Bet he wouldn’t last more than four minutes.
Also found this original TV ad from the 1980s. Comes from a totally different era. Couldn’t see “Fire up the Electronic” catching on though.
Update: 23rd April: The Hungarian owner of the Renault 11 Electronic video got in touch with PetrolBlog. See comments below, plus this 25th anniversary picture. Looks in fine condition.
Thanks to ati04 and HawklordPXR5 for the videos.
8 Comments
My Dad had a Maestro Vanden Plas (bare with me) for a while as a courtesy vechicle, which also came with the annoying electronic voice warnings. Drove him completely up the wall, even though he only had it for the weekend…..
Hi!
I made the video, and I’m glad you like it. I am very proud of the car, and I love it. The car does not talk all the time, the clip will be short-circuited cables to the sensors. However, it would be really interesting to see a TV show.
Greetings from Hungary!
Ati04
Thanks for getting in touch. There are very few Renault 11s left in the UK, so it is good to see the car being kept alive in Hungary. The video is superb – made everyone in the office laugh. All the best.
Unfortunately, fewer and fewer of them. Ours was built in 1985, and 1994, came from Germany to Hungary. Last year we got factory aluminum wheels and fog lamps. This year on April 1, we celebrated the 25th birthday. 🙂
All the best!
Ati04
Here is a recent picture:
http://imagerz.com/QEMXWktvAwJVXl8ZRAVR
Brilliant! Good to see it pretty much factory-fresh. Possibly one of the best left in existence? Thanks again for getting in touch.
Oh, and I would recommend this film. if you’re interested in ’80s technique
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x89mui_renault-11-electronic_auto
Just found this page and video. Great stuff. My Dad had an R11TXE (without the Electronic) when I made my driver’s license. (He had 3x R11, because I totalled 2 of them, oops!)
Cheers from Germany
Michael
Thanks for commenting. You’ve totalled two Renault 11s?! Bet your father was pleased? 😉