PetrolBlog says: Show Us Your Renault Safrane
At the last count, there were just 68 examples of the Renault Safrane left in the UK. PetrolBlog owns one of these. It also intends to put another one back on the road by the end of the year.
In case you haven’t seen the latest update, a phase one Renault Safrane 2.2 Executive has joined the fleet. It has been lying dormant for the past 12 years, but PetrolBlog has been given the opportunity to restore it to former glory. You can follow the journey by subscribing to PetrolBlog’s rubbish YouTube channel.
The more time I spend in the company of a Safrane, the more I appreciate its wafty magnificence. Although Renault was guilty of trying too hard to replicate what the Germans were doing at the time, the Safrane deserves greater credit than it received. In the UK, the Safrane is largely unloved and misunderstood.
There’s more admiration for the Safrane in other European markets. Take a holiday in France and it won’t be long before you see a Safrane on active duty, kept alive on a shoestring budget by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic rural mechanic.
Over here, the future is less bright for Renault’s large executive car of the 1990s. It’s destined to go the same way as the Renault 25 and Renault 20/30 before it, by spiralling into oblivion faster than you can say ‘beyond economic repair’.
PetrolBlog cannot halt the decline. But PetrolBlog can fight for the Safrane’s cause. Which is why I’m calling upon the Renault Safrane owners of Europe to get in touch with details of their car.
Send specs, photos and a brief history of the car to safrane@petrolblog.com. In return, PetrolBlog will recreate a Renault Safrane register, so we can keep tabs on the whereabouts of these magnificent cars. Whether you own a 2.0 RN or a Biturbo Baccara, please get in touch.
Let’s keep the Renault Safrane alive.
2 Comments
You need to add the Saffrane (both of them?) to the Garage page. Seen a couple of Saffranes for sale recently. Sadly my welding course experience has put me off buying a project for now. It’s not that it’s that hard – it’s that I don’t have the time to dedicate to it to get down to 0.5mm welding, which I would need for cars (we did 3 and 4mm on the course). Also a decent welding machine is expensive!
The Garage page needs a complete overhaul! Need to find a morning or afternoon to devote to that.
Interest in the Renault Safrane appears to be growing. I see this as a good thing.