Рено 15 және Рено 17: Француздық купелер тарихы

The Renault 15 and Renault 17 are two variations of the same coupé designed and built by French automaker Renault between July 1971 and August 1979. The R17 was sold as R177 in Italy, respecting the heptadecaphobia superstition. They were effectively coupé versions of the Renault 12. The main differences between the two cars were their headlight configuration (the 15 had two rectangular headlights whereas the 17 had four round headlights) and their rear side windows. Some markets show the 17 with the rectangular lights for TL versions. The Renault 15 and 17 were presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1971.

The chassis and most of the running gear came from the Renault 12, while the 1565 cc A Type engine in the more powerful R17 TS and R17 Gordini models was derived from the engine in the Renault 16 TS. Though the mechanicals of the cars were derived from other Renaults, the body was completely new.

At the 1974 Paris Motor Show, the Renault 17TS was renamed the "17 Gordini". This new name was an attempt to fill the gap left by the recently discontinued Renault 12 Gordini, nothing was changed beyond the badging. There was a minor facelift during March 1976, most noticeable on the grille of the 15, where the chrome edge surround was replaced with a body coloured one: the headlights were enlarged and brought forward to a position approximately flush with the surround. The grille of the 17 also lost its chrome surround, although on both cars the partially chrome front bumper now curved up at the edges to roughly half way up the height of the grille. The R15 and R17 remained in production until summer 1979 when they were both replaced by the Renault Fuego.

The British Autocar magazine tested a Renault 15 TL in November 1972, shortly after the model's UK debut. The top speed of 94 mph (151 km/h) and the 0 60 mph (97 km/h) time of 13.6 seconds put the car near the bottom of the list of competitor vehicles selected for comparison, but overall fuel consumption for the test was class leading at .

Renault abandoned plans to contest the World Rally Championship which it won in 1973. Instead, the factory developed a high performance version of the 17 coupé at the Alpine Competition Factory which used many A110 components to compete in "selected" European events. The Gordini developed engine had two twin choke Webers, a hot cam, 11.5 compression ratio, big valves and tuned extractor exhaust system. The body was very light, featuring fibreglass doors, boot and bonnet panels, with plastic windows and a stripped interior. The factory said the car's weight was lowered by more than 25 percent. Its most famous outing was the 1974 "Press on Regardless" WRC, held in Michigan. The Rally was the US section of the World Rally Championship. The car that won the rally was a Renault 17 Gordini driven by Jean Luc Thérier and Christian Deiferrer, with a similar car coming third.

ModelCodeMotorFuelDisplacementPowerTop SpeedPower to weight15 TL15 GTLR1300Type 810 10810 05Leaded Fuel1289 cc @ 5500 rpm 16.10 kg/CV15 TS17 TLR1302Type 807 10Leaded Fuel1565 cc @ 5800 rpm 11.17 kg/CV17 TS17 GordiniR1313Type 807 12Leaded Fuel1647 cc @ 6000 rpm 9.77 kg/CV