Good morning! Today we’re taking a look at two cars that start with the letter R, but, sadly, don’t actually start at all at the moment. One is British – and is short one wheel – and the other is very, very French. Which one will prove to be the better deal?
Yesterday wasn’t much of a comparison, based on the votes. Who wants a minivan with a boring and terrible transmission, when they can have an Italian sports sedan with an exciting and terrible transmission? Besides, that Quattroporte might be the cheapest way to get Ferrari power into your garage.
I agree with the majority of you. I have nothing but respect for the noble minivan, but if the choice is between these two cars, it has to be the Maserati. It’s just so pretty, and it sounds so good. Besides, I already dealt with one VQ35DE engine in the proper orientation. I’m not about to put up with one facing the wrong way.
All right. Let’s look at a couple of weirdos. These have both been sitting for years, I’m sorry to say, and neither one is ready to ride off into the sunset. But they both look complete and viable. Let’s check them out.
1975 Renault 17 Gordini – $3,900
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter overhead valve inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: York, PA
Odometer reading: 115,000 miles
Operational status: Not running, has been sitting for years
My original thought for the letter R was to find a Renault Fuego. But in the midst of that fruitless search, I came across this gem, and it’s so much better. This is the Renault 17, the Fuego’s predecessor, a front-wheel-drive coupe that’s almost entirely forgotten in the US these days. Even better, it’s a Gordini. For those who don’t know, Gordini is to Renault what Abarth is to Fiat, or AMG is to Mercedes: it’s the spicy version.
“Spicy” may be pushing it, actually; under the hood is Renault’s familiar Cleon overhead valve engine, here displacing 1.6 liters and putting out 95 horsepower. Hey, for a small car in the mid-1970s, that was pretty good. It also has a five-speed transmission in place of the lesser 17’s four-speed, and of course, some fancy wheels and trim. The last inspection sticker on this car dates from 1992, so it has been off the road for a while. You’ll have to do some work to get it back on the road. But Renault enthusiasts do exist, even in the US, so if you get in with the right crowd, you should be able to find sources for parts.
Inside, it’s in pretty good condition, but oddly shiny. I don’t know what that’s about. It’s your basic 70s European interior, with comfy-looking bucket seats, full gauges, and a nice thick-rimmed steering wheel. This is a driver’s car, with a bona-fide rally pedigree: a Renault 17 Gordini won the 1974 “Press-On-Regardless” rally in Michigan, and of course, Renault 8s and 12s that preceded it had their share of motorsports glory as well.
It’s half in primer on the outside, which I take as a good sign; someone has been doing rust repair, which means someone thought it was worth saving. Also, as you can see in the photo above, the US-spec R17 has possibly the dumbest, most half-assed implementation of 5 MPH bumper rules ever – the US bumper is just stuck on behind the European one. Unbolt that sucker and sell it for scrap; you’ll probably knock fifty pounds of weight off, and it will look a whole lot better.
1990 Reliant Robin LX – £500
Engine/drivetrain: 848 cc overhead valve inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Coalville, Leicestershire, UK
Odometer reading: 72,000 miles
Operational status: Ran when stored, but that was years ago
The Reliant Robin is a study in minimalism. It has a simple steel frame, a fiberglass body, a tiny four-cylinder engine – and only one front wheel. The idea is that eliminating a wheel reduces the rolling resistance and the overall weight of the car. It also reduces the car’s road tax and licensing requirements in the UK. The original Robin was produced from 1973 to 1981; this is the second generation, from after the model was revived in 1989.
The Robin is powered by an 848 cc engine mounted directly behind the single front wheel. It only puts out 40 horsepower, but the whole car weighs less than a thousand pounds, so you don’t need a lot of power. These things supposedly have a top speed of 85 miles an hour, which frankly must be terrifying. The engine drives a completely normal rear axle through a completely normal four-speed gearbox; the only unusual thing about this car’s design is the single front wheel. This one has covered 72,000 miles, but it has been in storage for an undisclosed length of time. It ran fine when it was put away, but now you’ll have to do some work to get it going again.
Inside, it’s basic but has everything you need. I’m not sure why the seats are mismatched, nor do I know which one is original. Apart from that, it looks all right inside, just dirty from sitting. I can tell you that I’ve seen a Reliant Robin in person before, and they are tiny. Don’t expect a lot of room inside.
The body looks OK, but it’s fiberglass – you’d have to crawl under and look at the steel frame to make sure it isn’t rusty. And of course, after sitting, all the rubber parts will need replacing, including the tires. The good news is you only have to buy three of them.
I know there’s a huge price disparity between these two, but I’m taking into account that you’d have to have the Reliant shipped over to the US. It’s certainly old enough, and you aren’t likely to see another one anywhere. Either way, you’ll end up spending hours scouring eBay for parts, and searching old posts in owners’ forums for technical advice. Which one are you more willing to put the effort into?
Going with Rockin’ Robin today because, you know, all the little birdies on Jaybird Street …
R for Ridiculous. Renault is cobbled together from couple different cars. Wiring nightmare under the hood. Parts not available here. You’re gonna need some. Uh, make that a lot. I’d call it a “parts car”. The Robin…well it’s not in this country…but sure sign of spring right? A Robin. Another parts nightmare. How handy are you? Can you make an MG wiper motor work? Just an example, not saying it’s needed! Is Lucas in the house? Would you raise your hand? Lol How much to ship it here? Just buy your neighbors old Falcon. But I will say a fun read for the Rs. Keep it up!
“Today we’re taking a look at two cars that start with the letter R, but, sadly, don’t actually start at all at the moment.”
So if you turn the key they just go “rrrr-rrrr-RRRR-rrrr-rrrrr”?
Robin for me. My daughter has an odd fascination with three wheeled cars. I could probably get it fixed up before she’s 16, including adding castors to each end of the front bumper.
Well, I didn’t think it was possible but there’s finally an opponent that makes me want to vote French.
You only think that because you haven’t had to fix the French car yet.
Something half-arsed is less annoying to fix than something deliberately awkward.
I’m not right anyways, might as well be on my roof
The Reliant Robin was universally incorrectly referred to in the UK as the “Robin Reliant” – That is annoying enough to make it the last choice
But interestingly, the engine is a descendant of the Coventry Climax engine of huge racing success so is very tunable – but why?
The mistake is only universal amongst the very stupid.
I spent a lot of my childhood in my Grandad’s Reliant Rialto (same lack of wheels). It felt more like a real car than my mum’s 2CV, which is a comparison with little value.
I got roped in to helping sell the Reliant when he got too old to drive. Dealing with that bunch of weirdos put me off ever selling cars to the public again.
The Reliant Robin looks at the Geo Metro and scoffs at its decadence. Four wheels? Well look at Mr. Fancy Pants over here!
I’ll go with the Renault. It looks solid and should be restorable, and I won’t have to worry about being run off the road by Mr. Bean.
I’m a Top Gear presenter wanna be, give me the Robin
Reliant Robin + Hayabusa swap = certain fiery death, but oh, what a ride leading up to that point!!
I’m gonna be Icarus, buy the Robin, spread my wings, and enjoy the view as I fall to my demise.
It doesn’t matter how many front wheels your car has if it’s always doing a wheely.
That’s the spirit!!
Rather roll with a reliable rental than rely on these rough-looking relics.
Funnily enough, I just rewatched the Top Gear episode where they rigged that Reliant Robin to roll so easily … and it made me kind of want one. I’ll have that.
Since the underside of both is a mystery, and the real price to get the Robin into my garage is more than the Renault, it really doesn’t have a chance. But mainly, Renault is interesting and desirable in a way that isn’t dependent on a life based 100% on irony.
Of these two I prefer the Robin, but its inclusion in the TG segment means you’d have to hear some casual car dork yakking at you about Jeremy Clarkson wherever you went, so I would choose the Renault.
Being the miserable, friendless, recluse that I am, this feels like the correct answer.
I currently own two Renaults in the U.S. and getting parts is “not easy”. While I’m sure that parts for the Robin would be an entirely different nightmare, it would also be a different type of fun so I’ll go with that one today.
While Top Gear later copped to Consumer Reports levels of shenangains to get the Reliant to perform so terribly, I still have no desire to risk my life in one. Too many hellcat powered barges wating to literally eat it alive, so Renault it is, I’ll probably have to do somethign annoying like K-Swap it, but I won’t be dead.
One of my all-time favourite skits, and it made me want one so badly.
I just rewatched it this weekend! And it made me want one too.
I’d take that Robin Lemons racing.
I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED
That is the best thing EVAR!!!!
For $640 I can play around with sticking a motorcycle engine in the robin, or at least trying to make it a rocket. $4k! I will not pay that for a French door stop that has been sitting for 30 years and whose engine bay make me queasy just looking at.
Yes, more power is definitely the thing a glorified tricycle needs. Do you have a ‘next of kin’ you’d like notified upon your maiden voyage?
I have had an irrational desire for a Reliant Robin for about two decades now.
4 wheels is the logical choice. But to quote the Cheshire Cat, “We’re all mad here”.
Step 1: Find out if ROBIN 1 vanity plate is available. If so, get it and the car.
Step 2: Use it as a daily driver, and take every opportunity you can to park it next to a red Ferrari.
Step 3: Post pictures on line.
These are both terrible, so I voted for the one that shares a name with my sister. And no, my sister’s name is not “Gordini”.
Reliant is such a terrible name to saddle a child with
Her name is 17, you stick with numbers only when producing that many children.
Renault is an odd choice for a child’s name. Were your parents fans of the brand?
I feel like the appeal of both of these cars is that they are weird. If I am going to buy a weird car, I’m going with weirdest option available which in this case is definitely the Robin.
Had a Renault Alliance, and before a giant Buick pulled out in front of me it ran decently. Was it a good car? No. Was it a car? Yes.
Even after watching Jeremy Clarkson screw around with the Robin on old TopGear, and anticipating the humor value of the Robin, I still can’t do it.
I’ll take four wheels for my car, please.
One of these options allows you to recreate one of the greatest Top Gear segments of all time and the other is a Renault.
Easier to engine swap one than make the other handle properly. Like don’t fall over properly.