Ahí va alguna mas con algo de info (en inglés) a usar el google translator.
This beautiful Renault 12 Nordic has just been restored by Jean Gosselin from Québec, Canada. He has an impressive collection of classic Renaults and this one is the latest addition to the stable. He is currently working on restoring a sedan as well. This is the only Nordic model that is known to exist!
The unique Nordic edition was available only in Canada and Scandinavian countries.
In 1978 Renault decided to create a special package for its popular, if now very familiar 12 models. The front-wheel drive cars with thier advanced rack-and-pinion steering would be marketed in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Canada. Since these nations all shared similar climatic conditions the packaging theme was a wise one.
In answering the question, “why?” Renault noted that ice hockey was not the only thing that Scandinavia and Canada had in common. “A rigorous winter climate with deep snow and sub-zero temperatures, the resulting enormous quantities of salt used on the roads and strict regulations governing exhaust pollution, all impose the most sever restrictions on manufacturers of automobiles in both markets.”
The Nordic was given a 1400-cc cast-iron mill with a light-alloy cylinder head. This engine developed 66.5 horsepower and was available only in the Swedish and Canadian models. The floor-mounted four-speed manual transmission was standard. That powertrain combo promised to deliver 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres (42 miles to the Imperial gallon).
Instrument panel of the 1979 Renault 12 is space age in look and extremely functional.
Bodies were given aluminum inner fenders—first developed by Renault for its Finnish market, mud flaps and special Double Rust Inhibition--an anti-corrosion treatment— employed in boxed in areas under the chassis. An electric rear window heater-defroster was made standard equipment. A rear window washer-wiper was given to the station wagon. All Renault 12 Nordics carried the Regie’s two-year/40,000-kilometre warranty that covered the entire car for the first 12 months or 20,000 kilometres and then labour and parts for drivetrain defects the second year.
The Nordic was appointed with a number of unexpected niceties. A centre armrest on sedans and a centre console up front were nice touches. Carpeting throughout the cabin was colour-keyed to coordinate with the exterior. A luggage compartment mat was practical, a cigarette lighter useful, a light in the sedan’s trunk was thoughtful and integrated hollow head rests were smart as well as stylish. Exterior colours were all metallic paint and enhanced with special Nordic pinstripes and decals. Each one leaving the factory boasted Gordini type sport wheels mated to a set of steel-belted radial tires. The sedan sold for $5,465 and the wagon for $5,865, f.o.b. Montreal.
There were few options for the special edition Renault. One was a neat headlamp washer that shot “powerful jets of cleansing liquid” onto the headlights. A three-speed automatic transmission was another. An AM/FM radio, a roof rack for the wagon and a wind deflector rounded out the short list.
Advertising boasted that nearly 25,000 Renault 12s had already been purchased by Canadians. It is not known how many 12s or specially trimmed Nordic 12s were delivered to domestically in 1978 but total domestic Renault sales that calendar year amounted to 6,256 units. Records show that only 654 Renault 12 models were sold throughout this country in calendar year 1979, all of them wearing the Nordic trim. With Renault getting hitched to American Motors, the company moved its head office from Montreal to Brampton, Ontario that year.
Things were winding down for the Renault 12; only 225 units sold in 1980 and in its last year on the market, only 37 Renault 12s found home with Canadians. The Renault 12 was with us for 12 seasons and the Nordic is one of its most interesting variants.
