See also: Frigate
The Renault Frégate was presented to the press with the Palais of Chaillot to Paris on November 30th 1950 by Pierre Lefaucheux, Administrateur general of the Control Renault, before being officially launched to the Motor Show 1951.
It was about a Berline Tricorps with Moteur before and transmission with the aft wheels which had as an ambition to compete with the Citroen Traction Before, on the market since about fifteen years.
Conceived hastily after the abandonment of project 108 with driving back with the end of the year 1949, the Frigate was going unfortunately to trail many defects throughout its career. In spite of elegant and fluid lines, the Frigate was to be satisfied with an engine with 4 cylinders in line with Long race (85 X 88 mm) of a Cylindrée of 1 996 cm ³ developing only one power of 60 ch, for an announced weight of 1 230 kg.
The Habitacle was, on the other hand, very vast, with two benches being able to accommodate six people (thanks to the shifting of speed at the wheel) and a flat and bulky trunk.
The Châssis laid out of excellent a Handling thanks to its four independent Roues and of excellent a Freinage thanks to the Bendix brakes with Hydraulic control. Only the direction, enough door, and the Gear box with the rather hard handling came to blacken the table.
The Frigate evolved/moved rather shortly after its launching and 1956, the Engineer S from Renault especially seeking to correct the defects of youth whose the car because of its anticipated launching suffered. In 1956, the Frigate accepted new the Moteur square “Standard” (88 X 88 mm) of 2 141 cm ³, delivering 77 ch. Cette even year, Renault launched a version luxates called Great bulwark , as well as a station-wagon of the name of Domaine. A news Gear box entirely Synchronisée made its appearance in 1957 before the presentation of the version Transfluide with automatic box in 1958. This automatic box was a Torque converter having the positions City-Road, Montagne and Exceptional.
Let us note finally that another version station-wagon of the frigate, the Manoir equipped with this transmission appeared in 1959, but did not make failure. It was not indeed marketed for only eighteen months.
Despite everything these improvements and a reliability finally present, the sales of the high-end of Renault were not with the height of waitings, especially from the exit of DS 19 of Citroen, of design much more effective. The production of the Frigate ceased in April 1960, after approximately 180 000 specimens.
Anecdote
The president of Renault, Pierre Lefaucheux, committed suicide at the wheel out of a Frigate on February 11th, 1955, killed by his bag, while skidding on a sheet of ice.
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