Description
As much as we love million pound supercars here, we are also partial to crazy rare seventies French Coupes! This is one of those once in a lifetime cars that simply couldnt be replicated, it is a 1976 Renault 15 GTL Coupe, finished in Silver with Grey Velour Interior, Automatic Gearbox, having had only two owners from new and covered only 12k Miles in total!
The Renault 15 is a mid size coupé designed and built by French automaker Renault between July 1971 and August 1979. It was effectively a coupé version of the Renault 12. The Renault 15 was presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1971. 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 and 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 1, 289 cc Renault 15 TL in November 1972, shortly after the model's UK debut. The top speed of 94 mph and the 0-60 mph 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 31. 8 mpg. The manufacturers' recommended retail price of £1, 370 was slightly lower than the UK sticker price on a comparable Vauxhall Firenza Sport and Fiat 128 Coupé 1300, Ford's Capri 1300L at £1, 123 massively undercut comparable cars in the UK at the time. The test concluded by pointing out that for buyers needing more power, more powerful Renault 15 and 17 variants were available, and that power apart, the 15 TL provided "a combination of attractive styling and careful development, excellent comfort and a high level of equipment and safety".
We have never seen another on sale in the UK, let alone with two owners from new, the first owner, a Mrs. Mary Torrens, bought the car from Ulster Garage, the Main Renault Dealer, in Northern Ireland on May 25th 1976 and she kept the car for 15 years, selling it to a Mr. Ivan Wilson, a Saab Dealer in Londonderry in 1991. Due to the mileage and rarity he kept it in his personal collection for a further 30 years until just recently. So she is offered for sale for the first time in many years! The car drives well, will come with a new MOT, but has a few minor cosmetic blemishes on the body, and the velour interior has a couple of patches needing repair, all within keeping with the age of the car. She will respond well to a little gentle tidying and will be ready to show this summer!
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