CAR OF THE YEAR TOP 50

No. 17: Renault 9

Cars

| 24-10-2021

Robert Opron; a big name in the world of car design, responsible for beautiful and idiosyncratic designs such as that of the Citroëns SM, GS and CX and the Renault Fuego. For Renault's new "4 meter model", however, the assignment in the early 1980s was to appeal to the general public and above all not to make anything too idiosyncratic, resulting in the somewhat boring but nevertheless also slightly elegant Renault 9. Also technically that wasn't really an innovative car, but all in all it was a convincing whole and sufficient to snatch the title Car of the Year 1982 away right from under the nose of the Opel Ascona. The 9, a four-door sedan, was given a five-door hatchback sibling, the 11. In Reanult's unfathomable numbering, the 9 and 11 were the successors of the 14 and the predecessors of the 19. In the United States, the 9 was sold as Alliance, where the model was named Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1983. Le Neuf was also well received by the buying public. To this day, the 9+11 duo is one of the best-selling cars ever in France.