MEET THE OWNER – CHRIS LEE AND HIS RENAULT 12 TS

Chris’s Renault 12TS looks as though it should be gracing the Renault GB brochure for 1977. Those of us of a certain age will remember this splendid publication – an A4 book, not unlike Reader’s Digest or the AA’s Drive. Inside, the pictures and text were so beguiling that almost any model appears nearly as desirable as a Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas. That said, the entry-level versions tended to merit only a footnote, the automotive equivalent of an unwelcome relative at a family gathering.

By contrast, the flagship 12TS was a vehicle for La Regie promoted with justifiable pride. The specification included high-back front seats reminiscent of an Alpine 310 cabin; Chris’s favourite detail. There was also a clock and a rev counter, while the 1.3-litre engine featured a twin-choke Weber carburettor. But, equally importantly, it conveyed a sense of individuality – and even Gallic chic - that set it aside from many of its UK-built competitors.

The original 12 dates from 1969, with the second generation version debuting six years later. In its homeland, it was Renault’s rival to the Citroën GS, the Simca 1100 and the Peugeot 304. Across the Channel, motorists tended to regard the TS as an alternative to the Ford Escort 1300 Ghia Mk 2. . However, to look at MUN 613 R is to be reminded that it was only 1 ½ inches shorter than a Cortina Mk 4 and more than two inches longer than a Morris Marina S2.

Renault ceased French production of the 12 in 1980, although the Romanian-built Dacia 1310 lasted until as recently as 2004. The 15th of September 1973 edition of Motor observed ‘More have been sold in this country than any other foreign car in the past few years. By the 1990s, they were fast vanishing from the UK’s roads, and just seven examples of the TS are believed to remain in use.

Today, the Lee Renault can induce industrial levels of nostalgia for those of us of a certain age. The instruments are more conventional than on the Mk. I but the fascia still retains its faintly illogical switchgear layout. The upholstery is almost decadently plush, while the 12 profile is unmistakable. Chris finds his TS comfortable to drive but notes ‘it has body roll and understeers as the engine is ahead of the front wheels’.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Chris’s Renault is how it conveys the lost world of the recent past. Forty-five years ago, such a TS would have been a not uncommon sight in an upmarket housing estate; you can imagine Anne Fourmile of George and Mildred driving one. This Thames TV Drive In report shows how owning a foreign car would almost certainly have caused alarm and consternation in 1970s suburbia. N.B. The footage also contains a random Womble.

With Thanks To: Chris Lee

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