“People look at it more than a Ferrari”: Eric tells the story of his blue Renault 16 TX

Road map reader, retractable seat belt , electric window regulator, windscreen washer, rear window wiper , electromagnetic door lock, iodine headlights: these are all the avant-garde features that Renault showcased in a 1973 advertisement. "If the Renault 16 TX offers you so much standard equipment, it's so that you can take full advantage of its driving qualities and its 5 speeds. At Renault, this is how we design a motorway , " the brand declared in a spot that definitely belongs to another era.

For Eric, this advertisement is a memory of his childhood, of an afternoon at the cinema where the 12-year-old watched Diamonds Are Forever, the iconic James Bond film, played again by Sean Connery . The memory remains precise: "They were starting to show it in Montpellier at the Odéon cinema, which became a nightclub in the 80s." This advertisement, "it makes me shiver! For the time, it was a luxury car," he exaggerates.

It must be recognized that the birth of Renault 16 marks an important step in the history of the diamond-shaped company. The aim was to offer a demanding clientele a high-end car that stood out from the competition. " The Renault 16 , the first hatchback after the 4L. Big, beautiful car!" enthuses Eric. The TX, the high-end version produced between 1973 and 1980, was particularly innovative: "There was the map reader, the lighting so that the front passenger could read the map - and you'll see them on the advert -" , says the enthusiast.

For Eric, the R16 TX was first and foremost a missed opportunity. At 18, with his license in hand, his father's colleague sold a green R16 TS with almond-shaped taillights, the young adult's dream, so intimate that his father didn't know it. The opportunity passed him by, he wouldn't know it until it was too late. He finally bought a 204 coupé: it would be his first car. Missed opportunities were a source of rumination, and it wasn't until 2007 that Eric finally made his dream come true. "I said to myself: I have to find an R16! At the time, there wasn't Le Bon Coin. It was on Paru Vendu , there was an ad in a small town above Mâcon, a Peugeot agent who was offering the car."

The negotiation was laborious: "I'll call him... Listen, it took a month to negotiate! The unmotivated seller was hesitant about this sale, he was never available. The advert mentioned a price of 5000 euros. Finally, I outbid him, we did business with 500 euros more: 5500." The meeting was arranged halfway between Macon and Montpellier: in Valence .

The acquisition is exceptional, "it had 68,000 km from the factory, in great condition, original paint, gleaming chrome..." , explaining why the TXs are so sought after: "they have the particularity of having chrome wing contours. From 1973 to 1976, they kept the maximum of flourishes. The headliner is black." The 1976 model year will mark the end of an era, and the R16 TX recovers an off-white headliner like all the cars.

Since I bought it, the car has required a lot of care: "I changed the starter, the distributor, the double-barrel carburetor with automatic starter. The master cylinder too, a whole list, but be careful, it was done over years..." Today, when Eric takes out his Renault 16, the effect is guaranteed: "When I go out into the street, people turn around with sympathy, even more than if I had a Ferrari ! What I like when I take it out is that people are happy!" A lady from the same generation even nearly fell over when she saw the model in the street... "she hadn't seen anything like it for 45 years, and she was disconcerted and moved by it."

Today, the R16 TX is a collector's car and is worth between 15,000 and 22,000 euros at resale, according to Eric's estimates (for vehicles already restored and in perfect condition). The rarity of these models is partly explained by their fragility in the face of corrosion: "The problem is finding a healthy car because they are eaten away from the inside. All those that have driven on salted roads," for example.

But don't talk to Eric about parting with his R16: "It's nice to see its value rise, but if I were given 40,000 euros for it, I wouldn't sell it. Maybe 100,000 euros, I'd hesitate..." Because beyond the market value, this R16 tells the story of the fulfillment of a childhood dream.