Renault 12 Overview: Generations, Specs and Which Version to Buy
Renault 12 specs at a glance: a front-wheel-drive sedan built from 1969 to 1980 with 50–113 hp, covering its single generation and the versions worth buying.
The Renault 12 is a front-wheel-drive sedan produced from 1969 to 1980, with outputs ranging from 50 to 113 hp across four manual-only modifications. If you are looking up renault 12 specs, the short version is: one generation, one body style, simple mechanicals — a car that suits classic-car enthusiasts who want an affordable, easy-to-service European sedan from the 1970s.
Renault 12 generations
1 generation (1969–1980)
The first and only generation of the Renault 12 ran from 1969 to 1980 and was offered as a sedan. All four modifications came with a manual gearbox and front-wheel drive, with power spanning 50 to 113 hp. Two versions stand out in the range. The Renault 12 1.3 MT (1 generation) is the mass-market core of the lineup: a 1280 cc engine producing 60 hp, paired with a manual transmission and front-wheel drive. At the top sits the Renault 12 1.6 MT (1 generation), which uses a larger 1565 cc engine to deliver 113 hp — nearly double the output of the 1.3-litre car and the most powerful Renault 12 in the data.
The spread between the base 50 hp versions and the 113 hp flagship is unusually wide for a single-generation sedan of this era, so the driving character depends heavily on which engine sits under the hood. The gearbox and drivetrain choice, however, never varies: every Renault 12 is a manual with front-wheel drive, which keeps the mechanical layout consistent across the whole 1969–1980 production run.
Which Renault 12 to buy
- 1.3 MT (60 hp) (1 generation): the mass-market version with a 1280 cc engine and 60 hp — the configuration most Renault 12s were built in, which makes it the most representative choice.
- 1.6 MT (1 generation): the most powerful version at 113 hp from a 1565 cc engine — the pick if you want the strongest performance the model ever offered.
Buying used means buying a car that is at minimum over four decades old, since production ended in 1980. The upside of the Renault 12's single-generation, manual-only, front-wheel-drive lineup is that there are few configuration surprises: condition and completeness of a specific car matter far more than hunting for a particular drivetrain combination, because there was only ever one.