RENAULT

Renault 20 Turbo 4×4: the model that made history by winning the toughest rally in the world

Looking at the Renault 20, the heir to a long line of top-of-the-range cars from the diamond-shaped brand, but… relatively unknown, it would be hard to see it as a potential winner of the Dakar Rally.

But that is precisely what happened in the 1982 edition of the Dakar Rally, where a Renault 20 Turbo 4×4 won the toughest rally in the world, the final “moment of glory” for a model that ended up having a rather discreet commercial career.

How did a comfortable saloon like the Renault 20 end up in the Dakar? Somewhat surprisingly, it was Renault itself that was the main instigator of the project.

We have to go back a few years in the history of the Dakar Rally to understand why, and perhaps it is not so surprising to find another Renault involved.

In the 1979 and 1980 editions of the Dakar Rally, one of the stars of the event was the Renault 4L Sinpar, which came in 5th place in 1979 and an incredible 3rd place in 1980 — in the latter, the 4L had all-wheel drive.

The 4L Sinpar was created by brothers Claude and Bernard Marreau and the results they achieved aroused Renault's interest. This led the French brand to want to participate more seriously in the rally, and so it issued a challenge to the Marreau brothers: Can you do the same with our top-of-the-range Renault 20?

The choice of the larger Renault 20 was due to the brand's desire to participate with one of its most recent models — the 4L had been launched in the 1960s, the R20 in 1976 — and ended up opting for its top-of-the-range model at the time, leaving aside the even more recent Renault 18 (1978).

To "sweeten" the proposal to the Marreau brothers, Renault gave them the body of a Renault 20 and gave them "carte blanche" to transform it as they saw fit to withstand the most demanding rally in the world.

A "cut and sew" job... As is obvious, the Renault 20 Turbo that the Marreau brothers ended up racing in the Dakar was very different from the one that could be bought at the brand's dealerships.

The ground clearance increased, the protections and reinforcements on the bodywork proliferated and, as expected, the front-wheel drive gave way to an all-wheel drive system. But there was more.

The independent rear axle was replaced by the Renault Trafic's more robust rigid axle — it would also use the van's 14" wheels and wider tires — and to have all the power it needed, it "borrowed" the engine from the Renault 18 Turbo, its "little brother" — the Renault 20 did not have turbocharged gasoline engines.

In the 18 Turbo, originally launched in 1980, the 1.6-liter four-cylinder produced 110 hp, but in this "Dakar-proof" Renault 20, power increased to 135 hp.

To better cope with the hardships of the Dakar, not even the exhaust system was spared from the transformation. Instead of passing underneath the 20 Turbo — as is usual — it came out through the hood and went up the A-pillar to the roof, resembling a snorkel that, curiously, the Renault 20 Turbo did not have.

The reasons for this change are unknown, but it is likely that the Marreau brothers decided to move the exhaust to the roof to protect it from possible impacts or to “make room” for the all-wheel drive system.

In place of the rear seats, there were now two spare tires and a 200-liter (!) fuel tank.

To keep the weight at a reasonable level — benefiting performance and consumption —, the Marreau brothers replaced several body panels of the Renault 20 Turbo 4×4 with new ones in aluminum (hood, front fenders and exterior door panels), and the side windows were now made of plexiglass.

A timid debut… and a victorious exit...Their first participation in the Dakar Rally took place in 1981 and… it did not go well at all. The Marreau brothers had to give up after having crashed several times, with the mechanics of their Renault 20, equipped with a turbo engine and all-wheel drive, failing to survive.

It was also a consequence of the short time they had to test the new machine — after all, they only finished it a month before the race. Despite their withdrawal, the winning potential of their Renault 20 Turbo 4×4 was palpable — they even led the rally for a while. They would return the following year to the Dakar Rally, in 1982, and this time, to the surprise of many, they achieved their first victory in the Dakar Rally, beating the Renault 20 Turbo 4×4 to models such as the official Mercedes-Benz of Jacky Ickx and Jaussaud or the Lada Niva of Briavoine and Deliaire. In 1983, the Renault 20 Turbo did not return to the Dakar to “defend the title”, but the connection between the Marreau brothers and Renault remained, but this time at the controls of a Renault 18 Break 4×4 — the model they used in the 1983, 1984 and 1985 editions.

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