Javillac
Presented in 1962 with the new Renault 8 and Florida S, the four-cylinder engine of the diamond brand called “Cleon Fonte", in honor of the factory where it was initially produced, had a long life and was mounted on countless vehicles. People often refer to this engine as the Sierra engine, a name that is more common in Spain.
At FASA-Renault these engines made their debut in 1965, at which time The aforementioned Renault 8 begins production in Valladolid. From that moment, and as happened in the rest of the markets in which Renault sold its cars, Cars equipped with the Sierra block would enjoy great popularity, managing to be produced, in the case of Spain, until well into the nineties with models such as the Twingo or the Express.
ENGINE 1.037: A MECHANIC BORN FOR TAX REASONS
During the 1960s, the newborn Sierra engine generally shared its displacements in all the countries in which it was marketed. One of the most common variants at that time was the 1.108 cubic centimeter block, common to the French range and which in Spain came to be mounted on the Renault 10 and Alpine A110.
But like all of Europe at that time, Spain had its own tax laws in reference to the power and displacement of cars. Any car that falls below the threshold of 1.040 cubic centimeters and 9 fiscal HP would be exempt from paying the luxury tax., as vehicles with greater displacement and power were considered superfluous luxuries that were obliged to pay a rate similar to today's VAT.
To avoid the added expense for buyers when purchasing a new vehicle, some manufacturers developed Spanish versions with less engine, as was the case of the SIMCA 900, access range to the SIMCA 1000 family. For its part FASA-Renault would develop a specific engine for this market of 1.037 cubic centimeters that was located between blocks 956 and 1.108., and that it would be ready by the beginning of the seventies.
THE TRILOGY OF 1.037: 5, 6 AND 7
When the versatile Renault 6 It was presented in France in 1968, the first engine it was equipped with was the old block Ventoux, which developed quite little power at that time, for which it was criticized when it was released to the market. For this reason When "Don Renault 6" debuted in Spain the following year, it was decided to launch it directly with the Sierra engine of 956 cubic centimeters and 41 HP.
In France the R6 received a version with the 1.108 cubic centimeter engine, called Renault 6 TL, starting in 1971. In Spain, equipping a car in this segment and category with that block did not make sense due to the aforementioned luxury tax, hence FASA ends up developing a block of 1.037 cubic centimeters and 50 HP of power for the Spanish market, which the R6 TL would equip since the mid-seventies.
Designed to replace the veteran R8, FASA-Renault would launch in 1974 its first and only model manufactured entirely in Spain, the Renault Siete, with which the 1.037 engine would debut, and a model that from 1978 would be called Renault 7. This variant four doors and three volumes developed by michel boue, designer of the R5, It was one of the most interesting sedans for buyers at the time, since The Seven was the only front-engined, domestically produced car that was exempt from the luxury tax. This also prevented the owner from having to file an income tax return, although shortly after the launch of Siete this law would change, since it became generalized to everyone.
With the arrival of the R-Seven, The R5, which had been manufactured since 1972, managed to diversify its engine offering in 1975, offering the 956 cubic centimeter block in the entry models (950 and TL), and the 1.037 in the GTL finish.. FASA-Renault would continue producing this engine until 1979, since by 1980 the Renault 6 GTL and 7 GTL would be sold with the 1.108 engine, which, despite having a larger displacement, developed 5 less horsepower (45 HP), due to a lower compression ratio, but they gave a little more torque at lower revolutions. As for the R5, from that same year the TL and GTL finishes would also mount the 1.108 engines, leaving behind the 956 and 1.037.
Thus, with the beginning of a new decade, the history of the ephemeral Sierra block of 1.037 cubic centimeters would come to an end. A very peculiar engine, well remembered in Spain for its mechanical robustness and tight consumption that was born out of a fiscal need and that contributed with its grain of sand, even though it was only equipped in three models, to the total of more than twenty million engines Cleon Fonte which Renault produced, making this mechanism, according to some estimates, the most manufactured of European origin in history.
Photographs: Renault, Javier Ramiro
