On its introduction in June 1972, the Australian Renault 12GL was the most luxurious Renault 12 in the world, with its tachometer, perforated vinyl seats, protector strips and red line Dunlop radial tyres.
It also featured unique to Australia badges, based on the Renault Competition logo of the time, on the front mudguards, boot lid, timber gear knob, and steering wheel boss. However the Australian graphic designers at Whelan Industries failed to grasp the significance of the original design. The badge on the left hand side having the correct French Tricolour (bleu – blanc – rouge) logo, whilst the badge on the right hand side and on the steering wheel boss was reversed to rouge – blanc – bleu.
By 1973 when the new Vasarely designed Renault logo was introduced, the Aussie toolmakers went one step further. Reversing the new diamond shaped logo for all the new tricolour badges, whilst retaining the reversed tricolour on the right hand side.
Those 1972 Renault Australia QA inspectors obviously spent a bit longer behind the steering wheel of the old 1972 model though. For the 1973 12GL steering wheel boss tricolour was in the correct order, just the new Vasarely logo was reversed.
I have a '74 R12 which I purchased 12 months ago (and featured on a post in AussieFrogs by Gavclassic back in July 2001).
Hi Simon, would you have in your files a list of Renault dealers Aussie wide from the sixes and seventies?
Assembled by Berk's is probably not a tag line that would be currently be used.....
Attached is a pic of the Renault assembly line at Belmore from 1951.
You don't have the chassis/oval plate numbers they used by any chance?