VIN numbers and list of the Last 20 Built for UK

[Duncan]

No inferno 356..

Last one off the boat..

:rofl: some way off being true!

 

[AcidV6]

WV06 GBX

 

[Duncan]

WV06 GBX

It left the factory April 05. Not even in the last 50.

 

[GPH]

Thanks Graeme. Does that mean that the V6 was effectively unavailable for a few weeks / months, or was there enough stock of Phase 1 cars to 'fill the gap' whilst Phase 2 production got under way? More generally, once the die-hard Renault enthusiasts had their cars, how hard was the Vee to sell, especially towards the end of production of both phases?

There was a year gap between the two on sale but people knew the ph 2 was coming as it was shown Spring 2003 , Press tests in the Autumn/winter and deliveries in 2004. That allowed the ph2 to be thoroughly re-engineered and production transferred. I would guess at least two thirds of total production were probably sold from the Press coverage which we spun out over a couple of years with LHD drives, then RHD drives, then Car of the Year tests then Group tests etc, then long term test cars (EVO and Autocar) then the i.d. colours. After that the main problem for customers was getting a test drive as dealers lose interest after the initial burst of interest (even though Renault offered cars from head office but dealers had to pay a charge which some then tried to pass onto customers etc which turns into a problem) and if you can't drive it you are unlikely to order one.

 

[Duncan]

The last ph1 left the factory May 2002.

Similarly, the last 10 or so ph1s, all went to France.

The start of the production run at Dieppe is not exactly clear to me yet. It looks like May 2003 is when the real bulk of the first production cars starting leaving the factory. Which corresponds with the year sales gap Graeme mentions above.

The LHD press cars were March/April 2003. I have found some pre-production cars that were finished as early as October 2002.

So far I have found a single iceberg silver pre-production ph2, which was built at Dieppe. Be interested to see if any more show up.

 

[MarkK]

A few more things clicking into place now! Thanks chaps. I'll update the timeline I started to write up last years and pop it up again to see if any further information comes to light.