#417 PILEN – RENAULT 12-S (1972)

This toy car was designed in August 1972, and manufactured from that moment on. The real car was the familiar car by Renault from 1969 to around 1980, so it was a car you could usually see on the Spanish roads during the 70s. That’s probably why Pilen decided to make and release it as a toy.

Pilen always took much care in its reproductions, and this car is a toy. It has practicable doors, a decent interior and some chromed plastic details (bumpers, fuel compartment interior) and also metallic hubcaps that perfectly imitate those of the real model. To increase realism, rear lights were painted red, and the license plates were also decorated with a sticker “P-503” (reference number of the toy).

In the base it is marked Auto Pilen, which is the name of the die-cast model line by Pilen. You can find more information about Pilen in previous entries dealing with this brand.

Another version was available with the reference number 504 in chromed silver. It was usual for Pilen to release some models in some colour as reference X and in chromed silver as reference X+1. The Renault 12-S was no exception.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: RENAULT 12-S (Ref. 503)
• Scale: 1:43
• Year: 1972
• Company: Pilen (Spain)
• Size: approx. 10 cm