The Renault 2,500 kg (or 2T5) and the Renault Galion were

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

/ vans with a 2.5-tonne carrying capacity manufactured by

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

between 1947 and 1957 and then by its subsidiary

Saviem The Société Anonyme de Véhicules Industriels et d'Équipements Mécaniques (), commonly known by the acronym Saviem (), was a French manufacturer of trucks and buses/coaches part of the Renault group, headquartered in Suresnes, Île-de-France ...

between 1957 and 1965.

History

In 1947, Renault launched the Renault 2,500 kg light truck to replace the AHx series. The new vehicle was produced at Renault's main plant in Boulougne-Billancourt. In 1957, the company moved the production of some of its small commercial vehicle range to

's Blainville-sur-Orne plant, which was built on the former site of the Cahen shipyards. They were the Goélette (loading capacity of up to 1.4 tonnes) and the Renault 2 T 5, renamed Galion (keeping loading capacity of up to 2.5 tonnes). The new models continued been marketed as Renault. The Galion and Goélette names were officially introduced in 1959, prior to that they were still sold with the previous 1T4 and 2T5 denominations. In 1965, following various revisions to the Galion design, Saviem introduced the more modern and powerful Saviem Super Galion range, and the Galion was discontinued.

Technical details

By 1961, Saviem was producing between 50 and 60 Galions per day. At the time they were offered with at least two

inline-four A straight-four engine (also referred to as an inline-four engine) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout ( ...

engines: the 3-litre diesel 4 192 supplied by Perkins, with a maximum power output of at 2,400 rpm and a 2-litre

petrol Gasoline (North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formul ...

Renault unit with a maximum power output of at 3,300 rpm. The truck had a rear-wheel drive transmission through a

universal joint A universal joint (also called a universal coupling or U-joint) is a joint or coupling connecting rigid shafts whose axes are inclined to each other. It is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges ...

, coupled to a 4-speed manual gearbox. The Galion mounted various petrol engines. Some versions used the 668-8 with a maximum power output of at 3,300 rpm and a torque of at 2,000. Other Galion versions used the 2.1-litre 671-2 Étendard. The 671-2 had a power output of at 3,300 rpm and a torque of at 2,000 rpm. At the 1962 Paris Motor Show, Renault announced a new diesel engine for the Galion, replacing the Perkins unit. The new engine, called 580, was a 2.72-litre four-cylinder unit and had a power output of at 2,900 rpm and a torque of . The truck had a single-disc manually operated clutch. The suspension was made of leaf springs on both axles, with hydraulic dampers. The steering was a

recirculating ball Recirculating ball, also known as recirculating ball and nut or worm and sector, is a steering mechanism commonly found in older automobiles, off-road vehicles, and some trucks. Most newer cars use the more economical rack and pinion steering in ...

type.

Variants and dimensions

By 1958, the bus version of the Galion had a length of , a width of and a height of . The R2167 rigid truck version dimensions were , and . For the R2167 flatbed they were , and . For the R2168 with extended flatbed, they were , and .

Codenames

The petrol versions of both the previous Renault 2T5 and the Renault Galion were codenamed R2160, R2161, R2162, R2163, R2164, R2165, R2166, R2167, R2168 and R2169; the diesel R4166, R4168, R4240, R4242, R4243, R4244, R4245, R4246 and R4247.

References

{{Saviem Saviem Galion Vehicles introduced in 1947 Cab over vehicles