RENAULT IKA TORINO: A NATIONAL ICON

Some cars perform way beyond their primary function, which is to simply transport their passengers. Within a few years, they become legendary, capturing the imagination and stirring up the emotion of an entire country. Renault IKA Torino is one such car.

 

Developed in the 1950s, Torino is the result of the Argentinian government’s impetus to launch the country’s automotive industry. To bolster its development, Argentina turned first to the United States, and in particular to the carmaker Kaiser, which created its Argentinian subsidiary Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA) in 1956.

 

In 1959, IKA partnered with Renault, which became the company’s minority shareholder. Renault 6 and Renault 12 were henceforth manufactured in Argentina, and an agreement was signed to produce a Dauphine on the Argentinian market.

Nowadays, the Torino is still revered in Argentina, where it is considered a legendary car that forms a part of their national heritage. Renault only imported three units into France, during the 1970s, and only for research purposes. It has been included in the Renault Classic Collection for several decades, and to the brand’s knowledge there is only one of them currently in France.

 

In 2017, after a long dormancy, Renault Classic decided to carry out a dynamic restoration of Torino. In collaboration with a leading Argentine collector, Juan Luis Rawzez, all the missing parts were found. Although airlines refused to carry the shock absorbers, which operate with high-pressure gas, the car has now recovered its original shape.