The Renault 8 (Renault R8 until 1964) and Renault 10 are two rear-engined, rear-wheel drive small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s. The 8 was launched in 1962, and the 10, a more upmarket version of the 8, was launched in 1965. The Renault 8 ceased production and sales in France in 1973. By then the Renault 10 had already been replaced, two years earlier, by the front wheel drive Renault 12. They were produced in Bulgaria until 1970 (see Bulgarrenault), and an adapted version of the Renault 8 continued to be produced in Spain until 1976. In Romania, a version of the 8 was produced under license between 1968 and 1972 as the Dacia 1100. In total 37,546 Dacia 1100s were built. Renault 8 Launch The R8 (model R1130) was released in June 1962 and was based on the Renault Dauphine, with which it shared its basic architecture and its wheelbase. The style, closely following that of the first prototype produced, at unusually short notice, by Philippe Charbonneaux, was fashionably boxy; however, while the Renault 8 was actually narrower than the Dauphine, the manufacturer was able to install thick cushioned front seats that were actually each wider, at , than those fitted in the Dauphine. The 8 was powered by an all new 956 cc Cléon-Fonte engine developing . The R8's engine followed the pioneering example of the recently introduced Renault 4 by incorporating a sealed for life cooling system. A distinctive innovation on the French produced cars was the fitting of four-wheel disc brakes, a first for a saloon car of this size. However, when in 1965 Renault's Spanish affiliate introduced their own version of the Renault 8 for the (then tariff-shielded) Spanish market, it came with drum brakes. The 8 was sold in the United States with an unusual marketing approach that acknowledged that the previous Dauphine had many shortcomings for American owners, and that the 8 was an improvement. While an all new engine was built that was more powerful, and many changes were made, most of the criticism summarized the 8's shortcomings when driving on the recently constructed United States Interstate Highway System as the car was built for French driving conditions which were much more localized. When driving the 8 in city environments, it is nimble and easy to get around crowded conditions. France did not