From the outset, the Renault Safrane was designed to be able to compete with the German establishment. The expertise of Irmscher was even called upon.
The leather interior of the Safrane Initiale was also fitted at the Irmscher factory.
Pictures: Renault & Irmscher
Soon after the launch of the Renault Safrane in 1992, the arrival of a top-of-the-range version, the Baccara, was announced. This was to follow in the footsteps of the Renault 25 Baccara. Renault wanted to add solid German quality to its new saloon. And Irmscher could deliver. The result was a seemingly complicated way of assembling the new Baccara.
In Sandouville, Renault built a Safrane 3.0 V6 RXE automatic transmission, which was then transported to Remshalden near Stuttgart. Irmscher's capacity allowed it to convert 10 to 15 Safranes a day, a process that was largely done by hand. The German company had the knowledge of top-of-the-range cars and the product quality that went with them.
Safrane 3.0 V6 Baccara.
A team of about thirty people worked on the conversion, which for the Safrane Baccara mainly involved the interior. The seats and backrests, the door panels, the underside of the dashboard and the centre console were all removed. These parts were then upholstered with high quality leather, including the lower edges of the seats and the covers of the gear lever and handbrake.
Beautifully supple leather and burr walnut.
This was followed by a meticulous check of the stitching and assembly. Next came the wood trim: plastic on the RXE, burr walnut on the Baccara. The existing strips on the doors and dashboard were replaced with this fine material, while the centre console on and around the gearshift and the audio system flap were lavishly trimmed with walnut wood grain. All of these panels in one car came from the same piece of wood, so they fit together perfectly.
With the interior finished, it was time for the exterior, where the wheels and grille were changed and the rear spoiler fitted.
The various stages of converting the interior of a Renault Safrane RXE into a Baccara. Most of the work seems to have been done by hand.
This was followed by a road and vibration test before the Safrane Baccara was transported to the delivery centre in Flins after a three-week stay at Irmscher.
The agreement with Irmscher remained in force until the end of Safrane production. This meant that not only the Baccara, but all Initiale de Paris versions in Germany were fitted with a high quality interior. And, of course, the Safrane Biturbo. Irmscher was supplied with a Safrane 3.0 V6 RXE Quadra with manual gearbox. If the customer had ordered an RXE version, no changes were made to the interior. But the exterior did. The biturbo was fitted with 17-inch alloy wheels and completely different bumpers. The brakes on the front axle were also generously dimensioned, and the car received a different exhaust system and electronically controlled, performance-tuned shock absorbers. A long list of tasks for Irmscher.
That was not all. The engine had to be removed to be tuned and fitted with two turbos at Hartge. After this technical operation, Irmscher rebuilt the engine in the car and a quality control was carried out before the car was accepted for the return trip to Flins. ‹›