Dacia · 1969–1984
Dacia 1300
The Dacia 1300 (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdatʃi.a] ) is a medium-sized family car based on the Renault 12 that was built during the Cold War by Romanian auto maker Dacia. The "1300" stands for the engine displacement. The first Dacia 1300 left the assembly line on 23 August 1969. On 21 July 2004, the last Dacia 1310 (sedan version), number 1 959 730, rolled out the gates of the Mioveni production facility, just one month before its 35th anniversary.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Predecessor: Renault 8 · Successor: Dacia Nova
All Dacia 1300 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
History
=== Dacia 1300 === The Romanian government of the 1960s had decided to acquire the tooling and basic design of a western car to decrease Romania's reliance on imported consumer goods. Terms stated that the vehicle had to be inexpensive, large enough for a family, and powered by an engine displacing not more than 1.3 litres. Offers came from Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Austin, DKW, Peugeot among others, but the winner was the Renault 12. The choice of a French design was not only technical but also political; Romania was attempting to cultivate economic relationships with Western Europe, particularly France, and to demonstrate its economic capabilities. Part of the resulting vehicles were sold to consumers in the Eastern Bloc, and in export markets such as South America, Canada, China, and North Korea, but also Great Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands. When automobile production started at the Mioveni factory, the Renault 12 was still a prototype; for this reason, Renault offered CKD kits and tooling for the older Renault 8 Major as a temporary surrogate. This resulted in the Dacia 1100, which was built for a few years until the 1300 would arrive. Both the R12 and its licensed copy were launched in 1969, although the 1300 was launched 9 days before the R12, on the 23 August parade. During the first few years of production, the plant assembled CKD kits imported from France. At the time of its launch, the 1300 was a modern car offering good comfort, safety, good performance and reliability, and even more so by Eastern standards of the time, set by 1960s and 70s Eastern Bloc vehicles. The 1300 was subject to multiple facelifts in an effort to maintain consumers' interest in the model, but the basic design was kept for its entire 35-year lifespan. Although performance and fuel cons
Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.
Specifications
- name
- Dacia 1300/1310
- Manufacturer
- Dacia
- Production
- August 1969–1984
- Assembly
- Romania: Mioveni
- Class
- Mid-size family car
- Body style
- 4-door saloon, 5-door estate
- Related
- Renault 12
- Layout
- Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
- Engine
- Petrol:, 1.3 L I4
- Transmission
- 4-speed manual, 5-speed manual
- Wheelbase
- 2441 mm (saloon & estate), 2238 mm (coupé)
- Length
- 4340 mm (1300-saloon), 4348 mm (1310-saloon), 4404 mm (estate), 4148 mm (coupé)
- Width
- 1636 mm
- Height
- 1435 mm (1300-saloon), 1355 mm (1310-saloon), 1455 mm (estate), 1250 mm (coupé)
- Kerb weight
- 930 kg (1300-sedan), 960 kg (1310-sedan), 980 kg (estate), 900 kg (coupé)
- Successor
- Dacia 1310
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1156864CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacia_1300CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1370373911 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dacia_1300.JPGCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: dacia24.de · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.