The C-type is a water-cooled design, with a wet linered cast iron block with five main bearings and a single, chain-driven cam-in-block mounted high on the side that drives two overhead valves per cylinder in an aluminum cylinder head via short pushrods and rocker arms.

When production started in 1962, the engine was called the "Sierra", but was soon renamed the "Cléon-Fonte", taking its name from the new Renault factory where it was first manufactured.

Cars fitted with the engine range from the Floride/Caravelle through the first generation Twingo of 1993, thirty years after this power unit was presented to the press at Geneva.

[1] Technical adaptations enabled the production of this engine in many displacements in single and dual carburettor forms, later with fuel injection, with or without turbo.

The Cléon-Fonte was coupled initially to four-speed manual transmissions, and then later five speed and automatic gearboxes according to its applications and the natural progress of the automotive industry.

It was fitted in one form or another to an impressive list of Renault models, in rear-, mid- or front-engined (longitudinal or transverse) configurations, including: Floride/Caravelle, Alpine A110, R4, R5 (Le Car in the USA), R6, R7 (Siete), R8/R10, R9/R11 (Alliance/Encore in USA), R12, R15, R18, R19, R21 (Export), Estafette, Traffic 1, Express (Rapid / Extra), Fuego, Twingo, Clio 1, not to mention the Renault R12 based Dacia 1300/1310 range produced from 1969 to 2004.

Dacia continues to manufacture components of the Cléon-Fonte engine for the purposes of service in Romania and abroad.

From the first test, it showed more torque and considerably more power than the 845 cc (0.8 L) "Billancourt", whose design dated back to 1944.

The engine made its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show in the new 1962 Renault Floride S, replacing the 845 cc (0.8 L) 40 PS (29 kW; 39 hp) Dauphine Gordini.

The 956 cc (1.0 L) capacity, which delivered a dozen additional horsepower, (51 PS (38 kW; 50 hp) SAE), a few months later was seen in the new R8 sedan.

For racing and motorsport versions, Amédée Gordini was responsible for designing a hemispherical combustion chambered head allowing 85–90 PS (63–66 kW; 84–89 hp); for a 1000 cc version as opposed to 70 PS (51 kW; 69 hp) for the previous 700 cc Gordini engine.

At the end of 1966, to power the new R8 Gordini 1300, it received a new block with a specific lateral offset crankshaft, this time 1,255 cc (1.3 L) in capacity and producing 88 PS (65 kW; 87 hp) DIN.

In this time period, Renault chose small saloon cars to represent the company in automobile racing.

The new R18, which succeeded the R12, received the 1,397 cc (1.4 L) version of this engine, with a standard cylinder head, and several options for power specifications.

For cost concerns it was fitted with a Solex carburetor, albeit a special unit made from magnesium in order to withstand the high heat from the turbocharger.

Mounted in a mid-engined position for the first time, this 1397cc unit was coupled to the transmission of the R30 TX and drove the rear wheels.

Renault was about to stop production of this engine when the Twingo required a compact unit, marking its return to manufacture, this time bored out to 1.2 L (1,239 cc).

Ford do Brasil acquired manufacturing rights for the Cléon-Fonte engine when they took over Willys' Brazilian operation in the late 1960s.

The engine was part of the Renault-based "Projeto M" (Project M) joint venture between Willys do Brasil and Renault, which came to market as the Ford Corcel in 1968.

[7] VW also adapted the AE engine to their own Volkswagen Gol and its derivative models, initially offered the AE-1600 and then later the AE-1000.