VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Renault Preseries

The Renault 4CV Part 4: Special Bodied Cars

By

R1064 “usines” with its streamlined body before the 1953 24 Heures du Mans © Renault Communication

Story by John Waterhouse*

The new Renault 4CV was soon used as the basis for what the author refers to here as “specials”, mostly lightweight coupés of one type or another, which began to appear by the late-1940s and early 1950s.

These “specials” ranged from an unknown number of both professionally-built cars that were made in very small numbers and home-made cars that are not the subject of this article. A few coupés were made by professional organizations in numbers that ranged from very few (like the V-P coupes discussed below) to many hundreds, like the Autobleu and Brissoneaux et Lotz coupés. Some of these cars were extremely stylish and those few that were made commercially were far more expensive than the standard saloons.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

The Renault 4CV Part 3: The Competition Cars

By

Le Mans 1952 – the factory R1063 group just before the start. © Renault Communication

Story by John Waterhouse*

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

After the new Renault 4CV was exhibited at the October, 1947 Paris Motor show, the car went into series production. The new model was soon involved in competition, the first recorded example being the July 1948 “Rallye Internationale des Alpes” . After this, various private and factory (“usines”) entries followed in a range of events, initially using the 760 cc R1060 model, competing in the 751 to 1,100 cc class.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

The Renault 4CV Part 2: 14 years of production

By

The author’s late-1950 R1062 car, with wind-up front windows. The characteristic spider wheels were discontinued in 1957.

Story by John Waterhouse
Author photos unless otherwise noted

Read Part 1

Background

After being exhibited at the October, 1947 Paris Motor Show, production of the Renault 4CV gradually increased from 503 cars for sale that year to a peak of 138,000 in 1955. The grand total was 1,089,918 by the time production stopped in 1961.

The Renault 4CV was the first model in France to exceed a production total of one million, quite enough to put it in the automotive history books. The outcome was more noteworthy as it was a complete change for Renault, who pinned the very survival of the Regie to the success of a small, unorthodox car that was unlike anything they had built before.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

The Renault 4CV Part 1: First of a Million

By

Renault’s first 1942 prototype (destroyed when the factory was bombed by the allies). ©Renault Communication

Story by John Waterhouse*

The Renault 4CV was a child of World War II. The German army had occupied northern France, including the Renault works at Billancourt on the outskirts of Paris and production continued, under strong pressure to provide vehicles for Germany’s war efforts. [Read more…] about The Renault 4CV Part 1: First of a Million

MENU