renault 4 cv

An example of how much car can be squeezed into a small shell.

You have to go all the way back to 1898 to find the start for Renault. It happened in Paris, and the man was Louis Renault. The first car was built in a small shed in his parents' garden outside Paris. As for other start-up car factories, it was important to participate in car races, and Renault won its first victories before 1900. The next models followed the development of the market, bigger cars with stronger engines.

Many popular family cars

In 1923, a small car appeared to take on the competition with Citroën. The theme of small cars was followed up in 1946 with the model 4 CV. It was one of the smallest 4-door passenger cars that has been serially produced. It was followed by the Dauphine in 1956. One of the most famous models, the R4 came in 1962 with front-wheel drive. In the future, a number of new family cars arrived. Some with rear-wheel drive (R8) and others with front-wheel drive (R5/R6/R12/R16). There have been many popular family cars from Renault and that is still the trend.

Renault 4CV

The Renault factory was nationalized in 1945. During the war, France and the factory were occupied, and there was a ban on developing new passenger cars. But in the development department, the engineers worked in secret on a small new passenger car. Already in 1943, a prototype was ready. It was very round in shape and not so much reminiscent of the Volkswagen bubble. The finished car went into limited production and was presented to the public in 1946 and went on sale in 1947.

Monte Carlo Rally

The factory actively participated in motorsport before the war, and wanted to continue doing so. Therefore, the volume of the engine was reduced to 747 ccm, and the Renault 4cv went straight into the class for cars under 750 ccm. It resulted in several victories in, among others, the Rallye Monte-Carlo. Alpine, which became a famous sports car, was based on the 4cv. As a people's car, the Renault 4cv became very popular in many countries. In 1956 the Renault Dauphine was launched and sales of the 4cv declined.

Renault 4CV facts

Top speed: 92 km/h
Engine: 760 ccm – 19 hp
Measurements: Length 361 cm, width 143 cm
Produced 1947-1961

renault 750 — Was marketed as the Renault 750 in the UK (click for larger image)

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Exciting car history from Anders de Lange's archives

This year, the 11th Fête Americaine took place on the beach outside the small French village of Argelès-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean - close to the Spanish border. Every spring, friends of America gather for a show with music, dancing, good food, sales stalls, displays, American motorcycles and cars. All in an American spirit. We have been there and taken some photos among cowboy hats, Elvis's and Pin-ups in American 50's style.

A small curiosity for us Norwegians was when the whole square swayed in a line dance to the tunes of "Møkkamann" from the Norwegian group Plumbo. It was perfect for an American party and made us Norwegians feel at home.