The Renault 4CV is an automobile produced by the French manufacturer Renault from August 1947 to July 1961. An economical "people's car" inspired by the Volkswagen Beetle, it was the first French car to sell over a million units.
The 4CV was originally conceived and designed covertly by Renault engineers during the German occupation of France during World War II, when the manufacturer was under strict orders to design and produce only commercial and military vehicles. A design team led by Fernand Picard, Charles-Edmond Serre and Jean-Auguste Riolfo envisioned a small, economical car suitable for the economically difficult years which would inevitably follow the war. The first prototype was completed in 1942 and two more prototypes were produced in the following three years, with the 4CV ultimately presented to the public and media at the 1946 Paris Motor Show, though it would be another year before the cars were available for sale. In 1940 Louis Renault had spelled out to his team the need to "make him a car like the Germans"and now the new car featured a dummy grill comprising (until replaced by a simplified arrangement in 1954) six thin horizontal strips, intended to distract attention from the similarity of the car's overall architecture to that of the German Volkswagen, and to recall the modern designs of the fashionable front engined passenger cars produced in Detroit during the earlier 1940s. Importantly, despite its overall length of just 3.6 meters, the little Renault differed from the Beetle in offering four doors.
On the 4CV's launch, it was nicknamed "La motte de beurre" (the lump of butter) due to the combination of its shape and the fact that many early models were painted with sand-yellow-coloured surplus paint (also known as "European Sand") originally intended for the German Army vehicles of Rommel's Afrika-Corps The 4CV was powered by a 748 cc "Ventoux" rear engine producing 17 hp (13 kW), which was coupled to a three-speed manual transmission and featured suicide doors. Despite an initial period of uncertainty and poor sales due to the ravaged state of the French economy, the 4CV had sold 37,000 units by mid-1949 and was the most popular car in France. The car remained in production for more than a decade afterwards. Claimed power output increased subsequently to 21 hp (16 kW) as increased fuel octanes allowed for higher compression ratios, which along with the relatively low weight of the car (620 kg) enabled the manufacturers to report an 0 - 90 km/h (56 mph) time of 38 seconds and a top speed barely under 100 km/h (62 mph). The engine was notable also for its elasticity, the second and top gear both being usable for speeds between 5 km/h (3mph) and 100 km/h (62 mph): the absence of synchromesh on first gear would presumably have discouraged use of the bottom gear except when starting from rest.
The rear mounting of the engine meant that the steering could be highly geared while remaining relatively light: in the early cars only 2¼ turns were needed from lock to lock. The unusually direct steering no doubt delighted some keen drivers, but road tests of the time nonetheless included warnings to take great care with the car's handling on wet roads. In due course the manufacturers switched from one extreme to the other, and on later cars 4½ turns were needed to turn the steering wheel from lock to lock.
The 4CV's direct replacement was the Dauphine, launched in 1956, but the 4CV in fact remained in production until 1961. The 4CV was replaced by the Renault 4 which used the same engine as the 4CV and sold for a similar price.
Although most of the cars were assembled at Renault's Île Seguin plant located on an island in the river opposite Billancourt, the 4CV was also assembled in seven other countries, being Australia, Belgium, England, Ireland, Japan (where the Hino assembled examples gained a reputation for superior quality), Spain and South Africa] 1,105,543 cars were produced; the 4CV became the first French car to sell over a million.
The 4CV was easily modified and was used extensively as a racing car. The first collaboration between the Alpine company and Renault was the Alpine A-106 which was based on the 4CV. The partnership which would go on to win the World Rally Championship with the legendary Alpine A-110 in later years,
Let's keep driving with the car on display las September 19th/20th
The "Thirty Glorious Years" locally referred as Les Trente Glorieuses are elapsing and France's yard was shopping around for a suitable replacement of the Renault Juva Quatre in use since the late 30s. In 1955, an initial batch of ten cars is taken up for full scale trial. Success with regular users and public at large was instant. Representatives dispatched by various foreign police forces even come on fact-finding trips. In 1956, 20 cars are added. Before actual use, the french yard's technical dept conducted a number of alterations to correct drawbacks from the standard model.
Together with the introduction of the black and white "magpie" livery which stayed until the early 1980s, they featured a lightened custom rebuilt aluminium alloy body coming along with
a more powerful engine fitted with a compressor. Most visble alterations included a much enlarged rear window
plus new side doors and windows
Road stability was also improved by shortening the shock absorbers. However, modifications proved to be too expensive on a large fleet scale and the then new coming Renault Dauphine was finally selected. The car on display is not an original. But the restoration was conducted to render one of those custom rebuilt 4CV once on use.
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