Green Renault 4cv vintage car badge at Schlumpfs motor Museum Mulhouse France vertical
The Renault 4CV is an automobile produced by the French manufacturer Renault from August 1947 to July 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 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 4CV was powered by a 748 cc "Ventoux" rear engine producing 17 hp (13 kW), which was coupled to a three-speed manual gearbox.
Size: 3400px × 5100px
Location: Schlumpfs Museum Rue de l'Épée Mulhouse Alsace France
Photo credit: © Daniel Valla FRPS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: automobile, bugatti, car, cars, collection, de, lautomobile, motor, motors, museum, musé, national, race, racing, renault, saloon, schlumpf, schlumpfs, sports, vintage
