Renault 4CV 1961
Strong character
to the end
Last year
With the 4CV, Renault managed to get people working in middle management jobs mobile in the years immediately after the Second World War. For fourteen years the 4CV retained its character. How does a model from the very last year drive?
Dark clouds gather in the immediate vicinity of the Flins factory. Water falls from the sky in large quantities, but the butter yellow Renault 4CV from the last year of production, 1961, doesn't seem to care. With its yellow headlights it gives a warm welcome to its temporary driver. And that welcome continues when entering the interior. The red/grey striped upholstery together with the red artificial leather on the inside of the doors adds extra colour to life aboard the first new Renault after the war. A car that remained in production for 14 years and was the first French car to reach the production milestone of 1 million units. A car that made the middle management in France, and far beyond, mobile.
Ignition key
The 747 cc 4 cylinder in the back of the 3.64 metre long car with convex curves started without fail by briefly turning the ignition key. Anyone who has ever driven a 4CV will recognise the sound from thousands of others. The weather conditions may not be optimal, but in those years they also drove it in all kinds of weather. So don't adjust, just go!
Second and third
The knitting needle on the floor serves as the gear lever for the three-speed gearbox with non-synchro first gear. So in practice you only shift between second and third. This gearbox is identical to the Dauphine's by the way. It was one of the last changes Renault made to the 4CV.The 4CV had a lot of competition from its bigger brother, so the sales numbers dropped considerably. But in 1961 the deserved pension came into sight.
There are many more elements that were adopted from the Dauphine during its last years of construction. Some are not even visible like the door locks and the exhaust. More striking is the dashboard with the speedometer and two smaller gauges and indicator lights directly behind the steering wheel. Renault did this for the 1956 model year.
Lights and indicators
Before that the instrument panel was in the middle of the dashboard. The dashboard is grey/white in colour and perfectly matches the steering wheel, steering column and levers for lights and indicators. Yes, even the gear knob colour matches in with this. The three pedals are tiny and all have round rubbers. The floor in front is completely flat, so the car doesn't get in the way of amorous escapades.
Live up to the expectations
Just get used to the strokes of the gear lever and then the car starts moving. By the way, those strokes are a lot shorter from the 1959 model year onwards. This is a beautifully restored example from Renault Classic which represents how a new 4CV came out of the factory at that time. In the French countryside 26 hp still seems reasonable to keep up with traffic. And if the small car doesn't quite live up to the expectations of today's road users, many still have warm feelings and don't blame the 4CV.
At the same time after just a few kilometres it becomes clear that a 4CV isn't a classic car that can be driven every day. The performance is too modest, the view is too limited and safety for the occupants should not be discussed at all.
Low windscreen
It keeps raining and slowly I lose visibility because of the low windscreen. Luckily it doesn't cover the inside yet. A long time ago I had a 4CV myself, but where is that switch for the wipers? The only switch on the dashboard doesn't give any desired effect when touched. Well, then drive on and look between the drops.
A tiny button
On the left side of the steering column is the well-known lever which with about three quarters of a turn puts the lights in the desired position. Press it and the horn produces a penetrating sound. But still the wipers remain in the initial position. Halfway through the ride I feel behind the dashboard where exactly the wiper motor is located. And yes, now I remember. On the motor itself there is a tiny button. Eureka! The wipers are working, although no miracles should be expected from the effectiveness of this little piece of rubber. But it definitely makes a difference in terms of visibility.
Disc wheels
On the outside there are a number of elements that make this 4CV one of the later types.Where for more than ten years the so-called star-wheels were mounted, the 4CV later sat on the disc wheels of the Dauphine starting from the1958 model year, which also included another type of chrome wheel cap. Renault changed the shape of the indicators placed on the C-pillar even before 1960 model year.
We are dealing here with the Sport, the somewhat richer dressed variant. That version was for many years characterised by an air flap directly in front of the windscreen, but that was removed in 1958, along with the aluminium piping on the boot lid. From that moment on the sills under the doors were also painted in the body colour. The Sport does keep its strips under the windows in the doors and both the grilles and the trim on the rear wings. In the front doors quarter-lights are included, while the rear part of the glass is fixed. In the rear doors half of the window can be slid open.
In this form the last 4CV rolled off the production line on 6 July 1961, paving the way for its successor, the front-wheel-drive Renault 4, which continued to rely on the familiar technology.