Renault ZP Long

Extravaganza

In the ‘Twenties and, certainly, in the ‘Thirties, cars and buses, lost their purely functional characters and design became increasingly important.

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After all, the right ‘look’ appealed more to the intended target group. Hence the huge difference in appearance between purely functional city buses, which customers would only use for short periods of time, and the luxuriously furnished coaches.

Wagons-Lits Cook used to drive other Renault buses, but this ZP ‘long’ was almost extreme in its design.

Renault made chassis for both city buses (90% of the buses in Paris) and buses used for longer distances. In the mid-‘Thirties, one of Renault’s widely-used chassis was the ZP, which was made in both short and long wheelbase versions. The difference in wheelbase was 1.40 metres. Depending upon the construction, the ‘short’ ZP could seat between 23 and 28 passengers, whilst the long variant could seat between 31 and a maximum of 36.

Wagon-Lits Cook

Renault supplied its own bodywork, but more famous and lesser known coachbuilders of the period also let their imagination run wild. These photos show a beautiful creation by the coachbuilder, Paquette & Breteau of Bagnolet, which delivered this example to the Wagons-Lits Cook travel company. In France, this company used to drive other Renault buses, but this ZP ‘long’ was almost extreme in its design. Moreover, a dual colour scheme, with the abundant use of chrome, especially with the bumpers, was chosen. Pure luxury, because on another example (see small photo), these are not incorporated. Through the windows, the rows of seats can be counted and, indeed, there are at least 34.

Petrol or diesel

The ZP had a so-called ‘torpedo’ front, meaning that the driver sat to the left of the engine, more or less on top of the front axle. In this instance, the engine was a four-cylinder petrol unit, with a cubic capacity of 5.9-litres or a comparable four-cylinder diesel, with a cubic capacity of no less than 8.4-litres. The petrol version produced 99 hp, giving a top speed of 80 km/h, whilst the diesel unit produced 90 hp and achieved a top speed of 70 km/h. The big advantage of the diesel engine was the fuel consumption : twenty litres per 100 kilometres instead of thirty-three. The engines were mated to a four-speed gearbox and the braking system was equipped with mechanical power assistance, a Renault invention. The propeller shaft driving the rear wheels was located as low as possible, which offered the advantage of ample headroom in the bodywork, which was not excessively tall.