The pristine white Renault Ondine, owned by Alain Deloy, immediately attracts attention. The Ondine stood for extra luxury in the early sixties. But to discover this, one has to look at the details. There are plenty of them, both on the outside and in the moody red interior.
At the Paris Motor Show in the autumn of 1960, Renault expanded the range of the immensely popular Dauphine with an even richer variant, the Ondine. The car was immediately available in two technical variants: Ondine and Ondine Gordini. Both versions were fitted with a four-speed gearbox as standard. Whereas the existing three-speed gearbox got a synchronised first gear around the same time, the four-speed gearbox could only be selected at a standstill or by double clutching.
The Ondine and Ondine Gordini retained their existing R-numbers, but were expanded by the letter A for systematics purposes. Thus, the Ondine remains familiarly R1090 and the Ondine Gordini has R1091 on the plate.
On the outside, the Ondine is immediately recognisable by the new wheels with holes. These are painted silver-grey. The wheel covers are made of stainless steel and have a gold decoration around the central nut. This colour matches the Ondine nameplates on the right front screen and the bonnet. The name Renault is shown in the same colour and capital letters on the left front mudguard. Under the front bumper, an extra bracket was added to reinforce and embellish the car.
The chrome trim strips remain reserved for the Ondine, which got additional chrome strips around the rain gutters. The parking lights on the front wings are very refined. They emit diffused white light all around with a red center topped with the Dauphine crown in silver.
For model year 1961, the indicators on the C-pillar made way for round ones under the headlights. They were framed in chrome, just like the front and rear windows. Chrome was also used around the rear number plate. The centrally placed licence plate lighting also has a chrome ornament. Finally, the bumpers on the rear bumper were fitted with rubbers.
Alain Deloy from Bruyères bought his Ondine in 2017. "I have very good memories of this type of Renault. In the 1950s, wagons full of Dauphines appeared in our village, I remember it like yesterday. On the windows of those cars were stickers with the selling price of 5,940 francs. The cars were temporarily stored at the barracks in groups of a hundred. That memory has always remained."
But Alain remembers even more. "For our wedding, my wife bought a white Dauphine. I drove it myself. One incident I won't forget is that the flap for the spare wheel wasn't closed properly. The wheel vibrated out while driving, and I drove over it."
Alain went looking for a Dauphine on Leboncoin and eventually found this white Ondine in the Reims region. "Unfortunately, I don't know anything else about its history. The seller wanted to acquire a site and needed money. My first drive lasted exactly one hundred metres, the engine stopped. Together with a friend, I picked up the car two weeks later. I drove behind it in a modern car and got oil on the windscreen. After that, the engine was completely checked. Now that I'm driving it, all the memories come flooding back. It's a great car."
Sitting behind the wheel, the interior is where you notice the extra luxurious additions of an Ondine. It starts with the seats, which have adjustable backrests. The door panels are also richly decorated and have pockets for maps, among other things. The dashboard is black, as opposed to white in the normal Dauphine. The steering column with the levers is red, as is part of the steering wheel itself. This matches perfectly with the red artificial leather used for the furniture and the door panels.
The name Ondine is shown on a plate on the dashboard. In fact, this plate is meant to be removed if the luxury of a car radio is chosen. But a previous owner left it in place and placed the original Sonolor radio just below the dashboard. The overall condition of the interior suggests that the mileage of over 71,000 is correct.
All added luxuries do not change the driving feel. For model year 1961, Renault made a few technical changes, such as the Estafette's carburettor and increasing the compression ratio. In addition, wider brake shoes, which provided a larger braking surface, were not visible.
Performance and braking power should of course not be compared to modern cars. The 845 cc hums cosily behind the back seat. The gear lever of the four-speed manual transmission has enormous shifting distances, but after some getting used to it, car and driver feel completely at home in the French countryside.
En détail...
Renault Ondine R1090A (1961)
Engine
Type: 670-01, 4 cylinder in line, 845 cc, bore x stroke 58 x 80 mm, compression ratio 8:1, carburettor Solex 28 IBT, power (DIN) 30 pk (SAE) at 4.500 tr/min, torque (DIN) 65,7 Nm at 2.000 tr/min. Electrical installation 6 Volt / 60/75 Amp/h.
Transmission:
Type 318-13, 4-speed gearbox, 2nd, 3rd and 4th synchronised. Gear ratios: 1st - 3.70, 2nd - 2.28, 3rd - 1.52, 4th - 1.03, reverse 3.70, final drive 4.37.
Suspension:
Front type independent, coil springs, stabilizer bar, rear suspension type independent, coil springs. Tyres front/rear 145 x 380 or 5.5-15 (15 inches). Spare wheel under the luggage compartment floor. Brakes front and rear 228 mm drums. Parking brake on both rear wheels. Shock absorbers hydraulic.
Vehicle dimensions:
Wheelbase 2,270 mm, length 3,961 mm, width 1,520 mm, track width (front/rear) 1,250/1,220 mm, height 1,430 mm (empty), turning circle 9.10 metres (between pavements). Curb weight 670 kg, payload 330 kg, maximum permissible weight 1,000 kg, engine oil 2.5 litres, gearbox 1.25 litres, cooling system 4.6 litres. Fuel tank capacity 32 litres, luggage compartment 200 litres.
Performance:
Top speed 115 km/h, consumption 5.7 litres/100 km (at 70 km/h).