INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION
The Renault 4's place in automotive history
When the Renault 4 was lauched, it was looked upon as Renault's answer to Citroën's famous 2CV. In time it was to prove itself as much more than that. The Renault 4 was the first car recognisably a hatchback. It led to the Renault 5, another of the most successful Renaults produced to date. Today it remains the most produced French car ever, reaching production figures over 8,000,000 by the end of its career in 1994.
The Renault 4 was designed on an all new platform which formed the basis for the R5, R6 and R7. Renault never invested much in developing the car, and it used parts from the Renault parts bin. It used wheels, engines, switchgear, dials and transmissions that were designed for other cars in the range. Its enduring success was based solely on the fact that its design was intrinsically right and people liked it.
Throughout its 32-year run, it was a simple and practical car. Due to it's enduring design and long production run, the Renault 4 is still in the process of becoming a collectors car. It has out-produced legends such as the BMC Mini (5 million), the Morris Minor (2 million), the Citroën 2CV (over 3 million), and also the original Fiat Cinquecento (4 million), to become one of the most produced cars ever. It was popular worldwide, and was produced in France, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, Zaire, the Ivory Coast, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Ireland, Chile, Angola, Madagascar, Morocco and Slovenia. It is without a doubt, one of the most influential cars ever made.
In the Summer of 2003, Autocar magazine compiled a book of the most important car tests in history. This included "the 100 cars that have had the biggest influence". They included the Renault 4, and the 2003 introduction to the roadtest states: "We gave a lukewarm welcome to La Regie's utilitarian but much loved box hatch, unaware of the huge sales the car was later to notch up". The actual roadtest published at the time (1962) noted that "while it is suitable for the French and colonial motorists, whom its snail-like gait will not distress, to say that it will sell well in the United Kingdom would perhaps be the remark of a real optimist". Needless to say this was soon proved wrong. By 1980, they were referring to it as a "Methusala" car.
The Renault 4 in Ireland
When launched, the Renault 4 was met with a lukewarm reaction in Britain. The 2CV never had an impact on the British market, and so it was not officially imported to Ireland. This commercial failure did not do justice to the fact that it had brought technological advances such as front wheel drive and independent suspension to a very low priced car. Although it was met with enthusiasm by the specialist press for its unlimited practicality and built in the Slough Citroën factory in England, the underpowered 2CV and its strange and outdated styling could not find a niche. It was seen as a French farmers car and not taken very seriously. Unfortunately for the Renault 4, the British public dismissed it too at first because they saw it as a second generation 2CV Citroën. This was due to the apparent absence of styling and a similarly underpowered engine. However design improvements such as folding rear seats, larger engines and adoption of a convential gear pattern, gave the car wider appeal. Gradually, people began to appereciate the numerous virtues of the car and sales soared. In the early seventies the Renault 4's popularity accelerated in Ireland.
The British and Irish markets were dominated by British cars at the time. Apart from marques such as Ford or Volkswagen which had factories in Ireland, the British marques of Austin, Morris and Hillman had a virtual monopoly. The Renault 4 was one of the first foreign cars to become popular in these countries. Its popularity was such that Ireland a factory was built in Ireland to assemble right-hand drive R4s, R6s, and R16s. The last editions of the Renault 4 car in Ireland were special edition "Legend" and the last ones were sold in 1986. These Renault 4s had special front grilles with another set of lights incorporated into the grille, with "Legend" decals all over the car. The last Renault 4 vans were sold in Ireland in 1989, though very few were being sold at this stage.
The Renault 4 as a cult car
Although cars such as the Mini, Citroen 2CV and Volkswagen Beetle enjoy cult status, the Renault 4 doesn't seem to get a look in anymore. There are several reasons for this. The most obvious is that the Renault 4 does not look strange enough, it just looks old. While the styling of those cars looked more of their time, the only things that gave the Renault 4 away were the sliding windows and unintegrated bumpers. This timelessness was the intention of its designers, who wanted it to be the automotive version of blue jeans, a car always acceptable even though fashions change. This meant that the Renault 4 remained popular for longer.
But the Renault 4 has a cult following which has manifested itself only recently through appearances on TV ad campaigns, programs, films and the well subscribed anniversary celebrations. It appeared in films such as 102 dalmatians, Romancing the Stone, Playtime, The return of the Pink Panther, War of the buttons, and countless others.
It has its own following everywhere despite the fact that it sticks out the least when placed with the likes of the 2CV, Beetle, and Mini. Cars like the 2CV, the R4 and the Mini were originally unpopular in Japan and were considered "slow and dirty". However a surge of interest in these cars had been seen in recent years, thanks mainly to the interest in Europeans classics following the Mini's renaissance in Tokyo. The Japanese Renault 4 club is one of the biggest Renault 4 clubs. Nissan produced the "S Cargo", a utility van as a tribute to the 2CV, the "Pao" as a tribute to the R4, and also a tribute to the Mini. DAMD introduced a bodykit for the Suzuki Lapin in 2002 which transforms it into a Renault 4 lookalike. There is a continuing drain on the second hand stock of R4s to Japan.
In September 2003, BBC's Top Gear came up with a list of what they considered to be the "World's 100 Coolest Cars". The Renault 4 came in at #66. Richard Hammond's reasoning was as follows: "Few cars can cope with the abuse, workload and neglect that was the lot of the Renault 4 - it was an automotive Baldrick. It's a car that kids fall in love with, vegetarians smile at and summer memories are made. Built from old railway girders, sellotape and garden wire, it can make several trips to the sun and back and you can easily fit a pig in the boot. The Citroen 2CV was more famous, but real French farmers bought the 4."
There are Renault 4 clubs in Holland, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Spain Sweden, Japan, Argentina, and Columbia.
The Renault 4's ongoing career
Like all popular cars, Renault 4s became part of the landscape around the world. Locally, it has been called by different names, such as 4L, Cuatro Latas in Spain which means 4 tin cans, or katrca in Slovenia. The first car of many, it was also the car people learned to drive in. They were police cars, post vans, farmer's trucks, family run-arounds, student cars, workman's car and even the banger car with no wheels at the side of the road.
The Renault 4 has never been about top speeds, but its high ground clearance and soft suspension allow it to reach places that are usually only accessible to the most capable of 4 x 4s. It is not a fast car, but it had spirited performance. This is why it is so successful in Sahara Raids, (where it continues to be successful), and why it was entered into competitions such as the first Paris-Dakar race, the East African Safari, the Sydney to Paris, and the infernal rally. Several competitions and events were set up just for the Renault 4 such as the France Cross Elf, Rallye des Cimes and the Routes Du Monde. It took part in the Monte Carlo rally twice, in 1961 and in 1993, and took part in the pratice of 1963. Two English Drivers drove a Renault 4 in World Cup Rally of 2001. In France, there is a humanitarian organisation run by students who use Renault 4 (and only the Renault 4), to distribute school materials to schools in Africa. It even takes its name from the car.
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