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NEW RENAULT 4 | |
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NEW RENAULT 4 | |
Though the Renault 4 was finally replaced in 1993, Renault had doing research for its replacement since 1973. However, each of the proposed replacements failed to meet their objectives and never reached production. In terms of sales volume, there was no need to replace it until relatively late in its career. It reached its peak production in the late sixties and managed to keep this up until the early eighties. It was still selling well until its demise. However, its production methods were old-fashioned which meant that in spite of sales volume, the car was not as profitable as others to produce. For example, it took 30 hours to build a Renault 4 compared to just 14 hours for a Twingo.
The Twingo, Kangoo and Logan represent the Renault 4 in the modern line-up. The passenger version of the Kangoo has been called by Renault as the Renault 4 replacement, but this is largely a marketing ploy. The Twingo was developed as the Renault 4's replacement and commenced production directly after and in the same factories.
The confusion arises from the fact that the Renault 4 covered several market segments at different stages of its career. The market segment the Renault 4 once catered for has now separated into a sub-supermini segment and a LCV-based budget car segment, the LCV segment itself. The changing tolerances of the market means that it is very unlikely that a single model will ever cater to as many sections of the market that the Renault 4 did. Thus to replace the Renault 4 properly, there would have to be several different models
Therefore, there is no single replacement for the Renault 4. The Twingo was designed to take over from the Renault 4 car, eight years after the Renault 4 van was all but replaced by the Super-5 based Express. The Express was intended to be a van version of the new R4, but that new R4 project never reached production. The new Renault 4 and Renault Super5 were always going to share a platform anyway (and the Twingo ultimately did). The sub-supermini segment's market barely existed anymore so it was a brave move by Renault to develop the Twingo at all. Renault's decision to develop a new Renault 4 was met with unexpected success. The Kangoo was designed to be less of a car derived van than the Express, and more of a purpose built LCV/no frills car. It is marketed as a 'leisure' vehicle. Though it is nonetheless commonly regarded as a van with windows, something the Renault 4 (hatchback) never was. Unlike the Express, it has its own fascia panel and shares no body panels with any other Renault model. In Ireland, it is marketed as the Renault Kangoo 4L Kar.
This proposed design for the Twingo shows distinct R4 overtones: the long rear tailgate, similar rear lenses, round front lights and the lateral styling lines. This design was never rejected, but evolved further before reaching production. Proposed R4 replacements from the early eighties resembled the Renault 4 even more (much as the Super5 did the original R5). However when FSO revealed its Beskid, Renault saw a potential winner and thus the Renault 4 replacement became a monospace. Basically the replacement evolved away from Renault 4 and into a very Beskid-like finished product.
From a fan's point of view, it is a shame that the Renault 4 was not kept in production until later. The Mini saga shows what could have been done with the Renault 4. The original Mini was a very dated product by the 80's and was not seen with the same feeling and admiration as later on. However, it was relaunched by the newly renamed Rover Group in 1986 after drifting into obscurity on the marketplace. It was a hit in Tokyo where it became the latest "it" car. This in turn resulted in the return of the classic chrome grille and the Cooper edition. Rover spent huge amounts of money marketing the car, helping its ancient engine to meet emission standards, and generally updating it. The result was a 1950's car with airbags, fuel injection and various other modern features coupled with classic design features. This venture never made any huge profits, but neither did it make a loss. Importantly, it paved the way for the profitable BMW MINI.
There are so many Minis on the road across Europe due to the fact that it was on sale until 2000. One can't help wondering that if the Renault 4 had remained in production with some of its classic design features (chrome bumpers, aluminium grille, etc), it would still have a huge presence.
Above is a smart-esque concept that Renault produced in 1994, called the Ludo. To my eyes there are some similarities with the Renault 4, such as the rear window angle, front grille and headlight arrangement, the front bumper plastic which seems to evoque the appearance of over-riders, and the seats in the interior.
I am not aware if these similarities were intended and perhaps they are not substantial similarities at all. Either way, it is interesting that this was clearly a concept of a small car design with four doors, produced just after the Renault 4 went out of production.
The concept appears similar to Chrysler's China Concept Vehicle (CCV) of 1996, which was supposed to be inspired by the Citroen 2CV. This concept predates that one by two years, however.
The drawing below comes from the Renault Club Colombia and is held under copyright by Robert Cano. This seems like a Mini in profile and has an Avantime influenced rear end.
This design, by the designers Alexandre Huneau and Guillaume Goarzin of Strate Collège in Paris, was submitted for the International Canadian Motorshow of 2005, and shows a remarkable vision for a modern or future day Renault 4. This is a very good looking design.
Below is a close-up of the alternative designs shown above.
It would be hard to reconcile a new version of an old model with Renault's current ultra-modern design. This problem has been overcome by Nissan, who have come up with a fully modern design which is incredibly similar to the R4 in many ways.
In 2002 Nissan launched their second generation Cube, which seems to bear more than a passing resemblance to the Renault 4. This story is covered in detail on the Renault 4 from Japan page. Unfortunately, it does not wear a Renault badge.
The Mini's success in America shows that the original does not need to be remembered or even well-regarded for the new one to be successful.