RENAULT 4 CV 1947-1961 Photos, engines & full specs

After WWII, the European economy was weak. Still, people needed vehicles, so Renault came with this affordable vehicle that put the French brand back on the automotive industry map.

Only a year had passed since the war ended, and countries started rebuilding themselves. Renault, now nationalized by the French Government, produced this small-sized vehicle that could provide what people needed: a four-door car where four adults could fit. In addition, it was cheap to run. In addition, while the 4CV didn't say anything for anyone outside France, for those living there, it meant that the taxes for such a vehicle were tiny.

Renault understood that it couldn't afford to create the same flamboyant vehicles it made before the war. Instead, it had to produce cheap, meaning they had to ditch the wide, long fenders, so they made them shorter but still in the same style. The front of the car resembled those from the pre-war period, with a triangular-shaped hood, but the grille was now wide and shorter instead of slim and tall. In addition, Renault added chromed bumpers front and back to create better protection. In front of the rear wheels, the automaker added a set of air intakes that fed the small engine placed in the rear.

To access the cabin, Renault installed rear-hinged front doors and front-hinged rear doors. The cabin was simple, with a flat dashboard that sported a speedometer in the middle flanked by fuel and water temperature gauges. In addition, a squared glove box was placed in front of the side passenger.

The small inline-four engine in the back produced just a mere 21 PS, which it sent to the rear wheels via a three-speed manual gearbox. Nevertheless, by 1961, when the production ended, Renault produced over one million units of this small vehicle.