And it worked! The next owner of this car will definitely be the only one at the local car gathering as so few have survived. than sturdy rims with five mounting lugs to match up with the hubs, the space But it fits the story line. Yes, I have owned a 4CV. The name Vel Satis is a composite of elements of the words Velocity and Satisfaction. rear end, but the addition of extra rubber springs up front, and auxiliary air tire was carried on its side under the front of the car, hidden behind a If you havent guessed, Im a big 4CV fan! He came up with an idea for a large three-box vehicle with a six-cylinder engine. windshield in no time at all), and it wasn't long before customers discovered Before French law allowed for a third week of paid leave, Renault already gave its workers this extra break (1955), and later even gave them a fourth week off work (1962). It does run and having such an original car would be fun. When I bought my Decapotable many years ago I got in touch with an owner on a 1956 Decapotable who said he could only find 5 in the US, my car was the 6th, pretty cool. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Could they really have gasoline (petrol) engine with displacement: 845 cm3 / 51.4 cui, advertised power: 19.8 25 kW / 27 34 hp / 27 34 PS ( DIN SAE ), torque: 57 59 Nm / 42 44 lb-ft, more data: 1960 IKA-Renault Dauphine (man. The GTL, from its launch in78, gave sales a healthy initial boost. It did not run. But for sure a wonderful bottle LA PORTE DU CIEL chateau la Negly from Languedoc Roussillon, will be as exotic as the 4CV but definitively boost your imagination and open to you the French Horizon. 845cc engine, essentially the 4CV powerplant with larger cylinder bores, lived Renault Renault 4 prototype, 1960. With its rich, generous array of features, the Renault 16 was a prestige vehicle. The large black unit on the passenger side of the engine compartment (right of the engine) is the heater box. In addition to its affordable He weighed in on its design, too. Renault kept its conventional "Ventoux" ohc Known internally as the Captur Global Access. My college friend had one. the alarming tendency for body panels to rust away. Join millions of people using Oodle to find unique used cars for sale, certified pre-owned car listings, and new car classifieds. Classics. which not only had a different cylinder head and a 38-bhp engine, but a My first car was a 4-CV. Found it on a bicycle ride in 1973 or 74, inside an open garage in NE Portland, Oregon. the first four places in class at the '56 Mille Miglia, the smashed-up Based on this little gem the Renault 4CV will give birth to the mythical ALPINE It stood proud as the best-selling car brand in France thanks largely to the 4CV economy car, introduced in 1947. whole of the pressed engine/transaxle/suspension mounting member was detachable cooling demand for the Dauphine. I was allowed to blast (toughen in cheek) down the fire roads. Although the 4 is no longer a common sight on French roads, there are thousands still sleeping in barns, basking in fields, improbably perched on a mountain, or helplessly beached in ravines in rural France. Buyers who selected the 3 got a car with no chrome, a dipstick instead of a fuel gauge, no door panels, and one sun visor. They Launched with a 55 hp 1470cc engine, it moved upmarket with a 1565 cc version developing 85hp on the arrival of the TS version in 1968. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Sign up for our free daily email and youll never miss another find: Former First Responder: 1992 Jeep Cherokee XJ, Two Owner 83k Mile: 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. existing small cars from Rambler and Studebaker on the market for 1960, all the imports -- even Volkswagen -- suffered to some degree. In early 1965, the brand unveiled an innovative new vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show: the Renault 16. Renault Scnic was the first compact MPV in automotive history. It started in 1948 with the 5 first places in his category in the Rallye Monte Carlo. It was a cranky little thing. All of these were sold in the US originally. The Renault 16 reviewed the cues of family vehicle design. Ohter Renault Cars List Renault Clio Renault Kangoo Renault Laguna Coupe Renault Koleos Renault Master Renault has several famous vehicles. They were reproduced in several countries under different names, and away from the US, probably the most recognized car for police and taxis. When I married my soon-to-be-Bride, her daily ride was a Dauphine, so that bit of trivia has stuck w/me . coil-spring/telescopic dampers sitting atop the swing tubes (Renault called Renault chose to use a longitudinally-mounted drivetrain, but it flipped it around. Radiator is right in front of the engine, to the rear of the back seat. Way to go Eric! The qualities of this industrial venture were also recognized by the automotive industry. As a bonus, the front-drive layout was seen as safer option that forgives a drivers bad behavior, according to period notes. find ways of dealing with it in its sports cars, why not Renault? 100,000th car being produced in March 1957. The Dauphene had a push button automatic transmission. Renault entered the 4CV (quatres chevaux) in the LE MANS race in 51, the little car was a real racing beast. Cars must no longer be just four seats and a boot. AND it did not dent the roof! Since Dauphine parts bolt right in-and it's a wet liner engine-one can up the car's performance by using larger Dauphine pistons and liners, or even . In the space of four years, they designed a vehicle of original architecture combining an array of technical and practical innovations with a functional design. Classics. pressures --15 psi at the front and 23 psi at the rear -- could completely body-corrosion problems that came on with age were now well known, and the light At the end of its career, the Renault 20 was replaced by the Renault 25, which further established its identity as an executive hatchback while maintaining the tailgate introduced with the Renault 16. lights (0-60 mph in about 31 seconds), one that couldn't afford to dispute the Gordini was good for 0-60 times of around 20 seconds and a top speed of about Actually, the 4CV owed its existence quite directly to Porsche's little sedan. Company records show that there were 24 cars . Well aware of the specifications -- and the potential -- of Germany's "peoples' car," Renault told his engineers in 1940 that he wanted something like it. How do you attach photos on this site?). swing axles, those wheels always had a hard time. inline four-cylinder water-cooled engine with removable cylinder however. Cars were equipped with range of engines of 1289 - 1397 cc (78.4 - 85.1 cui) displacement, delivering 38 - 44.7 kW (52 - 61 PS, 51 - 60 hp) of power. Make: Renault: . In normal mode, you would just gas the engine and as the voltage came up from the generator the clutch would automatically engage. in which to be seen in Paris, or in French seaside resorts. Not even a weird combination of recommended tire Lets call it the engine cover until the angry comments roll in and Ill make a mental note of it for next time. Immediately adopted by families, the car was such a success that its name was quickly changed from Mgane Scnic to just Scnic. Oh, well, I love where I am now and thats as good as it gets! Make: Citroen Model: Citroen DS It is finished in blue with a white roof over brown upholstery . While discussions about the 4CVs successor started echoing through the firms headquarters in 1952, developing and launching the bigger Dauphine sedan was a far more pressing matter. Theyre reliable, easy to find parts for, relatively simple to work on, and surprisingly practical. control of an oversteer condition that presents itself. The suicide area of this car is the space between the front and rear bumpers! European cars. Hi Mike, How can I get in touch with you? I have a 1955 Decapotable, the conv sedan you mention, I would like to get in touch with you regarding parts for the car. My, and my brothers 1st car, was a 59 4CV. It placed the engine behind the front axle, close to the firewall, and the transmission directly in front of it. The construction of this model is based on RENAULT 5 1gen. I never saw many of these, as the current ticket then, was a Dauphine. I know. It was a cheery car, whose good humour was even reflected in its name, a mix of Twist, Swing and Tango. My average gas mileage for the 130,000-some miles I drove it was 35.2. This is a list of vehicles badged as Renault. On the fringes of the project, the team also worked on a coup that was finally dropped owing to insufficient profitability. Classic. because the cars of Renault must be clearly recognizable within the never-ending stream of similar cars. Renault considered resurrecting the 4 in the early 2010s, as a replacement for the Modus. Assembled alongside the R30and R16 at Sandouville between 1976 and 1984, the R20 was sold in more than 600,000 examples. The four-cylinder Also have a Fiat 600 Jolly from Catalina Island, and a Fiat 850 Shellette by Michelotti. Previous generation was still available in India until last year. Commercially, none of this seemed to matter very much. them "trumpet casings") themselves. Limited editions like the Jogging and the Sixties were launched to spur interest in the car, and the TL and the GTL became the Savane and the Clan, respectively, in 1986, the same year that production of the sedan dipped under the 100,000-unit mark for the first time. They, at the time, were the king of oddball foreign car parts. It became the best-selling car in France in 1962 (233,000 units were sold in 1963) and Renault built the millionth example in February 1966. In September 1957, the result was the Dauphine-Gordini, French were enthralled. fourth-place car having survived a tumble into a ravine along the way. Small van under the Kangoo, heavily based on the Dacia Dokker. In 1871, when a Latvian-born American tailor named Jacob W. Davis invented the modern jeans, he didnt merely alter the course of fashion for decades to come. Less This 1960 Renault 4CV Resort Special is one of 50 cars modified by Ghia. It was produced in two generations 19721985 and 19841996. With more than 200,000 Dauphines being built every year, and IMHO once they started down the improved/modern program, their service and parts availability went way down hill. New The right Renault classic for you. Later carsespecially GTLsmake excellent daily drivers. Got her running a few weeks ago after a complete overhaul/balancing done by yours truly and presently sorting out detailsbut the 845cc engine is running like a Swiss watch! the 1 millionth car being produced in 1960, a bit of midterm complacency might Dreyfus realized that how well a car was engineered was of no importance if it didnt fit the lifestyle of its target audience, and he became increasingly alarmed that Renaults core nameplates were all city cars. The history of Renaults family cars started fifty years ago in France during the post-war boom. Long may it live. With a hatch and a folding rear bench, the 4 was at the same time extremely innovative and unabashedly basic. They drug it home behind a pickup, her brother climbed in and, with great effort, stood up, popping the roof back up. The front-hinged trunklid, in which the headlights (across the street for the Chicago PD) I have been there many times in the past. For many years, only hardcore fans cared enough about the 4 to preserve it. Same engine and transaxle as this car, I believe. Renault Group is at the forefront of a mobility that is reinventing itself. mid 1961 came the DeLuxe models, in which the backrests of the front seats Many Renault models get the maximum score of five . You can find Renaults on best inexpensive cars as well as worst cars ever. platform, albeit with a more powerful engine. It was in beautiful condition and really surprised me. Engine Guides. commercial success by any standards. rack-and-pinion steering, on a detachable front cross member. And EMPI made its Camber Compensatorbeloved of swing axle VW ownersfor Dauphines and 4CVsthus nicely taming those scary-to-the-uninitiated swing axles. Renault faced more than a sudden spate of Yank competitors, pivoting panel below the center section of the bumper. Id love to see pics of your Convertible-. Maybe it all looked technically elegant, and maybe the Very cool. bridges -- was true. Introduced in 1947, it remained in production until replaced in 1961. . Serious Inside the cabin, Scnic featured three independent, removable, folding seats for rear passengers. It is best to stick with the manuals, which by the early 1960s were fully synchronized. It was launched in 1990, and was in its fourth generation in 2012. Put into perspective, this car was manufactured a mere 15 years following the war! Except for More than a fair share of things went wrong with our cars. wrong," the company confessed as it begged erstwhile customers to consider From the Renault 16 to the R-Space concept, Renault has been building family cars for fifty years. The production version is very similar to the concept car of the same name, which was presented at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show. In the space of fifty years, Renault has made its mark on automotive history and established its vision of cars tailored to the lifestyles of their occupants. $22,650 1-3 Search Tools Refine Search? We empower classic and exotic car buyers, sellers, and enthusiasts with insights for the collector car industry - including market values, price comparisons, listing alerts and more. How cars were advertised during the 1960s changed nearly as dramatically during the decade as did American culture. The project was ambitions but Pierre Dreyfus felt that it was lacking the features that could set it apart from the competition: We have to do things differently. in each rear passenger door to give away the game. Its name is an acronym for Safety Concept Embodied in a New Innovative Car. be expected, but there was none of that at the Rgie. On the bright side, enthusiasts who wanted a 4 (either as a project car or as a daily driver) had plenty to choose from, and many were even given away for free. Even As such, the The location was 22nd and Archer. Become a member to add images to your comments. They were assembled in England and in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne); there was a van version as well. Renault organized the 4s press launch in southern France during the summer of 1961, and it publicly unveiled the model at the Paris auto show that same year. Without the Beetle, maybe, there might not have been a Chevrolet Corvair, a Renault 4CV -- or the Dauphine. CLASSIC.COM is a trademark of CLASSIC.COM Inc. CLASSIC.COM is an independently owned and operated business and is not affiliated with Artcurial, Barrett-Jackson Auction Company LLC, Bonhams, Bring a Trailer, Car And Classic Ltd., Cars & Bids, Clasiq Auctions, Classic Car Auctions Limited (CCA), Collecting Cars, Gooding & Company Inc, Greensboro Auto Auction Inc, Guys With Rides, Hemmings, Henderson Auctions, Historics Auctioneers, Mecum Auction Inc, Motorious, Okotoks Collector Car Auction, PCARMARKET Inc, Porsche Digital Inc, Rad For Sale, Racing Edge Projects Ltd, Ritchie Bros Auctioneers, RM Auctions Inc, RM Sothebys, Silverstone Auctions Limited, The Collector Car Network, or Worldwide Auctioneers. (we only had gravel and dirt) So it was rev up the engine and let go of the shift lever and let the tire spin. History has been kind to the company, and you can see how Renaults have changed over the decades. Production of the 3 ended in September 1962 after about 2500 units were built; most assessments agree that roughly 20 remain as of 2021. About 90 minutes away, we made many trips there. If theres a simpler interior I cant think of it offhand. Sort By Sorting Order Results Per Page This line of thinking is fundamental for Renault, which will continue to pursue its approach based on family cars. Said Renault of the process, "Arctic conditions were sampled in the North Cape area [of Europe] by one car, another car was sent to work in the Swiss mountains, and a third to the United States. . Rebadged Dacia Duster for markets without the presence of Dacia. To keep up with Renault Group in real time. It is still considered to be one of the most expensive cars ever built by Renault although it remained a minor success. Coupled with a higher compression ratio and larger carb, you can reach 45-50 hp without a lot of effort. Brought some speed parts back from France, added spiked tires, and ice raced it. him, and set him to improve the Dauphine's performance. And no matter how hard Renault tried in In the seventies my neighbor brought home a 57 Dauphine. However, it quickly won the public over with its ability to meet requirements easily and simply. CLASSIC.COM is a trademark of CLASSIC.COM LLC. expected a 30-bhp machine that took an age to drag itself away from traffic Find Your Car's Value. The Scnic concept car paved the way in 1996 for Mgane Scnic, the first ever compact MPV. One of the best-selling French cars was soon to be born. Renault speedily hired (although the last time was when I was getting my 1972 Chev. rear wheels, and since the rear suspension was by simple high-pivot Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Front seatbelts became standard in April 1970, September 1970 brought a 12-volt electrical system, and a bigger 782-cc engine arrived in September 1971. When youre dealing with under 25 horsepower, wearing your lighter, summer toupee can make a real difference in merging. Renaults would briefly sell in great numbers in the USA again, but not until The Renault 5 is a supermini produced by French automaker Renault. cornering and the rear end becomes quite skittish, requiring skilled Originally the motor was about 760cc, reduced to 747cc to qualify for the under 750cc class in motor sports. Must have been a long two weeks waiting for that head gasket to arrive from J.C. Whitney. spring units (mounted inboard of the conventional coils) at the rear. In 1951 the 4CV earned again the class victory in LE MANS. We can remenber the class win in the 1954 MILLE MIGLIA, and the 5 first places in the category tourism cars. It gave Renault a bad name for some few years-in fact most of the "1961" 4CVs sold in the US are actually leftover 1960 models that remained unsold at the end of the 1960 model year. the trunnion arms in the transaxle housing itself, there was none at all. I insisted on paying something for it. was, after all, a 27 percent improvement on the standard car -- enough to provide . The different layouts tested during the 1950s included a transversely-mounted, water-cooled four-cylinder engine borrowed from the 4CV and an air-cooled, two-stroke two-cylinder. Funny what youll remember. The last of the base-model Dauphines was produced in content with the Dauphine's handling, but by 1960, Motor Trend had this All rights reserved, 2023 CLASSIC.COM Inc, Follow Market to get updates when there are new listings or price updates for Renault (). The seller says that its 100% rust-free and 100% original. . My stepfather was furious but the car was such an oddball he did not know where to get parts so he sent it to the junkyard. Appealing or not, A great car for Europe; for the U.S. not so much! Many gave their chassis to a trailer, and a handful donated their engine to pumps used to water crops. He offered it to me for free, with title. I know that there are but even a Subaru 360 seems fancier inside than this 4CV does. I was wondering if you were going to see this one, Howard! Welcome to our full list of 1960s cars. This approach was pursued by the Renault 20 and definitively established by the 21 Nevada. Unrestored examples in very good condition or fully restored cars are now priced above 5000 euros (around $6000), though grandma-spec, small-town 4s have largely (and sadly) disappeared from the automotive landscape. conventional body under which a pair of perimeter-shaped longitudinal box Renault EV Conversions, Bed in the Front, Flathead-Powered Camaro, Year of the Rabbit In 2021, rumors suggest the 4 will be reborn as an EV, inevitably, in the 2020s. Renault Dauphine is a rear-engined economy car manufactured by Renault in a single body style a three-box, four-door sedan as the successor to the Renault 4CV, with over two million units sold worldwide during its production run from 1956 until 1967. For the sporty driver, the main advantage was that when only My best childhood friends mom owned a 57 and later a 61 4 CV. The Renault 5 achieved, like the original Mini, a cult status. abandoned Grand Prix racing, and was looking for work. Named 3, the entry-level variant was powered by a 603-cc four-cylinder engine that developed 22.5 horsepower. It's the 250 GTO, one of the most desirable and expensive cars on the planet. The spare he drove it as a work car smoking every where it went. in the extreme tail with cooling outlet vents in the engine lid -- I nearly . December 1966, though the higher-powered Gordini types carried on until 1968. This rust-free all-original 1960 Renault 4CV has been off the road for 38 years and it looks like it has been saved from the ravages of decades of normal wear and tear, and also the blazing Arizona sun. http://www.weinberg.lu/. Burdumy motors Phila. The seller has gone through the entire brake system and the fuel tank, and it also has a fresh oil change, a new battery, new plugs, and wires, but it could use a carb cleaning due to sitting for so long. That must have been the same guy took the 4cv around the world posting online almost daily. Renault Renault 4 prototype, 1960. I had a Dinky of this car in red. Beetle), the Dauphine averaged as much as 39.1 mixed-use mpg in magazine tests. Before long, 700 Renault Dauphines were being built every day, the The key strength of Espace lay in its ability to carry seven passengers and to reach a top track speed of 180 kph with its original aerodynamic lines. Don't miss what's happening in your neighborhood. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1960's Renault Cars Advertising stick Pin Badge Aluminium 21 x 13 mm at the best online prices at eBay! The 4s last major exterior update came in September 1974, when it received a plastic grille with a Renault emblem in the middle. Export sales accounted for almost half of the total with, for example, a special version tailored to the US market. At 89 inches, its wheelbase was 6.3 inches longer than that Renault Beach Wagon 1960 to 1961 CMB $75,472 1 For sale For Sale 1 Avg $28,194 Sales Count 19 Dollar Volume $535,683 Lowest Sale $2,050 Top Sale $106,400 Most Recent $34,826 Loading Market Chart data. As the slogan said, it was up to the user to invent a lifestyle to go with it! 1959. So they gave it to my father who had owned a couple of Dauphenes in the past. coupe or two-seat convertible forms, these cars were both based on the Dauphine From 1973 until the end of its career in 1980, the Renault 16 shipped with a 93 hp 1647cc engine on the TX version, able to reach a top track speed of 175kph. This new hatchback featured an original body shape: a two-box design with a tailgate for accessing the boot. We had a blast with it for years! If I remember correctly they were pretty crummy cars and didnt last very long. in the middle being pure fresh air! The R21 Nevada featured a folding rear seat along with a second optional rear bench for a total of seven seats, ideal for big families. The Renault Modus is a mini multi-purpose vehicle produced by the French manufacturer Renault from September 2004 to 2012, in Valladolid, Spain. ", The Renault Dauphine's unit-construction bodyshell was really that of a Have any of you owned a 4CV? It combined the bodywork of the Renault 30, launched the previous year, with engines and equipment designed to make it far more affordable. We bent the contact tab over in the clutch regulator (the contact for generator engagement) so that the clutch would only operate with the shift lever. Continue with Recommended Cookies, 1962 Chevrolet Corvette3 days$33,750Bid Now, 1978 Chevrolet Corvette4 days$2,100Bid Now, 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III5 days$3,000Bid Now, 1961 Volkswagen Samba Deluxe 23-Window8 days$5,000Bid Now. I am sure there are some speed parts they added to the engine for that and what fun to track them down and add them to this. The R5 was sold in the US as Le Car, from 1976 to 1983. Although somewhat vague, these simple directives shaped the 4. Have I mentioned that before? Don't get too Since then, two more generations have arrived on the market. It was turned down in favor of the Captur, a small crossover that sells exceptionally well. Track and Motor Trend longed for a fourth gear.). I want a versatile car, one thats urban and rural at the same time, and one that suits the needs of everyone. Theyre very unusual with the suicide doors only in the front. My stepfather was fixing it up and tore part of the engine down and put the parts on top of the garbage cans in the garage. (Yes, it had enough power to spin the tire(s) in the dirt or gravel.) The Clio has had substantial critical and commercial success, being consistently one of Europe's top-selling cars since its launch, and it is largely credited with restoring Renault's reputation and stature after a difficult second half of the 1980s. Thats the one I saw. two people were being carried, the rear wheels now had a small degree of Strengthened by its alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, and its unique expertise in electrification, Renault Group comprises 4 complementary brands Renault, Dacia, Alpine and Mobilize offering sustainable and innovative mobility solutions to its customers. Manage Settings With three days to go the bidding is up to $6,500! Whoever buys this oneI bought out the USs largest Renault dealership when they folded in 1974 and have lots to NOS stuff in my basementand in Europe parts for 4CVs are like parts for Model As in the USalmost everything is available. For the 1960 model year, Renault astonished everyone by My memory must have faded. Here are selected specifications for the Dauphine: Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide Nearly 5.5 million were built. It was delivered new to Beverly Hills, California in 1960. Unveiled at the 1965 Geneva Motor Show, the Renault 16 surprised visitors with its offbeat styling. You can probably tell that its a rear-engine car by the vented hood/bonnet in the back, or would that be a boot even though the engine is in the back? My brother would freak out at this. were in fact the same company. Review our publications, results and financial events. Also just a few years ago I had a Dalphine pass me going a little over 70 mph toward the Canadian border on I5. There was also a large mechanically conventional 2-litre 4-cylinder car, the Renault Fregate, from 1951 to 1960. PU ready for the move to Nevada in 1983) If you old like me, then you remember the old squeaky wooden floor hardware stores where if you knew where to look, or the employee knew where to look, they had anything AND everything you needed. The suicide doors opened. The idea was to design a sort of family nest. Car Models ListRelease: All ideas written on our website are for informatory designs only. bolt locations for the road wheels. Below you'll find a list of all the Renault cars & models on the road. It also includes vehicles badged as Renault Trucks, which are commonly known as Renault. Nameplate was revived in 2021, previously the predecessor of the Kangoo. Could that be true. B-segment SUV based on the Duster platform for Russia, South America and India. Here, at last, was a well-matured little car that Im guessing its a one speed? Yes. More important than this was that almost every aspect of the design would be used again, developed, made better, but still recognizable. The one-box body style with the flat floor and modular layout provided far more interior space than ordinary cars. Builder's Guides. While in French custody in 1946, the authorities sent him to look over the drawings of the impending 4CV model. sleeves in the tail, and swathed it all in pretty and curvaceous Nearly 5.5 million were built. Industrial designer as well as an aerodynamics engineer, Juchet was asked by CEO Pierre Dreyfus to lead the design studies for the Renault 16. The seats were designed to adapt to all types of use: installation of a child seat, rest position, and even a couchette position for two people. Espace created the MPV segment, Scnic established the compact MPV segment, while Twingo revolutionized city cars. Renault's U.S. sales, which had been in the One was my daily driver for 14 years, and carried me from Florida to North Carolina, then Texas (with a side trip to Mexico City), Colorado , upstate New York and finally Ohio, courtesy of the Air Force. In a nod to its forerunner, the Renault 16, the preliminary project for Twingo was the last one supervised by Gaston Juchet. They catered to all the exotics, wisely, in the suburbs of Milwaukee. I miss the old Shawsky! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Of course, battery costs will need to come down significantly for any reborn 4 to be more than a mere pastiche of the affordable original. This all took time, so the first car did not roll off a new assembly line at Flins until December 1955. He was appointed CEO in 1955 after his predecessor, Pierre Lefaucheux, rolled his Frgate in icy weather and was killed when his briefcase in the rear seat became a deadly projectile. Renault, incidentally, had originally wanted to call its new car "Corvette," but General Motors got there first. Shortly after its debut in 1956, the Dauphine transformed Renault into a true global player; it was remarkably popular in America until quality-related problems torpedoed its career, and it was even built and sold by Alfa Romeo in Italy.