Renault 4CV History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Conceived in secret during the German occupation of France and presented to the public at the 1946 Paris Motor Show, the 4CV went on sale in 1947 as a rear-engined, four-seat economy car. It was the first new Renault launched after World War Two, beating the Citroën 2CV to market by a year.
The 4CV became the first French car to sell over one million units, with a total of approximately 1.1 million built through 1961. Its commercial success allowed the newly nationalized Régie Nationale des Usines Renault to re-establish itself as France's leading carmaker in the postwar years.
A Gordini-tuned 4CV also formed the basis of early French motorsport campaigns, winning its class at Le Mans and establishing Renault's long tradition of marrying small-car engineering to competition.
Body styles
- Sedan
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