Rosengart LR4 / Cinq History

Microcar · 1931–1939

History

From 1931 the basic Rosengart small car appeared in a heavily differentiated form as the LR4, marketed under the commercial name Cinq (Five) for its five fiscal horsepower. The 747 cc engine and three-speed gearbox were retained from the Austin 7 lineage, but the body and detail engineering had become decisively French.

Rosengart extended the LR4 family with longer-wheelbase variants: the LR44 (1932), LR47 (1933), and LR45/LR49 (1934), each offering more interior room at the cost of a modest weight gain. Wheelbase options ranged from 2.2 m on the standard car to 2.6 m on the stretched derivatives.

Alongside the small-car line, in the early 1930s Rosengart also negotiated a licence with the German manufacturer Adler to offer the front-wheel-drive Adler Trumpf and Trumpf Junior, broadening the catalogue into slightly larger territory while the Cinq remained the volume product.

Generations

First series · LR4 (1931–1934)

Photo: “File:Paris - Retromobile 2012 - Rosengart LR4 Torpedo - 1933 - 002.jpg” by Thesupermat / Wikimedia Commons , licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 . Cropped to 16:9.

Standard-wheelbase Cinq plus LR44/LR47/LR45 long-wheelbase family; all Austin 7-derived running gear.
- 1931
  Photo: “File:1931 Rosengart LR4 coach.jpg” by Pantoine / Wikimedia Commons , licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
- 1933
  Photo: “File:Paris - Retromobile 2012 - Rosengart LR4 Torpedo - 1933 - 001.jpg” by Thesupermat / Wikimedia Commons , licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 . Cropped to 16:9.
Supercinq · LR4N2 / LR4R1 (1935–1939)

Photo: “File:Rosengart - LR 4 N2 - 1936 (M.A.R.C.).jpg” by Croquant / Wikimedia Commons , licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 . Cropped to 16:9.

August 1935 upgrade — aluminium cylinder head raises output from 11 to 18 hp; later variant (LR4R1) gains four-speed gearbox; 1938 revision reaches 19 hp / 4 CV rating.
- 1936
  Photo: “File:1936 Rosengart LR 4 N2 pic2.JPG” by AlfvanBeem / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0 . Cropped to 16:9.
- 1938
  Photo: “File:1938 Rosengart LR 4 N2 Super 5 pic1.JPG” by AlfvanBeem / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0 . Cropped to 16:9.