Renault Dauphine
Launched at the Geneva Salon in 1956 the car was given an 845cc version of the Ventoux 4-cylinder engine mounted in the rear. The name '5CV' was considered but almost accidentally the car came to be known as the 'Dauphine' because it would be the successor (Dauphine) to the 4CV (affectionately called 'The Queen'). The 845cc Ventoux engine was lethargic at the best of times, and so in 1957 the Dauphine-Gordini was launched with power uprated by 27 per cent, and equipped with a 4-speed gearbox.
aa Renault Dauphine badgea
aa Renault Dauphine badgea
Renault Dauphine - badge on wing
aa Renault Dauphine badgeb
aa Renault Dauphine badgeb
Renault Dauphine - badge on bonnet
aa Renault Dauphine badger
aa Renault Dauphine badger
Renault Dauphine - badge on wing
ac Renault Dauphine 1960 head
ac Renault Dauphine 1960 head
Renault Dauphine. Renault gave the Dauphine a modern 3-box body, with the bonnet lifting forward complete with headlamps to access the luggage compartment. However, the body was cheaply built and not very strong; in a collision the front simply folded back to the windscreen.
Renault Dauphine 1958 front
Renault Dauphine 1958 front
Renault Dauphine. Though intended to replace the 4CV in 1956, it was conceived as a 5CV car and the 4CV was not retired until 1960. The Dauphine was given a conventional 3-box body, losing the beetle-back of the 4CV
Renault Dauphine 1958 frontg
Renault Dauphine 1958 frontg
Renault Dauphine Deluxe 1958. The panel onto which the front number plate is fixed can be removed to reveal the spare wheel.
Renault Dauphine 1958 rear2
Renault Dauphine 1958 rear2
Renault Dauphine Deluxe 1958, powered by the Renault 'Ventoux' 845cc 4-cylinder engine
Renault Dauphine 1958 window
Renault Dauphine 1958 window
Renault Dauphine Deluxe 1958
Renault Dauphine 1959 front
Renault Dauphine 1959 front
Renault Dauphine 1959. 2,150,738 Dauphines were produced, including 125,912 Dauphines built in Spain by Fasa-Renault, Italian Dauphines built by Alfa Romeo, Argentina and Brazil.
Renault Dauphine 1960 rear
Renault Dauphine 1960 rear
Renault Dauphine. The Dauphine was given a conventional 3-box body, losing the beetle-back of the 4CV. In the rear boot was an upgraded 845cc version of the 4-cylinder Ventoux engine from the 4CV. However the 30bhp this engine offered was rather feeble for the body it carried, and it had to wait for the Gordini version to reach 38 bhp (later 40 bhp)
Renault Dauphine 1965 Gordini front
Renault Dauphine 1965 Gordini front
Renault Dauphine 1965 Gordini. The type R1091 Gordini version of the Dauphine is offered from 1957 and features lowered suspension and wider wheels and best of all a 4-speed gearbox.
s Renault Dauphine 1960 side
s Renault Dauphine 1960 side
Renault Dauphine 1960. Projet 106 had been launched as the Renault 4CV in 1946, but already in 1947 plans for its successor were being drawn up as Projet 109; the brief was for something less utilitarian than the 4CV. Robert Barthaud and Jacques Ousset designed the Projet 109. Renault toyed with the name 'Corvette', but Chevrolet bagged it first.
t Renault Dauphine 1958 tail
t Renault Dauphine 1958 tail
Renault Dauphine. The Dauphine continued using the Ventoux engine which started development in secret under the German Occupation of France, and as an attempt to match the Volkswagen Beetle. However, Renault did not attempt the boxer four design, and opted instead for an inline four cylinder configuration with an aluminium head and an iron block; it was water-cooled
v Renault Dauphine 1960 vent
v Renault Dauphine 1960 vent
Renault Dauphine. Cooling vents ahead of the rear wheels
w Renault Dauphine wheel
w Renault Dauphine wheel
Renault Dauphine - rear wheel. The Dauphine inherited large axle hubs from the 4CV, and the wheels had a large hole in centre with 5 smaller holes around the perimeter to locate on the hub studs; the wheel just like a large rim with an empty centre.
Renault 4CV 1952 towing
Renault 4CV 1952 towing
Renault 4CV 1952. Still with the 6 bars on the front grille (until 1954) and detachable wheel rims
Renault 8 1962 charente
Renault 8 1962 charente
Renault 8 1962. Renault replaced their Dauphine with the Renault 8 still with rear engine.
Alpine A106 1956 Mille Miles front
Alpine A106 1956 Mille Miles front
Alpine A106 1956 Mille Miles. Production commenced in 1955 of the Alpine A106, and following a class win in the 1956 Mille Miglia race, a 'Mille Miles" option was available with quadruple rear shock absorbers and a rare 5-speed gearbox.
Renault Floride 1961 Spider front
Renault Floride 1961 Spider front
Renault Floride 1961 Spider. Designed by Pietro Frua, after he had left Ghia.
Renault Fregate 1960 front
Renault Fregate 1960 front
Renault Fregate 1960, powered by engine enlarged to 2,141cc
Renault Estafette 800 front
Renault Estafette 800 front
Renault Estafette 800. The Estafette 800 replaced the 600 in 1962, and it was uprated to carry 800 kilos and given the Billancourt 1,108cc engine.
Volkswagen 1500 1964 front
Volkswagen 1500 1964 front
Volkswagen 1500 1964. Unlike the Beetle, the conventional 3-box shape of the Type 3 was better packaged offering 184 litres of front luggage space compared to 140 of the Beetle