Renault marks 80 years of the 4CV, the car that put Renault and France back on the road

In October 1946, as France was barely emerging from the Second World War, Renault unveiled the 4CV at the Paris Motor Show. The compact car, presented in a sandy yellow shade that earned it the nickname "lump of butter," featured rounded lines, a rear-mounted 760 cc engine and four genuine seats. Its simple promise was to give as many people as possible the freedom to get around again. Engineers had worked on the project in secrecy during the Occupation, convinced that post-war France, short of raw materials and fuel, would need a popular car.

The car was engineered for its era: the rear-mounted engine freed up space for four proper seats, while low fuel consumption, easy maintenance and low running costs matched the needs of motorists rebuilding their lives. For many families it became the first car, used for commuting, weekend trips and first holidays. The name 4CV came from its four-tax-horsepower rating under French regulations, a classification that did not correspond to the 17 hp delivered by the 760 cc engine.

Renault moved to a new industrial scale with the 4CV, standardizing components, refining manufacturing methods and including industrial constraints at the start of design. Transfer machines created by engineer Pierre Bézier, later known for the Bézier curves used in computer-aided design, enabled up to 300 engines to be machined each day. CEO Pierre Lefaucheux refused to treat the 4CV's success as the finish line, asking teams as early as 1949 to anticipate the changing expectations of French customers. That foresight led to the Dauphine, launched in 1956, which would take Renault to the next level. Eighty years after its launch, Renault says the legacy of pragmatic innovation, accessibility and anticipating customer needs still drives the group.