Renault 4

The Renault 4 (popularly known as Cuatro ele, Cuatro latas, Renoleta, Chivoleta, R4, 4Lobbo, Katrca or Loyal Friend in some countries) is a utility vehicle produced by the French manufacturer Renault between the years 1961 and 1992, and originally conceived to compete with the Citroën 2CV.

The Renault 4 entailed the audacity to design a vehicle with a philosophy diametrically opposed to that hitherto followed by the French firm. It was a vehicle equipped with mechanics pioneering in Renault, with front-wheel drive, suspension based on torsion bars, and refrigeration by a closed-circuit system with an expansion tank. All of this entailed a structural design very different from that of the Renault 4CV and the Renault Dauphine that at the time prevailed in the brand. The design team led by Robert Barthaud made a considerable effort to establish a new car concept, further pressured by the need to achieve a reasonable sale price, given the market for which it was intended. The solution had to overcome the Citroën 2CV, whose success was notorious at that time.

History

In 1961, the R4 dropped the "all back" of the Renault presented in those years, and adopted the solution of the Citroën 2CV. The R4 had a larger four-cylinder engine, which consumed little more than the 2CV, was mounted in the front and transmitted power to the front wheels.

On August 28, 1961, it was presented to the French press and appeared on the market with the Frankfurt Motor Show. Subsequently, two hundred white R4 paraded in front of the Eiffel Tower. In March 1964, 500,000 units were celebrated. In February 1966, the first million. In December 1977, five million. In 1986, some seven and a half million had already been manufactured. The last manufacturing points were Colombia (where it was manufactured locally, and due to high demand it was decided to import Yugoslav CKD to complete production) and Slovenia, formerly part of Yugoslavia.

After the end of European production in France and Spain, the R4 continued to be manufactured at the Slovenian Revoz plant in Novo Mesto to supply the European markets, especially with the "Clan" which would be the last to be manufactured until 1993, the year in which the last R4 left that plant.

The model was withdrawn from the market because it was not profitable to modify it to comply with the Euro 1 anti-pollution regulations.

In total, more than eight million units were manufactured in the various world plants where it was produced or assembled.

Motorizations

R3 / R4

Renault 4L

The Renault 4 on five continents

Renault 4 1984.

In 1963, manufacturing began in Argentina, at the IKA Renault plant (Industrias Kaiser Argentina, today Renault Argentina S.A.) located in the City of Santa Isabel, province of Córdoba, and in Spain by FASA-Renault, in the town of Valladolid, so that the Spanish units also mounted from the beginning the 845 cc Ventoux engine that the Dauphines were equipped with (but these had a compression ratio of 7.75: 1 instead of 8: 1 of the Super Gauls) and that were manufactured in Santander, in the factories of Nueva Montaña Quijano.

In 1968, the integration of engine manufacturing in Renault itself, in its factory in Valladolid, made the Renault 4 Super adopt, with displacement increased to 852 cc, the Sierra engine (with a five-bearing crankshaft). of the Renault 8. The new set was coupled with a four-speed gearbox. For this reason, the model underwent a transformation in its design that mainly affected the grille and its interior, with a new dashboard and the use of the front seats of the Renault 8, which required the design of a new rear bench appropriate to the style of the new front seats. The set was closed with a removable rear tray that hid the trunk. The economy version continued with the spartan seats and the Ventoux engine, a four-speed gearbox derived from the previous three-speed, and the new front bumper's banana plugs.

In 1981 the displacement of the "Cléon-Fonte engine" was increased to 1108 cc, the fan became electric and the radiator was placed immediately behind the front grille. This received a more modern design by using the opportunities offered by plastic materials. For its part, the front brakes became disc. This important remodeling, which practically made a new car from a veteran one, brought it up to date and allowed its presence on the market until the 90s.

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  Central longitudinal motor with gearbox in front

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  Rover type change lever

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  Central longitudinal front motor with front traction

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  The chassis equipped with its mechanics

The Renault 4 was a symbol of the time, a protagonist in movies, a traveler to Africa, a family and urban car, widely used by both the French police and the Spanish Civil Guard until the 1990s. Despite not having any appearance or sporting character, he even participated in the Monte Carlo Rally and was often seen in RAID-type competitions. It even had a cargo or van version identified as the 4F.

Renault 4, a great monarch in the Middle East

R4 pink (Agadir, Morocco, 2020)

At that time the Civil Guard, like the French Gendarmerie, was interested in acquiring a simple and cheap patrol car to man the rural posts. Given that three units of the Renault 4 could be purchased with the budget of a 4x4, the option for this made it possible to considerably increase the number of units with a tight budget, all subject to a study that left 4x4 vehicles for the most rugged terrain. Thus, the Renault 4, which had been adapted with an open canvas roof and a second row with two reversible seats, was widely used to furnish rural barracks. The units received a matte paint, very similar to those of military vehicles. In subsequent installments these modifications were suppressed, including the one related to painting.

Renault 4s were used during the 1990s in Spain by the Junta de Castilla y León to provide transportation for officials of the Ministry of the Environment in some rural areas. The 4 had already shown its toughness to cover rural roads and unpaved tracks that did not have great difficulties.

The appearance of European Euro 1 anti-pollution standards, which required the use of catalytic converters as well as reforms that would allow the use of unleaded gasoline, added to the high cost of said adaptation and the age of the model, advised against making the necessary investments to adapt it to the new regulations. After prolonging its manufacture in Yugoslavia, specifically in the territory of Slovenia, it disappeared permanently in 1993, to make way for the economic series of the Renault Superfive that were also manufactured exclusively in the Slovenian plant after the appearance of the Clio.

Proof of their great history is that they are currently sought after by nostalgic cars for their mechanics, reliability, low consumption and maintenance, and versatility on all types of terrain, thanks to their high ground clearance and flexible suspension.

There are numerous clubs and associations of friends of the Renault 4 that regularly hold meetings around the world, in which you can see transformations made to its bodywork, adaptations to beach and mountain uses, etc.

The Renault 4 was made on two continents, Europe and America, but was sold all over the world.

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  The first berlina "hatchback" 5 doors

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  Renault 4F6 van Over-elevada glazed

Columbia

Renault 4TL year 1987 1.1L

Since it was launched in 1970, the Renault 4 pursued one goal: to become the first car for thousands of Colombians, whose income did not allow them to buy a new car. However, this would not be an easy task, since in the first instance, the Renault 4 had to compete with the big American vehicles, which were already consolidated in the mind of the consumer for a long time and with other small cars that, like him, began to spread in the small local market of that time, such as the Simca 1000, the Fiat 128 or the Fiat Polski 125p. Added to this, many people saw the Renault 4 as a small, fragile and ugly vehicle. To counteract such impressions, and to get Colombian motorists to consider it the best purchase option, Sofasa and the main producers in that country organized a Rally throughout Colombia, with which they intended to present their vehicles as capable of overcoming the different difficulties proposed by the national highways. This Rally was the precedent for the enormous affection that the Renault 4 earned in the hearts of millions of Colombians, since it was from that moment that people began to understand the great benefits that this rare car had. over your competitors. Thus, thousands of people quickly approached Renault dealers to buy their R4, since at that time the government of President Misael Pastrana created a flexible credit line to encourage the purchase of the Renault 4

, the first vehicle assembled and then manufactured by the Sofasa plant. From that moment on, the faithful friend as this car is called in the country, became a symbol, in the change of Colombian car culture, it was the first new car for many families and young people, thereby allowing the company to consolidate the brand in the country. The Renault 4 remained on the market for 22 years, during which approximately 100,000 units were produced, and its nickname in that country was "El Amigo Fiel" or "El Carro Colombiano".

Renault 4R Plus 25, marketed in Colombia as 'the faithful friend'.

In 1976 the first evolution of the Renault 4 appeared in Colombia. Fully developed in Sofasa and unprecedented in the world, the Renault 4 "Plus 25" was presented, with a 1022 cc engine, the commercial name of the car was due to the fact that, according to what was announced, the new engine was 25 % more powerful than its predecessor.

In Colombia it is common to see them run with the 1300 engine of the Renault 12, reaching 145 km/h with this mechanism. Sofasa in 1990 launched a "factory" version with that engine called "Leader", which included better brakes and cooling according to the manufacturer's warranty. Perhaps this is the best most evolved version of the entire history of the R4, in terms of performance and equipment.

An image of the fastest R4 in the world, in Tocancipá Colombia.

Chile

The Renault 4 was introduced very well in the Chilean middle class as an option to the Citroën 2CV (Citroneta). In Chile it was known as La Renoleta and was the workhorse of the unknown Renault in Chile to introduce the later Renault 5 and Renault 12. They are highly appreciated for their simple mechanics, their reliability and ability to burden; characteristics with which it dominated Chilean routes until well into the 1990s. There are still some copies circulating in some Chilean cities^{[citation required]}.

The Renault 4 engines were used in the Chilean Formula 4 championship until 1983, with the displacement increased to 1020 cc, they were used until that year, since they were replaced by Renault engines from the following year 9 of 1400 cc, but they were again used for the new Formula 4 Promotional, which ran from 1987 to 1995.

Around the world

• On September 7, 2013, Pope Francis accepted the gift of Father Renzo Zocca, an old Renault 4L of 300,000 km with which he traveled the Vatican City, a gesture of austerity.
• The 4L is commonly called in Spain as "Cuatro Latas".
• In Argentina and Chile he was given the nickname of "Renoleta", which comes from the one used in Citroën 2CV (Citroneta), it is worth noting that "Renoleta" is sometimes used also to name cars from the Renault firm such as the Renault 6, Renault 12 Break or Renault 18 break (the latter also called "Renolas"). It was also known as "Renolata"
• In Mexico (Guadalajara), he was called "La gelatinera" because a company of cupcakes and jellies used them in their cast flotilla.

• In Yugoslavia he received the nickname Katrca. Its production began in the mid 70s and ended in 1993, being the company associated with Renault Revoz of Novo Mesto (Slovenia) the last factory to produce the R4 in its versions "Clan"

• The R4 was the first large series car with rear gate. Other advances were the incorporation of a sealed cooling and grease circuit
• The first Renault 4 assembled by Sofasa in Envigado (Colombia) was blue, curiously, to this blue people called it Blue Pastrana in honor of President Misael Pastrana who millied in the Colombian Conservative party and inaugurated the assembly plant.
• The R4 has a semi-independent frame (its structure is semi-monocasco), so for many years it was a preferred car to be converted into a buggy. However, the R4 without bodywork lost a lot of stiffness, so the chassis needed to be reinforced if the body was removed.
• The last R4 (especially the call clan) wore seat belts in the back seats
• In the event of collision, the splashing lever poses an additional risk ^{[chuckles]required]}.
• The distance between R4 shafts is slightly different on the right and left of the vehicle, as a rear wheel is more advanced than the other. The reason is in its simple stand-alone rear suspension by arms pulled, which employs torsion bars as a spring. Each of the arms pulled was subject to a torsional bar in the form of "L", anchored longitudinally to the arm and transversely to the chassis of the vehicle, so that when the arm was raised the torsion bar acted as a spring. Both bars were cross-cutting the entire width of the vehicle, so they placed one behind the other, which obliged to slightly delay the position of one suspension arm over the other.
• To open the doors from the inside, there is no shooter, but you put your hand directly into the door and act on the latch
• The advertising slogan of Renault Spain for this car in its last years of commercial life was: "Its beauty is its mechanics". A 1985 television commercial presented him as a gladiator who was destroying other aesthetic cars inspired by Mad Max's films.

Emblema de FASA-Renault en España

• The advertising slogan of Renault Argentina, with which it was made known in that country, was "El Correcaminos", and it was represented by traveling the popular roads of Córdoba, where in these times the "Rally Mundial de Argentina" runs.
• The R4 competed in the Dakar Rally of 1979 with a Sinpar version (4x4) prepared by Bernard and Claude Marreau to finish in second position.

Evolution of the Renault 4

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  1961-1967 Renault 4

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  1967-1974 Renault 4L

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  Renault 4L Mk2

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  1974-1978 Renault 4L

R4 Bertin

The popular vehicle could have offered one more option, a mini R4, a practical city car that was shown but not produced. The small Renault 4 Bertin (a name that it acquired from the name of its mentor, Jean Bertin, a famous French engineer and inventor) started from a 1965 Renault 4, whose body was divided into three parts and which was later removed from the bodywork. middle section, 74 centimeters. Bertin then joined the two remaining parts and as a result got an R4 around three meters long, instead of the 3.67 meters of the original vehicle. It was equipped with the traditional R4's 747 cm³, 27 horsepower, 4-cylinder engine.

Bertin developed the mini R4 as a mobility solution for the narrow Parisian streets and limited parking spaces. He managed to present it at the Paris International Salon in 1969, but the vehicle, which only offered space for two occupants, did not reach the assembly plant. The Fiat 500, its rival at the time, was similar in size and could accommodate four people.

After Renault refused to mass-produce it, Bertin used his prototype for years as a personal vehicle. The engineer passed away in 1975, and the mini R4 ended up confined to an old garage. In the early 1990s it was donated to the Mulhouse Automobile Museum and finally in 2010 a group of teachers and students from the Bugatti High School in that city decided to restore it. Today it is exhibited in said museum as a rarity of automobile design.