Renault 4

Renault 4
Five-door car with steel wheels and door mirrors and a two-box body style
1984 Renault 4 GTL
Overview
ManufacturerRenault
Also calledRenault R4
Renault 4L (Quatrelle)
Renault R3
Production1961–1992 (until 1994 in Slovenia)
Over eight million units
Assembly
Body and chassis
ClassB-segment, small economy family car
Body style5-door hatchback
2-door van
2-door pickup truck
LayoutFront mid-engine, front-wheel drive
RelatedRenault 5
Renault 6
Renault 7
Renault Rodeo
Powertrain
Engine
Transmission3-speed manual
4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase2,440 mm (96.1 in) (right)[6]
2,395 mm (94.3 in) (left)[6]
Length3,663 mm (144.2 in)
Width1,485 mm (58.5 in)
Height1,470 mm (57.9 in)
Kerb weight600–750 kg (1,323–1,653 lb)
Chronology
PredecessorRenault 4CV
SuccessorRenault Twingo

The Renault 4, or R4 in short (and 4L, pronounced "Quatrelle", in French), is an economy car built by the French company Renault from 1961 to 1994. Although the Renault 4 was first marketed as a short estate or wagon, its minimal rear overhang, and its top-hinged, single-piece tail-gate made it the world's first mass-produced hatchback car, as well as the first time Renault had used a front-wheel-drive layout in a family car.[nb 1] A bare-bones, entry-level Renault 3, or R3 was also offered in 1961/1962.

The car was launched at a time when several decades of economic stagnation were giving way to growing prosperity and surging car ownership in France. The first million cars were produced by 1 February 1966, less than four and a half years after launch;[8] eventually over eight million were built, making the Renault 4 a commercial success because of the timing of its introduction and the merits of its design. In early 2020, the 33-year production run of the Renault 4 was counted as the seventeenth most long-lived single generation car in history.[9]

  1. ^ "Los Andes – Chile".
  2. ^ "Somaca Casablanca". Somaca.e-monsite.com. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  3. ^ Renault 4 celebrating 50th anniversary in 2011, www.caradvice.com.au Retrieved on 11 December 2012
  4. ^ "Los Andes – Chile".
  5. ^ "Alfa Romeo's small car projects before the birth of the Alfasud". alfasud.alfisti.net. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Automobilia1962 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Remembering the Estafette – Groupe Renault
  8. ^ "News and Views: 1M Renault 4". Autocar. 124 (2651): 248. 4 February 1966.
  9. ^ Survivors: The world’s longest-living carsAutocar


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