Lot 114: Renault 4 TL

The 4 was Renault's response to the 1948 Citroën 2CV. Renault was able to review the pluses and minuses of the 2CV design and come up with a larger, more urban vehicle. In the spring of 1956, Renault Chairman Pierre Dreyfus launched this new project: designing a new model to replace the rear engined 4CV that would become an every man's car, capable of satisfying the needs of anybody. It would be a family car, a woman's car, a farmer's car, a city car. It would also be suitable for motorists around the world. The car was launched in September 1961 as the Renault R4 with an engine capacity of 747 cc. A deluxe version with opening rear quarter-light windows and extra trimmings was also offered. An even less powerful version of the car, with a 603 cc engine, was available in France where it was badged as the Renault R3. For October 1962 the R3 was discontinued, while de luxe and super versions of the R4L received the bored out version of the engine from the Renault Dauphine giving them an engine capacity of 845 cc. The 747 cc R4 model continued to be listed with an entry level recommended retail price, but it was mostly the slightly larger engined L versions that found their way into customers' hands. By 1965 Renault had removed the extra 'R' from their model names: the Renault R4L had become the Renault 4L. The car remained in production until the early 1990's with over 8.1 million having been built. This example is a TL of 1990 vintage, which has covered just 68500km from new. It has recently been resident in Guernsey but was originally registered in France, which means that there are no VAT issues. It has the 956cc engine and manual transmission. Finished in Danube Blue, the car is described as being fully restored and in excellent condition throughout. It is said to drive very well indeed and, says the vendor, is guaranteed to put a smile on the driver's face. Cute, frugal and great fun.