Early press photos and deconstructed cutaway displays of the Renault 4 highlight the car's hatchback packaging, under-hood fuel tank, raised rear seating stance and roll-back canvas roof.
Renault positioned the R4 as a modernized competitor to the Citroën 2CV, sharing a longitudinal front-wheel-drive layout and simple lawn-chair-style seats while offering a boxier, roomier body; Pierra Dreyfus, Renault chairman of the era, called it a "blue jeans" car.
Early drawings and prototypes show varied styling treatments, including compact "funny-face" versions and tiny wheels, and the cutaways reveal packaging choices that prioritized cargo space; Renault also carried out cold-weather testing in Bemidji, Minnesota.
The Renault 4's canvas roof rolled rearward from the front and forward from the rear to the center, permitting front, rear or full openings and enhancing the model's practical versatility.
This report is based on information originally published by The Autopian.
Read the full article at The Autopian.
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