06 Jul 01
Renault committed itself to rear-engined cars after the war, beginning with the 4CV in 1947, a willing little saloon which went quite well on 760 cc and featured refinements such as rack-and-pinion steering and hydraulic brakes. The Dauphine of 1956 was simply an uprated, restyled 4CV but with enough power to bring the shortcomings of its tail-heavy engine configuration into focus, sometimes all too sharply. Not that buyers seemed to care: they liked it for its economy and comfort, and bought 2 million of them over a 12-year production run. More interesting was the Dauphine Gordini which, on a tuned 34 bhp, was good for 75 mph. Both versions are remembered for their propensity to corrode alarmingly.
In search of a more glamorous image, Renault developed a Dauphine Coupe and convertible called the Floride, a pretty Frua design cast in the mould of VW's Karmann Ghia. It was followed up in 1962 by the more powerful, all disc-braked Caravelle, which had a different, squarer roof line and, on most, a bigger 1108 cc engine, giving 90 mph potential.
Renault remained faithful to rear engines until 1972 with the 8 and 10, but its new generation of small cars for the '70s - the 5, 6 and 12 - were all front-driven. In Italy, Alfa Romeo produced the Dauphine under licence, while in North America, from 1960-64, there was an electric-powered version built by a company called Henney, better known for its Hearse conversions. The first of London's mini cabs, perversely, were Dauphines.
