The day Renault almost beat the Mini and the Fiat 500
As the Renault 5 prepares to make its big comeback in electric form, one wonders if Renault could not have done a very nice job with its modern 4CV, the Fiftie.
Geneva Motor Show 1996. The automobile enters the era of neo-retro, a new fashion which consists of drawing inspiration as much as possible from the style of old models. Two years earlier, Volkswagen unveiled its Concept 1 at the 1994 Detroit Motor Show which lead to the production New Beetle in 1998, modern reinterpretation of the famous Beetle. At this time when the new BMW Mini did not even exist in draft form, Renault unveiled a very nice concept car in Switzerland.
The Fiftie pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Renault 4CV. Its design is largely inspired by the original model, launched on the market in 1947 and remained in the catalog until 1961. Its mechanical architecture too, with a small 60 horsepower gasoline engine installed at the rear and driving only this train. The doors are antagonistic opening but unlike the old 4CV, there are only two places inside. Two points which would naturally complicate the development of a production version, even if Renault never imagined getting there with this simple style study. But this Fiftie perhaps had the perfect elements to design a small modern city car with neo-retro lines, thus styling the Mini (and the Fiat 500 which only arrived in 2007).
The problem with the Twingo?
Especially since the size of the front bonnet would undoubtedly have made it possible to easily install an engine there, thus freeing up space in the passenger compartment to add two other seats (like the contemporary Fiat 500). But at the time, the very successful first generation Twingo is selling very well and Renault therefore no longer needs to rack its brains over this kind of project. Today, on the other hand, the diamond brand is putting the package on the retro: after the new Renault 5 expected for 2023, it should engage with a new Renault 4 the following year. So, what if we took the opportunity to bring the 4CV out of the boxes?