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The 1961 Renault 4 proved to be a game-changer for the French marque.
It was the company’s first family car with a front-mounted engine and had no transmission tunnel so its floor was flat.
The compact Renault was intended to be a par-excellence roomy and resourceful car for driving around cities and the countrywide, on weekdays and weekends, to work and on holidays.
It went on sale in more than 100 countries and over eight million examples were made.
Renault 4 E-Tech electric car claims to be as versatile as its predecessor. And, like it, right for its day: it is all-electric, instantly endearing and up to the minute. It is 4.14m long, similar to the 3.92m-long Renault 5.Renault 4 E-Tech 100% electric uses the same AmpR Small platform, the underpinning engineered for maximised interior space, agility and comfort.
The Renault 4 electric will be made in Maubeuge, France, and is likely to go on sale in 2025. South African introduction is yet to be confirmed. Renault revealed a few snapshots of its exterior ahead of the official unveiling on October 14 at the Paris motor show.
Maybe you can draw conclusions from the close-up details. The 4 is the first Renault to feature a backlit emblem at the centre of its face – a reminder of its 1960s predecessor but with a modern twist.
Some people remember the 4L’s three-part, pill-shaped tail lights. They are still there and still upright. The 4 E-Tech still features the trademark trapezoidal quarter widows positioned above the rear wheels.
Calling to mind the plastic shielding on later 4L generations, Renault’s 4 E-Tech retains three parallel sculpted lines extending from the body. A graphic stretching from the windscreen’s sides to the wheel arches hints at the original Renault 4’s characteristic front fenders.
The 1960s chrome-plated bumpers and rubber buffers are gone, but the front and rear bumpers come with vertical overriders, in a tip of the hat to the original Renault 4.You can cruise with the wind in your hair in Renault 4 E-Tech 100% electric – as in some of its namesake’s spinoffs. Its fabric roof pulls wide open.
