Renault 3 - Launch of The R3 and R4

Launch of The R3 and R4

Renault launched the Renault R3 and the Renault R4 simultaneously in July 1961. The cars shared the same body and most mechanical components, but the R3 was powered by a 603 cc version of the engine while the engine capacity of the R4 was 747 cc. This placed the R3 in the 3CV taxation class while the R4 found itself in the 4CV taxation class. Actual maximum power output was claimed by Renault as 22.5 hp for the R3, and 26.5 or 32 hp for the R4, depending on price level and the type of carburettor fitted. Initially the base versions of the R3 and R4 came with a thick C-pillar behind each of the rear doors although for a 400 franc supplement over the price of the basic R4 buyers could specify a body with the C-pillar filled by a third side window which increased the weight but which soon became standard for all R4s.

The R3 and R4 were targeted at the Citroen 2CV which employed soft springs and long wheel travel to absorb bumps on poorly maintained roads. The Renault 3 & 4 applied the same approach and two models appeared at the Paris Motor Show in 1961 on a specialized demonstration display that incorporated an irregular rolling road. Visitors could sit inside car, which remained undisturbed while the suspension absorbed the erratic bumps of the rolling road. In 1962 Renault employed the same display at the Turin Motor Show.

The basic version of the R3 was priced 40 francs below the lowest priced version of the Citroen 2CV in 1961 and featured painted bumpers and grill, a simplified instrument panel, a single sun visor, no windshield washer, and no interior door panels. This trim was also offered in the more powerful R4. The R4L with six side windows, chrome coloured bumper and grill, and less spartan interior cost 400 francs (roughly 8%) more than the R4 with its four side windows. Similar as the Renault 4CV “Service” in 1953, customers shunned the basic model and in October 1962, the Renault R3 was discontinued, along with the most basic version of the Renault 4.

A "super" version (branded "de luxe" in some export markets) with opening rear quarter-light windows and extra trimmings was also offered. De luxe and super versions of the R4L received a version of the engine from the Renault Dauphine giving them a four-cylinder engine capacity of 845 cc. After the withdrawal of the 603 cc engined R3, 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.