Road Rally Car boutique #2 (Ooh La La)

I don't really want to get ahead of myself. There is time a-plenty to discuss the world of Classic Car Road Rallying. It's a whole subculture of its own. I was going to wait until I'd introduced the idea of Road Rallying in cars over 25 years old before introducing some as Road Rally cars. But my hand was forced by the following vehicle appearing for sale on Craigslist. So here goes...

Je t'aime... Oh, je t'aime...

Once in a while a car so unusual appears for sale that you have to do a double take. Such as when this Renault 4CV appeared on Craigslist in the fall of last year. I was immediately captivated by its Gallic charm. The car disappeared from sale over the winter but reappeared the other day.

For those of you not familiar with the car, here's a brief outline, the full history is a fascinating  story of covert World War 2 car design that needs a better person than I to tell the tale. Constructed between 1946 and 1961 it was the French answer to the VW Beetle, and Ferdinand Porsche did have his hand in the development of the car. Over the course of its history it was the first French car to sell over 1 million units. 

From the front, I think it is bears visual similarities to the English Morris Minor, which it pre-dates by two years so we should really say the Morris Minor bears a similarity to the 4CV. Power came from a rear mounted, 4 cylinder, 750cc engine. The rear wheel drive affording excellent traction. The front steering on the early models was very light and went from full lock to full lock in 2 1/4 turns of the steering wheel, (How's that for positive?)

By now you are probably asking yourselves "Why on earth is this ugly piece of French auto engineering considered a good rally car?"

Well, the high gearing, light steering, and traction led it to be an outstanding Rally car. Between 1951 and 1954 4CV's were class winners in the Monte Carlo Rally, Tulip Rally, Alpine Cup, Tour de France Rally and even Le Mans. Clearly you should never judge a book by its cover.

So if you're looking for something different to road rally that really represents a totally different era in motor sport, this could be what you're after.

I absolutely adore this little car, I really do. I'd have it if I could.