RARE RENAULT NEEDS A HOME
During the Second World War, Renault was working on surreptitious plans for a new small car and had prototypes running in 1945. The model was officially launched in September 1946 but didnʼt go on sale until July 1947, with a rear engine mounted well back and driving forward to the rear axle. It was christened the 4CV, but known in Britain as the Renault 750, and at one point it was the most popular car in France.
Martin Vann from Hampshire was given his motherʼs Belgian-built 1959 750 as his first car. “It was thrashed – and crashed – in the vain pursuit of my Mini-owning friends,” he recalls, “but I had a soft spot for its light, direct steering, which was vital for catching the low-speed slides caused by the rearward weight bias.”
In the late ʼ80s, while living and working in France, Martin set out to find a 4CV to restore. In Toulouse he found a rare 1955 découvrable – a model with a roll-back canvas roof – in need of restoration. It had no windows, no lights, no wipers and a large hole in the floor, so Martin took it on a sleeper train to Paris then drove it to his home in Melun. The car was stripped and sandblasted before being welded and primed, but work stopped when he was transferred to Brazil. Then, for 22 years, the incomplete car was stored in a French barn.
In 2012 he brought it to England and his home in the New Forest. “The car is complete but largely dismantled,” he says. “Sadly, my project list is too long so it is now time for someone else to take it on and get this rare vehicle back on the road.” If youʼre keen, email r4cv1@outlook.com