Caravelle aimed to be VW-fighter
During the early part of the 20th century, some large, luxury, slope-nosed Renaults were sold in North America, many bodied by American coachbuilders. Renault had been founded in 1899 and grew into France’s largest automobile producer, building a wide variety of models. It was active in exporting.
The marque gradually disappeared from North America, and wouldn’t reappear until the company resumed exporting following the Second World War.
The first post-war Renault to land in North America was the tiny rear-engine, four-door 4CV sedan. It arrived in 1949, but was a little too small to enjoy much popularity.
To become more competitive and modern, Renault introduced the Dauphine in 1956, a larger, more attractive sedan with thoroughly contemporary styling. It was intended to provide stronger competition than the 4CV did for the German Volkswagen Beetle, whose sales were beginning to take off.
Renault sales did well, in some areas rivalling the Volkswagen, which was on its way to becoming the undisputed small-car sales leader.
While Volkswagen was prospering, it still felt the need to add some glamour to its image, so it decided to offer a sleeker model to go with the Beetle’s 1930s design. In the mid-1950s, it commissioned Italy’s Turin-based Ghia studio to style a sportier car. Ghia designed a sporty coupe and convertible that Volkswagen then engaged German coachbuilder Karmann, builder of VW cabriolets, to produce.
The Karmann-Ghia arrived in 1955 as a 1956 model. Being based on standard Volkswagen Beetle running gear, it combined its beautiful Italian styling with VW’s proven sturdiness and economy.
The Karmann-Ghia was an immediate success, and Renault was not prepared to leave the small specialty market all to Volkswagen. It developed the sporty Caravelle, called the Floride (Florida) in Europe, introduced at the 1958 Paris auto show. It followed the VW theme by being a sleeker model based on Dauphine economy-car components. It arrived in North America late in 1959.
The Caravelle differed from the Karmann-Ghia in one aspect, however: more power. Its 850-cc Dauphine overhead-valve four was tuned up to produce 40 horsepower, compared with the Dauphine’s 32.5 and Karmann-Ghia/Beetle’s 36.
The result was that the Caravelle’s zero-to-100 km/h time of 22.4 seconds was considerably better than the K-G’s 28.8 (Road & Track, August 1959). Top speed was about the same at 122 km/h. At 760 kilograms, the Caravelle was 38.5 kg lighter than the K-G.
Both had four-wheel independent suspension with swing rear axles, the Caravelle’s via coil springs rather than the K-G’s torsion bars. Steering was rack-and-pinion.
The water-cooled inline engine (VW’s was an aircooled flat four) was behind the rear axle, with the radiator in front of the engine receiving cooling air through grilled scoops ahead of the rear wheels.
Transmissions were standard three-speed manual or optional four-speed manual. An electromagnetic clutch was available with the three-speed, and all had floor-mounted shift levers.
The unit-construction Caravelle came as a twodoor, four-seat (really 2 + 2) hardtop or two-seat convertible with a lift-off metal top available.
The Caravelle’s overall length of 4,166 millimetres was only 25 mm longer than the K-G’s, but since its 2,270-mm wheelbase was 129 mm less, the Caravelle had more body overhang.
In spite of this, the Caravelle carried its Ghia styling very well. Its crisp lines, reverse-sloped grille-less nose, headlamps set in “sugar scoop” recesses and character line that ran from the headlights to the rear window combined to produce a very attractive little machine.
The Caravelle would receive upgrades in its lifetime. In 1962, it was made much more desirable with a new 956-cc, 51-horsepower five-bearing engine with a larger bore and shorter stroke. This reduced the zero-to-100 km/h time to 19.4 seconds and raised top speed to 137 km/h (85 mph), outperforming the K-G. It also got four-wheel disc brakes.
Then, in 1964, came a 1,108-cc R8-derived engine that improved acceleration and pushed top speed to nearly 145 km/h.
The radiator was moved to the rear of the engine and the fender air scoops were replaced by deck louvers. It got four-wheel disc brakes, standard four-speed transmission and a beefed up suspension using components from Renault’s new R8 sedan.
Relocating the radiator rearward increased interior space, giving the four-seater more rear legroom. This was complemented by a higher, squared-off roofline that increased rear headroom.
Although the Caravelle was a very stylish car, it didn’t have quite the robustness of the Beetle-based Karmann-Ghia. Rust was also a problem, and after an initial spurt, sales tapered off. It was discontinued in 1968.