Renault 4cv Based Specials Reasoning Behind the Index Continued finally able to take possession of the mysterious car. What we would soon learn, this was the Dale Halliday Special. But, as we continued to research the car, we learned that it was actually the second car built by Halliday, for Dr Paul Winters. While the initial Halliday car had more success on the track, this example has the distinction of being the first mid-engine, rear-drive, transverse-mounted, sports car. As it turns out the first of more than million, but that is another book I am working on. While learning about Halliday’s creation, it indirectly led to the rediscovering of a dozen or so other California 4cv based racers, as it turned out, two of which had come from France and had raced at Le Mans. Hence, a database of all USA 4cv based specials was started. So it seemed logical if there were that many cars concentrated in one state, that there were probably countless more all over the world. However, my opinion seemed to be strongly in the minority within the 4cv community. After, what seemed liked, countless internet searches, the largest number I had ever seen referencing unique cars based on the 4cv and built in period was but forty cars. By this point, my personal count was considerably higher than that. In more than two decades of traveling to France, visiting Renault collections, Retromobile, and Le Mans, I was well versed in 4cv based cars raced by Jean Rédélé, Louis Pons, Guy Michel, Pierre Ferry, Émile Vernet, Jean Pairard, Louis, and Jean -Louis Rosier and others. The assumption was for every established racer, there had to be a significant number of unknown drivers. Besides racing 4cv based cars on track, there was another race taking part in post-war France, to become the first to build sports cars in a series. As mentioned previously, the 4cv was probably the best base to build a oneoff car at the time. While It was just as suitable for limited production examples that were able to find a market as well. The biggest quandary, was what to include and what to omit from the index. The biggest debate was cars that were built on their own chassis though using 4cv components. At first it seemed that only 4cv powered vehicles should be included, but after further reflection, any vehicle that used a 4cv as its primary donor vehicle, should be included. So in the end, that was the final criteria chosen. Raymond Rispal’s 4cv based racer Halliday Special found in Redding, CA The unfinished Tiburon’s debut in 2013
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