Timeline: In the midst of the Second World War, Renault was secretly working on the development of a small car. The term 4cv, refers to the cars official rating of only four taxable horsepower. Renault's designers laid the foundations for the Renault 4cv which was officially launched in October 1946 in Paris. 4 doors, 4 seats, 4 CV, 440,000 francs! With this memorable slogan, Renault affirmed its ambitions to make the 4cv compact, comfortable and economical. Renault 4cv was able to carry four people comfortably, its flat floor was kept clear by the rear positioning of the engine. Not only used daily by the motoring public, the 4cv would enjoy many years of competitive racing, from numerous class wins in the Monte Carlo Rally, Mille Miglia, Tour De France, and even at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The name 4cv refers to the French words cheval-vapeur, which translate to 'horse-power' as a unit of power. The 4cv was rated four taxable horsepower at the time when a vehicle's horsepower was used as its tax classification. Jean-August Riolfo, was the head of the test department, so he placed the 4cv's engine on the test bench starting in February 1942 and it proved to be as strong and sturdy as they had hoped. By April of 1942, Renault’s skeleton crew as well as the German overseers caught their first glimpse of the little car, however reviews were mixed of the two-door all-aluminum bodied prototype. Critics claimed the 4cv was too high at the front and the rear was unattractive. Picard went back to the design table and began to work at improving the appearance of the vehicle. Though the plant was bombed on a number of occasions the new car survived and was driven daily around the Renault industrial complex Renault 4cv Based Specials Development Begins The development team continued to work on both the 4cv and a larger 11cv projects, but from this point on it was done in secret. Louis Renault had his team focus primarily on the larger sedan. Though Fernand Picard was not discouraged, as they built a second 4CV prototype. This second car was a little more refined than the original but it still had two doors and was quite similar in size, though the sloped-nosed styling of the German KdF-Wagen was much less prominent. Louis Renault was arrested outside Paris on September 22, 1944 and brought to the Fresnes prison to stand trial for treason, but he died mysteriously on October 24, 1944, before he could be tried. By the time, Pierre Lefaucheux, was appointed as caretaker general, of the Billancourt factories they were nearly destroyed, along with the second prototype it appears, but nearly 13,000 workers assisted in cleaning up the rubble, and the rebuilding. Picard continued on with the development of the 4cv and created a third prototype, this one with four-doors. Lefaucheux then replaced Louis Renault as the CEO of the reorganized state-owned entity. 2nd Prototype First variant from rear
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