70 years of the Dauphine: the car that took Renault to a whole new level

1956. The 4CV had paved the way. The Dauphine was thinking bigger.

In 1949, just as the 4CV was beginning to achieve success, Pierre Lefaucheux, Renault’s CEO since 1945, was already thinking about its successor. France was changing, incomes were rising and motorists were beginning to expect more from their cars: more space, greater comfort and more elegance. The project for its replacement, known internally as Project 109, truly got underway in 1951.

Like the 4CV, the future Dauphine retained a rear-engine layout, but it was larger, more spacious and more powerful. Its 845 cc four-cylinder engine produced 30 horsepower, enabling it to reach a top speed of around 115 km/h. With four doors, a 380-litre boot and a low weight, it offered a particularly appealing combination for customers entering a new consumer society.

Its name itself tells the story of its relationship with its predecessor. Since the 4CV had become the “queen” of sales, the newcomer would be her “dauphine”, the French title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the throne. A few years later, the car would itself rise to the top of the French market.

But the Dauphine did more than simply replicate the 4CV formula. It also changed the way Renault approached car design. Market research played an increasingly important role in vehicle development. The automaker sought to understand the expectations of its future customers down to the smallest details, from colours and materials to the overall feel of the interior. This is where Paule Marrot came in. From 1953 onwards, the decorator and artist worked with Renault on body colours and interiors. She helped bring brighter, more cheerful shades to an automotive industry still dominated by dark tones. The Dauphine was thus offered in a palette of around 30 pastel colours, an innovation that helped shape its identity and contributed to its success.

From Flins to the world: Renault enters a new dimension

To produce the Dauphine on a large scale, Renault had a new industrial asset at its disposal: the Flins plant, inaugurated in 1952. The site assembled its first Dauphine in 1956 and quickly became one of the major symbols of Renault’s growing industrial strength.

The ramp-up was spectacular. The Dauphine became France’s best-selling car from 1957 to 1961 and ultimately surpassed 2.1 million units produced. It was also manufactured or assembled in many countries, including Belgium, Spain, Italy, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. With this international expansion, Renault embraced a new ambition: to move beyond being a French carmaker and become an international automotive player.

The United States represented a major challenge. Renault saw enormous potential there, and the Dauphine got off to a spectacular start. Exports grew rapidly, making the little French car a familiar sight on American roads. When this momentum faded a few years later, the experience nonetheless helped change the way Renault viewed international markets and the expectations of motorists around the world.

The Dauphine also had an unexpected life on the other side of the Atlantic. In 1959, it provided the basis for the Henney Kilowatt, an electric car developed for the US market. The project remained a niche experiment, but it was a remarkable early forerunner of the research Renault would later pursue in the field of electric mobility.

Mass-market, international… and sporty

Like the 4CV before it, the Dauphine enjoyed several lives. A family car, a sports model and a rally car, it quickly went beyond the purpose for which it had originally been designed.

As early as 1956, the Dauphine made its mark in motorsport by winning the Tour de Corse. The following year, Amédée Gordini, a former racing driver and car tuner, began working with Renault. Nicknamed “the Sorcerer,” he put his expertise at the service of the Régie, working in particular to improve the Dauphine’s engine and gearbox to create a more powerful and sportier version. The Dauphine Gordini was born and unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1957. In 1958, a Dauphine went on to win the Monte Carlo Rally, while a Dauphine Gordini triumphed in the Tour de Corse a few months later.

With the Dauphine Gordini, Renault added a dose of character to its small family sedan. The car remained affordable and practical for everyday use, but it could also be playful on the road and competitive in rallying. This blend of everyday car and fun-to-drive machine played a major role in shaping the Dauphine’s image.

Seventy years after its launch, the Dauphine tells the story of Renault’s transformation from a company rebuilding itself into one entering a new dimension. The 4CV had enabled the automaker to reconnect with its customers. The Dauphine gave Renault a new ambition: to think bigger, go further and move faster.