Quatrelle: My Love

More than 2,000 car-crazed students are motoring from the French capital and across 6,000 kilometres of African desert in a different kind of race. The catch? In this rally, they've got to be equip...
More than 2,000 car-crazed students are motoring from the French capital and across 6,000 kilometres of African desert in a different kind of race. The catch? In this rally, they've got to be equipped with an ageing Renault 4.
The Renault 4 remained an extremely basic car throughout its life, and development never extended to making the design any less simple or spartan. However, in spite of its basic design, the Renault 4 had an extremely comfortable ride, due to well-designed suspension (which lent the Renault 4 a softer, more fluid ride than many modern cars) and a habitable interior due to comfortable seats, powerful heater and effective ventilation. However, the windows lacked winding mechanisms and instead used sliding mechanisms. To some this gave the Renault 4 character, but to many others it was just annoying and a tell-tale sign of the age of the design.
Another detail which made the Renault 4 different from other cars was the gear lever, which was on the dashboard. This was an effective means of creating a flat floor, using a simple design borrowed from the 2CV. It passed over the longitudinal engine and clutch to the gearbox at the front. Though unconventional and criticised by conservative motoring journalists, the dash-mounted gear lever was easy to use and left more interior space free.(read more...)