Renault R4140

The Renault R4140 is a series of forward-cab trucks with a payload of 5 and 7 tonnes made by Renault from June 1950. The truckers gave it the unfortunate nickname Fainéant, the lazy one, because of the horizontal engine lying between the chassis rails behind the cab and its lack of liveliness caused by short gearbox ratios. It succeeded the Renault AHN. The idea was original and unique in France, since the only other commercial vehicle maker that had bet on a flat engine under the chassis was the German Bussing; the engine position frees a large space in the cab and removes the engine tunnel, noise and heat, and a wide bench seats up to three abreast. The R.4180 tractor for semi-trailers allows a gross train weight of 23 tonnes. The first engine, a flat in-line six-cylinder type 568 diesel of 6,234 cubic centimetres, developed only 105 hp in 1950, and in 1952 the type 572 engine rose to 120 hp. For the 1957 models it was the first truck to carry the Saviem brand alone, with the Mondragon of 5 tonnes payload and the Tancarville of 7 tonnes payload.