Renault Colorale

The Renault Colorale is a mid-size car, seen in Europe at the time as a large family car, that Renault made from the 1950 to 1957 model years with the profile of a large station wagon. After the success of the 4CV, management wanted to move upmarket with a robust, functional vehicle equally at home in town and country and in the French overseas territories, and the name joins the French words colonial and rural. It used a modified chassis of the Renault 1,000 kg van with an all-new body inspired by American estates such as the Chevrolet Suburban, stamped by Chausson at Gennevilliers and assembled at Billancourt, and four-wheel drive was optional. It recalled the SUVs that came much later, but it was slower and less elegant than rivals in France and was not a commercial success. About 43,000 were built before production ended in 1957, and the Renault Domaine took over until 1960.