Renault Dauphine

The Renault Dauphine was a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, four-door economy sedan with three-box styling that Renault marketed from 1956 to 1967 in a single generation. Renault chairman Pierre Lefaucheux conceived it with the engineer Fernand Picard as a car for French buyers whose living standards were rising and who would soon be driving on the new autoroutes. Engineering began in 1949 as Project 109, and Renault surveyed buyers and tested prototypes in many climates over five years before launch. Alongside the Citroën 2CV, Volkswagen Beetle, Morris Minor, Mini and Fiat 600, it is credited with pioneering the modern European economy car. More than two million were made, many under licence outside France, and the range grew to include the Ondine, the Gordini sporting versions, a factory racing model and the Caravelle, also sold as the Floride, a two-door coupé and convertible based on its mechanics.