Renault · 1956–1970

Renault Dauphine

The Renault Dauphine (pronounced [dɔfin]) is a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, four-door sedan with three-box styling, marketed to the economy sector by Renault from 1956 to 1967 across a single generation. Along with such cars as the Citroën 2CV, Volkswagen Beetle, Morris Minor, Mini and Fiat 600, the Dauphine pioneered the modern European economy car. More than two million Dauphines were manufactured, many under licence by other manufacturers outside of France. Renault marketed numerous variants of the Dauphine, including a luxury version, the Renault Ondine; a decontented version, the Dauphine Teimoso (Brazil, 1965); sporting versions marketed as the Dauphine Gordini and the Ondine Gordini, and the 1093 factory racing model; as well as a prominent derivative, the Caravelle/Floride, a Dauphine-based two-door coupé and convertible.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Renault 4CV · Successor: Renault 6

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Conception

As Louis Renault's successor, and as Renault's chairman, Pierre Lefaucheux continued to defy the postwar French Ministry of Industrial Production – which had wanted to convert Renault solely to truck manufacture. Lefaucheux instead saw Renault's survival in automobiles and achieved considerable success with the 4CV, with over 500,000 produced by 1954. The Dauphine was born during a conversation with Lefaucheux and engineer Fernand Picard. The two agreed the 4CV was appropriate in its postwar context, but that French consumers would soon need a car appropriate for their increasing standard of living, and the onset of the French Autoroute national highway implementation.

Prototyping

Internally known as "Project 109" the Dauphine's engineering began in 1949 with engineers Fernand Picard, Robert Barthaud and Jacques Ousset managing the project. A 1951 survey conducted by Renault indicated design parameters of a car with a top speed of 110 km/h (68 mph), seating for four passengers and fuel consumption of less than 7 L/100 km (40 mpg‑imp; 34 mpg‑US). The survey indicated that women held stronger opinions about a car's colors than about the car itself (See below, Marrot at Renault). Engineers spent the next five years developing the Dauphine. Within the first year, designers had created a ⅛th-scale clay model, studied the model's aerodynamics, built a full-scale clay model, studied wood interior mockups of the seating, instrument panel, and steering column – and built the first prototype in metal. Having largely finalized the exterior design, testing of the prototype began at Renault's facilities at Lardy, France – by secrecy of night, on July 24, 1952. Using new laboratories and new specially designed tracks, engineers measured maximum speed, acceleration, braking and fuel consumption as well as handling, heating and ventilation, ride, noise levels and parts durability. Engineers tested parts by subjecting them to twisting and vibration stresses, and then redesigning the parts for manufacture. By August 1953, head engineer Picard had an almond-green prototype delivered to Madrid for dry condition testing, ultimately experiencing only five flat tires and a generator failure after 2,200 km (1,400 mi). Subsequently, Lefaucheux ordered engineers to test a Dauphine prototype directly against a Volkswagen Beetle. The engineers determined that noise levels were too high, interior ventilation and door sealing were inadequate and most importantly, the engine c

Design

At introduction, the Dauphine was positioned in the marketplace between the concurrently manufactured 4CV, and the much larger Frégate. The new model followed the 4CV's rear-engine, four-door three-box sedan format, while providing greater room and power and pioneering a new focus for Renault on interior and exterior color and design. Technical. The Dauphine used a version of the 4CV's water-cooled Ventoux engine with capacity increased from 760 cc to 845 cc, and power increased from 19–32 hp (14–24 kW). According to Road & Track, the Dauphine accelerated from 60 mph (97 km/h) in 32 seconds. Engine cooling was facilitated by air intakes behind each rear door and a vented rear fascia. Heavier and 12 in (300 mm) longer than its predecessor, the 4-door body featured monocoque construction with "a pair of perimeter-shaped longitudinal box sections and substantial cross-bracing", but without the 4CV's rear-hinged suicide doors. Transmissions: Renault offered a three-speed manual transmission for the Dauphine, with synchronizers on 2nd and 3rd gear. In October 1961 synchromesh was provided for the 1st gear. There was also the option of a semi-automatic transmission – in effect, a manual transmission coupled to dry clutch that engaged and disengaged by touching the gearshift – beginning in 1957 with an electromagnetically-operated Ferlec clutch and no separate clutch pedal – similar to Volkswagen's Autostick. Beginning in 1963, the Dauphine could be had with the three-speed transmission with electro-mechanical control, developed by Jaeger, which functioned as a "fully-automatic" transmission. Renault's "automatic transmission" was controlled by five dash-mounted push-buttons: R-N-D-2-1. A Renault advertisement at the time said "out went the stick, in went the push-buttons – a

Variants

The Renault Ondine, an upmarket variant of the Dauphine, was introduced in 1961 and was offered for two years. It featured a 4-speed transmission. The Gordini version was offered with a 4-speed transmission, four-wheel disc brakes from 1964 and increased horsepower, performance tuned by Amédée Gordini to 37 hp (27.2 kW). Both Dauphine Gordini and Ondine Gordini variants were offered. The 1093 was a factory racing model limited edition of 2,140 homologated, which were tuned to 55 hp (41 kW) and featured a twin-barrel carburettor, four-speed manual transmission and tachometer, had a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph), and were produced in 1962 and 1963. All were painted white with two thin blue stripes running front to back along the hood, roof and trunk.

Global manufacture

Renault manufactured the Dauphine at its Flins factory, with a car leaving the assembly line every 20–30 seconds, and with engines from the company's headquarters factory on Île Seguin in Billancourt, Paris. The highly automated Billancourt site could produce an engine every 28 seconds. The Dauphine was also manufactured worldwide: Argentina: Industrias Kaiser Argentina produced the Dauphine under the Renault License in the Santa Isabel facility. 97,209 IKA Dauphines and Gordinis were produced as follows: IKA Dauphine (1960–1966) IKA Gordini (1962–1970) Renault 850 (1967–1970 – a reduced-specification model) Argentinian regulations required the manufacturers to incorporate extra bumper bars as seen here in the photographs of an Argentine unit. Australia: Renault (Australia) Pty Ltd assembled the Dauphine at Somerton, Victoria. Brazil: The Dauphine was produced under license by Willys-Overland, between 1959 and 1968, in the following versions: Dauphine: 23,887 units (1959–1965); "Gordini": 41,052 units (1962–1968); "Renault 1093": 721 units (1963–1965); "Teimoso" (simplified model, without accessories): 8,967 units (1965–1967).A total of 74,627 units was produced in Brazil. Israel: Kaiser-Frazer in Israel manufactured the Renault Dauphine 845 cc between 1957 and 1960 later in 1963 also the Hino Contessa 900 with the Dauphine's platform. Italy: The Dauphine was manufactured under license by Alfa Romeo at its Portello, Milan facility from 1959 to 1964 and marketed as the Dauphine Alfa Romeo — featuring a Magneti-Marelli 12 volt electrical system, rather than 6 volt in the French model, and carrying a logo "Dauphine Alfa Romeo" or "Ondine Alfa Romeo." As a chief competitor to Alfa Romeo, Gianni Agnelli, Fiat's chairman, targeted the Dauphine by lobbying to revise the basi

Succession

By the early 1960s, Renault sought to avoid the single-model-culture that had nearly destroyed Volkswagen, accelerating the development of the Dauphine's successor, the R8, which supplemented the Dauphine in 1962. Renault celebrated the end of Dauphine production with a limited edition of 1000 models. The last of the base-model Dauphines was produced in December 1966 and the last Gordini models were sold in December 1967. By this time the Dauphine had been excluded from the manufacturer's production lines and Dauphine assembly during the model's final years was subcontracted, along with that of the Caravelle, to Brissonneau and Lotz at Creil.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Renault Dauphine
aka: Renault Ondine , Renault Gordini , Renault 850, Dauphine Alfa Romeo, IKA Dauphine, IKA Gordini
Manufacturer: Renault
Production: 1956–1967, 1959–1968 (Brazil), 1960–1970 (Argentina)
Assembly: France: Flins (Flins Factory), Algeria: El-Harrach (CARAL), Argentina: Santa Isabel (IKA), Australia: Somerton, Australia: Heidelberg, Belgium: Haren-Vilvoorde (RIB), Brazil: São Bernardo do Campo (Willys-Overland), Italy: Alfa Romeo Portello Plant, Milan(1959–1964), Ireland: Dublin, Israel: Nesher, Haifa (Kaiser-Frazer), Mexico: Ciudad Sahagún, New Zealand: Petone (Todd Motors), Spain: Valladolid (FASA-Renault), United Kingdom: Acton
Class: Small family car or economy car
Body style: 4-door saloon
Engine: 845 cc Ventoux I4
Transmission: 3/4-speed manual, 3-speed push-button semi-automatic
Length: 3937 mm
Width: 1524 mm
Height: 1441 mm
Kerb weight: 650 kg
Layout: RR layout
Wheelbase: 2267 mm
Predecessor: Renault 4CV
Successor: Renault 8, Renault 6
Related: Renault Floride/Caravelle , Henney Kilowatt, Hino Contessa
Designer: Fernand Picard, Robert Barthaud, Jacques Ousset

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q676767CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_DauphineCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1371941580 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Renault_Dauphine_photo.jpgCC BY 2.0 · Photo: Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.