Renault 4L TL/GTL
Car scale model kit in 1/24 scale manufactured by Heller (ref. 80759, also 3279510807592)

Nothing more and nothing less than the year 1961 is when Renault presented a new utility vehicle, the Renault 4, which remained in production for more than 30 years, ceasing its production permanently in 1993, when anti-pollution regulations made its update unfeasible.

Designed as a successor to the 4 CV, it is not the elegant car that many expected, and the management of Renault purposely positioned it as the competitor of the Citroën 2 CV. Its main features are longitudinal front engine mounted behind the front axle, four-wheel independent suspension and adjustable transverse torsion bars. As a pure functional vehicle, the Renault 4 would have worldwide distribution, becoming a cult vehicle in the 1970s.

The GTL version was presented in 1979, with hardly any changes, but with a more powerful and economical engine. The GTLs are also a bit more luxurious, with more comfortable seats, halogen headlights, side protection plastics and new wheels.

The 1.100 cc 4-cylinder engine from the R5 was mounted, although reduced from 45 to 34 hp, which was reached at 4,000 rpm instead of the 5,000 rpm of the previous engine. The higher torque at a lower number of revolutions, longer gear ratios and a smaller diameter intake manifold allowed consumption to be reduced from 7 liters to only 5.3 liters per 100 km. Of course, the GTL version was more expensive than the simple version of the Renault 4.

In total, in its 31 years in production, a total of 8,135,424 units of the Renault 4 were manufactured. Without a doubt, a success in the Renault history. Oh, as a curiosity, from a competition point of view, brothers Bernard and Claude Marreau managed to take their 4-wheel drive R4 (Sinpar version) to second position in the 1979 Dakar Rally!