Renault Vivaquatre
| Renault Vivaquatre | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Renault |
| Production | 1932-1939 |
| Assembly | Île Seguin, Billancourt, France |
| Designer | Louis Renault |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Midsize car |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 2120 cc I4 2383 cc I4 |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,890 mm (113.8 in) ("KZ13/KZ17", "normal") 3,130 mm (123.2 in) ("KZ13/KZ17" "long") |
| Length | 4,250 mm (167.3 in) ("normal") 4,490 mm (176.8 in) ("long") |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Renault 10CV |
The Vivaquatre is a car produced by Renault between 1932 and 1939. Its large 4-cylinder engine placed it initially in the 10CV car tax class, though a larger engine later made it a contender in the 11CV class.
The "G7" long wheelbase version of the car was offered for taxi work from April 1933, and Vivaquatre taxis continued to operate till the end of the 1950s.
The Vivaquatre originated as an offshoot of the development of the Renault Primaquatre which had come to the market a year earlier. The two cars shared a broadly similar chassis design, although the Vivaquatre featured, even in its "normal" configuration, a wheelbase lengthened by 26 cm (10.2 in). Factory assigned project codes also hint at the shared origins of the two models. The original Vivaquatre was identified as project "KZ7" while the original Primaquatre was coded "KZ6". The predecessor model was in both cases known at the time as the Renault 10CV, but is identified in retrospect by the more distinctive project code as the "KZ".
The Vivaquatre replaced the Renault 10CV which had been as a robust unpretentious car. The Vivaquatre followed the same pattern, closely resembling the earlier car in terms of its principal mechanical elements. The manufacturer offered various "berline" (sedan/saloon) bodies but there was nothing so frivolous as a cabriolet or coupé bodied version. There was, however, a choice of two wheelbase lengths, the longer of which supported a "six-light" body (with three windows on each side) and underpinned the Vivaquatre's long running popularity with the trade of the taxi version.
The Vivaquatre was, in its time, the largest of Renault's four-cylinder models. It could easily be distinguished from models further up in the Renault range by its stand alone headlights and uncovered rear wheel at a time when the manufacturer's larger cars had their head-lights integrated into the front wings and the rear wheels partially covered by fashionable so-called "spats". The Vivaquatre's four cylinder engine also allowed for a shorter bonnet than that to be found on the six-cylinder Renaults. The car's no-nonsense image was further enhanced by a choice, at the time of the motor show in October 1935, between just two colours on the "Luxe" version, these being black and dark blue. Buyers of the "Grand Luxe" version found the colour palette extended to four, through the addition of grey and bordeaux. For the interior there was no choice but to go for standard "marron" (chestnut) coloured fabric.
The 4-cylinder side-valve 2120cc fitted on the original Vivaquatre provided a claimed maximum output of 35 hp. The listed power output increased, but the engine size remained constant through the subsequent "KZ17" (1934) and "KZ23" (1935) versions of the car. Power was delivered to the rear wheels, and the three speed transmission came without synchromesh.
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