Renault Dauphine, Like a French Kiss on Wheels

Filed in archive French Cars on March 8, 2007

Can it really be 50 years since the Renault Dauphine was launched? Am I really 100 years old? No to the latter, though the ease with which I can recall my Dauphine experiences makes it seem so. For the benefit of the uninitiated, let me explain that the Dauphine was Renault's contemporary upgrade from the French company's 4CV "people's car." A small (by North American standards) 4-door, 4-cylinder, rear-engine sedan with unibody construction, the pretty Dauphine was almost feminine in its appearance compared to the VW Beetle.

At 845cc and 32hp it was hardly what you'd call quick; Road & Track magazine clocked a 0-60 time of 32 seconds. Enthusiasts in the US and the UK condemned it for poor performance and handling. In 2002 the Car Talk radio show voted the Dauphine "9th Worst Car Of The Millennium."

Well, folks, I beg to differ. One should never judge an economical family car, meant for Europeans whose post-war pocketbooks were still slim, by American standards of the day. And one should never rely on performance-oriented enthusiasts for an unprejudiced opinion. I did not own a Dauphine but tested one for a car magazine. I also drove a buddy's car that had been upgraded with a factory-approved Judson supercharger. And I thoroughly enjoyed both. True, some of the components had a delicate feel (especially the shifter) but for anyone accustomed to rear-engine oversteer handling was nimble and predictable. By the time the Dauphine was discontinued in 1962 power had been increased to 55 and a luxury version, the Ondine, was available. Legendary French tuner Gordini had turned some into serious track contenders.

You'd expect that a car condemned for its fragility and rust tendencies could only be found in junkyards. Think again, friends. As outlined in a site that grandly refers to itself as "the Renault Dauphine home page" the Dauphine lives on, carefully tended by European and American owners. Happy Birthday, mon cherie.