This racing Renault 4CV has completed the Mille Miglia
I already knew, walking towards the Renault 4CV within the 79th Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport paddock, that this tiny car would be a memorable entrant for the weekend. It is after all the first racing 4CV we’ve ever had at Goodwood. Furthermore, upon closer inspection, I realised that the rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive, four-doored French runaround shared the name of my 15-month-old first born. It was as if fate itself wanted me to know more about ‘Little Reggie’ and its significant charms.
As an entrant to the Sopwith Cup, a race evoking the earliest days of tin-top racing, even before the advent of the British Saloon Car Championship, the 1952 Renault is rubbing shoulders with much bigger, much more powerful racing cars. As long as it is wide, ‘Little Reggie’ will certainly need to keep his elbows out throughout the weekend to remain competitive. Having said that, looking within the miniature cabin, driver Pierre-Brice Mena hasn’t much room to breathe, let alone maneuver his arms. It’s so small inside, the two bucket seats seem squashed together. Its delicate, thin gear stick marks the divide between passenger and driver. Poking up through the floor of the chassis like a miss-placed breadstick from an afternoon’s picnic.
Originally conceived and designed covertly by enterprising Renault engineers during the German occupation of France in the Second World War, the 4CV was ultimately presented to the newly free world at the 1946 Paris Motor Show, going on sale a year later. Nicknamed "La motte de beurre", translated as the lump of butter; due to the combination of its agricultural shape and the fact that early deliveries used surplus paint supplies sourced from the vehicles of Rommel's defeated Afrika Korps, which were a sand-yellow color.
Despite a slow start to sales, no small part because European consumers were recovering from years of war and occupation, it eventually became the first French car to sell over a million units.
Not only used to run to the shops, the 4CV model would enjoy many years of competitive racing, from Mille Miglia entries and the Tour De France, to regular appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Yet its real lack of racing pedigree and power would always be its shortfall – its original 760cc engine only being capable of delivering around 90PS (66kW). Despite this, the diminutive 4CV makes up for its pedestrian pace with enormous levels of fun, as ‘Little Reggie’s’ driver Pierre-Brice Mena explains.
“This morning was the first time I’ve ever driven this car. So I had no idea what to expect. It’s really soft. It moves a lot. There is a lot of snap to the steering. Compared to the other cars, it’s not competitive on the straights. But it’s fantastic fun to drive. Look at it, it’s just cute!”
He’s not wrong, a gaggle of Goodwood Members are crowded round the car, smartphones and cameras snapping away in unison, all experiencing and sharing the obvious joy that is plastered across the owner’s face, who proudly oversees matters as we stand talking to Pierre.
“To drive it well, you really need to be clean. You can’t rely on any power to get you out of trouble. You need to try to avoid sliding as it kills the momentum.” An especially astute observation by Pierre, as it’s a car that’s said to be incredibly easy to send spinning like a top, especially so on the famously slick Goodwood surface.
Despite Goodwood’s perpetual love of the underdog, there sadly may not be much hope for a podium finish for ‘Little Reggie’ this weekend. But even before the racing has properly begun, there’s no doubt this endearing French motor has already won the hearts of many. My motorsport-obsessed son included.
If you want to watch the 79th Members’ Meeting, you can watch Saturday in full here on GRR and across our social channels. To watch on Sunday you’ll need to be a Member or Fellow of the GRRC.
Photography by Pete Summers.
Renault
4CV
79MM
Members Meeting
