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49-417: The category may be characterized as having a three-box design where the trunk volume is less pronounced than the engine and passenger compartments. Many models of sedans , coupés , or hatchbacks could be classified as notchbacks. However, the category has limited salience outside American car manufacturers, who distinguish the three-box models from other body styles in the same model range. For example,

98-477: A Dauphine dashboard into a work of art. In 1950, the president of General Motors (GM) had visited Renault, noting the cars' drab colors, inside and out. According to their own 1951 Survey , Renault's studies had shown that women held stronger opinions on the colors of a car than the actual choice of a particular model. Coincidentally, well-known Parisian textile artist Paule Marrot (1902–1987) had written to Renault's chairman, Lefaucheux, giving her opinion that

147-734: A car appropriate for their increasing standard of living, and the onset of the French Autoroute national highway implementation. 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

196-420: A car body is typically determined by the layout of the engine, passenger and luggage compartments, which can be shared or separately articulated. A key design feature is the car's roof-supporting pillars , designated from front to rear of the car as A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar and D-pillar. Common car body configurations are one-box (e.g., a van/minivan/MPV), two-box (e.g., a hatchback/SUV) and three-box (e.g.,

245-432: 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

294-412: A member of the Dauphine team — "to rid Renault of their stuffy image. After decades of being dipped in various shades of black and grey, car bodies [would be] painted in happy pastels." Working with four others and after setting up a new test laboratory to measure fabric wear as well as paint wear and uniformity, Marrot proposed new body and interior colors. The new paint colors contrasted with those from

343-425: A parametric academic model, provides an open-source wind tunnel dataset and serves as a benchmark, particularly valuable when combined with the original DrivAer Fastback (F) variation variant for aerodynamic analysis. Aero kits applied are in line with those found in motorsport categories like European DTM and American NASCAR series. Renault Dauphine The Renault Dauphine ( pronounced [dɔfin] )

392-465: A sedan. The engine under the hood and surrounding compartment is the first box. The passenger seating area is another, or second box. The last or third box is the cargo or trunk area. There is no rule as to which box needs to be where. Where the Renault Dauphine is a three-box that carries its engine in the rear and its cargo up front, the styling of the Škoda Octavia integrates a hatchback with

441-403: A sedan/saloon) designs. A one-box design, also called a monospace , mono-box or monovolume configuration —approximates in shape a single volume comprising engine, cabin and cargo areas, in part by locating the base of a vehicle's A-pillars further forward. One-box designs include light commercial vehicles , minivans , MPVs and mini MPVs . Passenger cars with a one-box design include

490-571: A three-box design —and most examples of the markedly bulbous styling of the ponton genre are three-box designs. In 2012, Hemmings Motor News wrote "the three-box sedan design is seen as traditional or—worse—conventional." By 2016 In the United States, the three-box sedan began to wane in popularity. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal wrote: "from gangster getaway cars and the Batmobile to

539-440: 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 0–110 km/h (0–68 mph) 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,

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588-438: A white steering wheel, rear bypassing (vs. roll down) windows, twin horns (town and country) selectable by the driver and twin open bins on the dashboard in lieu of gloveboxes. Exterior finishes included a range of pastel colors. Subsequent to its introduction, and as a promotion for both companies (and an early instance of co-branding ), Renault worked with Jacques Arpels of the prominent jewelers Van Cleef and Arpels to turn

637-423: Is a broad automotive styling term describing a coupé , sedan/saloon , notchback or hatchback where—when viewed in profile—principal volumes are articulated into three separate compartments or boxes: engine, passenger and cargo. Three-box designs are highly variable. Hemmings Motor News said: These three boxes, compartmentalized as they are, are used to denote distinct areas of an automobile—specifically

686-527: Is an economy car manufactured by Renault from 1956 to 1967. Like its predecessor, the Renault 4CV , the Dauphine is a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive four-door sedan with three-box styling . More than two million Dauphines were built and the design was produced under licence by other manufacturers outside of France. Along with such cars as the Citroën 2CV , Volkswagen Beetle , Morris Minor , Mini and Fiat 600 ,

735-648: The Arctic Circle in Norway, suspension testing in Sicily , weatherseal testing in then- Yugoslavia  – a total of more than two million kilometres of road and track testing. In December 1955, Pierre Bonin (director of the Flins Renault Factory ) and Fernand Picard presented the first example to leave the factory to Pierre Dreyfus , who had taken over the project after Lefaucheux's death. Renault officially revealed

784-536: The Chevrolet Vega range included both a notchback coupe and a fastback coupe. One of the first cars marketed as a notchback is the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special . In a major design change among U.S. automakers for the 1952 model year, a notchback version of the Nash Ambassador was introduced. This was in contrast to the previous fastback aerodynamic body shape that made the 1949 through 1950 Nash Ambassadors

833-506: The Citroën Ami 6 the Dauphine, though by that time, Renault had registered the name. 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. The Dauphine used

882-510: The Flins factory where Renault would ultimately initiate its production (and which would later be named in Lefaucheux's honor). Renault considered the name Corvette for its new model, but to avoid a conflict with the recently launched Chevrolet Corvette instead chose a name that reinforced the importance of the project's predecessor, the 4CV, to France's postwar industrial rebirth. The final name

931-603: The embargo date of March 1, 1956. The Dauphine debuted on March 6, 1956 at Paris' Palais de Chaillot with over twenty thousand people attending, two days before its official introduction at the 1956 Salon International de l'Auto in Geneva. In addition to its internal project number, Project 109, the prototype had been called by its unofficial model designation, the "5CV" . Lefaucheux, Renault's chairman, often simply called it La machine de Flins (the Flins machine) , referring to

980-443: The "most streamlined form on the road." The new cars had a distinctive reverse slanting C-pillar and featured boxier styling that became a design trend. In 1971, Chevrolet marketed the three-box sedan models of the Chevrolet Vega as a notchback to differentiate them from the fastback Vega models. For the 1973 model year , the car's name was changed to "Vega Notchback". While many car models have notchback characteristics,

1029-569: The 1984 Renault Espace , 1992 Renault Twingo I , 2008 Tata Nano , 2005 Toyota Aygo / Citroën C1 / Peugeot 107 and 1997 Mercedes-Benz A-Class . Two-box designs articulate a volume for engine and a volume that combines passenger and cargo volumes, e.g., station wagon/estate or (three or five-door) hatchbacks like the Saab 900 , and minivans like the Chrysler Pacifica , 2001 Volkswagen Polo Mk4 and 1999 Skoda Fabia Mk1. Three-box design

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1078-602: 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 . Overall, Dauphine styling was a scaled down version of the Renault Frégate , itself a classic three-box design of the ponton genre . Renault received styling assistance for the Dauphine at the request of Lefaucheux in June 1953 from Luigi Segre of Carrozzeria Ghia , especially with integrating

1127-529: 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

1176-628: The Dauphine by lobbying to revise the basis for taxation from engine-displacement to overall length, successfully damping Dauphine sales. 73,000 Dauphine's were manufactured in Italy. New Zealand: Dauphines were assembled under contract to W R Smallbone Ltd by Todd Motors' Petone plant from 1961 to 1967, according to Mark Webster's book Assembly. This lists 1964 output at 199 units, 384 in 1965, 354 in 1966 and 233 in 1967. Renault assembly shifted in 1967 to Campbell Industries in Thames and Campbell Motors took over

1225-622: The Dauphine enter production. He was killed in an automobile accident on February 11, 1955, when he lost control of his Renault Frégate on an icy road and was struck on the head by his unsecured luggage as the car rolled over. The Flins factory was renamed in his honor, and he was succeeded on the project by Pierre Dreyfus . By the end of testing, drivers had road tested prototypes in everyday conditions including dry weather and dusty condition testing in Madrid, engine testing in Bayonne , cold testing at

1274-811: The Dauphine pioneered the modern European economy car. Renault marketed numerous variants of the Dauphine, including a luxury version, the Renault Ondine , a decontented version as the Dauphine Teimoso (Brazil, 1965), sporting versions marketed as the Dauphine Gordini and the Ondine Gordini , the 1093 factory racing model, and the Caravelle/Floride , a Dauphine-based two-door coupé and two-door convertible. As Louis Renault 's successor, and as Renault's chairman, Pierre Lefaucheux continued to defy

1323-550: 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

1372-622: The French Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor) , and Marrot's textiles were later licensed by companies as diverse as Nike and Hayden-Harnett. 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

1421-510: The Peugeot abandoning that segment since 2001 when the production of Peugeot 306 ended. Other, predominantly European manufacturers followed suit, with the most recent generation of Opel Astra may no longer to be offered as the four-door notchback. Since 2018, Ford reduced sales of four-door Focus as well as Mondeo to Eastern Balkans markets. Again, Volkswagen stopped sales of Jetta in Europe around

1470-475: The Santa Isabel facility. 97,209 IKA Dauphines and Gordinis were produced as follows: 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

1519-450: The articulation of a three-box. This style was later used by its larger Škoda Superb , which marketed as the TwinDoor, within the liftgate operable as a trunk lid or as a full hatchback. As with the third generation European Ford Escort (also a hatchback), the third box may be vestigial. And three-box styling does not need to be boxy: Car Design News calls the fluid and rounded Fiat Linea

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1568-494: The cars of postwar Paris were a uniformly somber parade, and wondering whether an artist could not help find fresh, vibrant colors. Marrot had attended Paris' prestigious L’école des Arts Décoratifs , had won a gold medal in 1925 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes and had received a 1928 Prix Blumenthal . Convinced of her value to the project, Pierre Lefaucheux made her

1617-520: The category is largely unused outside North America, with their body style being described using other terms. For example, a three-box sedan is more generally known as a "saloon" in British English. "Notchback" has appeared in a few British English publications; however, it is not a term that is used in common parlance in Britain. Car body configurations#three-box design The configuration of

1666-547: The competition, the Peugeot 203 and Simca Aronde , including bright colors with names such as Rouge Montijo , Jaune Bahamas , Bleu Hoggar and Blanc Réja . Marrot and her team then developed complementary interior fabrics for the seats and door panels, turning to Paris' large textile houses. Marrot also designed the Dauphine's emblem of three dolphins over a crown, which adorned the Dauphine's steering wheel and hood throughout its production. Later in life, Marrot went on to win

1715-521: 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

1764-488: The engine capacity was insufficient at only four CV (748 cc). The four-cylinder engine was redesigned to increase its capacity to 845 cc by increasing the bore to 58 mm, giving the car a new informal designation, the 5CV. By 1954 a second series of prototypes incorporated updates, using the older prototypes for crash testing. Lefaucheux followed the testing carefully, often meeting with his engineers for night testing to ensure secrecy, but did not live to see

1813-411: The engine's air intake at the rear doors. The Dauphine had a front-hinged trunklid, which housed the headlights and opened to a seven-cubic-foot trunk. The spare tire was carried horizontally under the front of the car, behind an openable panel below the bumper. The interior featured adjustable front bucket seats and a rear bench seat, a heater, painted dash matching the exterior, twin courtesy lamps,

1862-468: 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

1911-626: 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

1960-507: The franchise in 1968. Campbell's also assembled the Hino Contessa from 1966 to 1968. When Renault assembly began in Australia in the late 1960s, Campbell's supplied jigs. Japan: In Japan, the Hino Contessa 900 used the Dauphine's platform under license. Spain: In Spain, Renault's subsidiary F.A.S.A built Dauphine FASA between 1958-1967 (125,912 units). United States: The Dauphine

2009-477: The humble family sedan, the basic three-box configuration of a passenger car—low engine compartment, higher cabin, low trunk in the rear—has endured for decades as the standard shape of the automobile. Until now." Sales and popularity of four-door notchback sedans/saloons began declining in Europe since mid-1990s, especially affordable ones. This is resulted in moving production of Volkswagen Jetta in Mexico, as well as

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2058-512: The model's existence to the press through L’Auto Journal and L’Action Automobile et Touristique in November 1955, referring to it simply by its unofficial model designation "the 5CV" . Advance press preview testing began on February 4, 1956, under the direction of Renault press secretary Robert Sicot, with six Dauphines shipped to Corsica . Journalists were free to drive anywhere on the island, while under contract not to release publication before

2107-528: The model's final years was subcontracted, along with that of the Caravelle , to Brissonneau and Lotz at Creil . In 1956, according to a retrospective in The Independent , when the Dauphine debuted "it proved an almost instant success across the globe: the new coachwork was deemed highly elegant, the price was low, and the Dauphine's overall size was still suitable for congested Parisian streets." In 1957

2156-496: 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,

2205-466: 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

2254-547: The same time due to too long dimensions, exceeding those with International Passat B8 . A related classification is based on the style of roof in the car design. The DrivAer aerodynamics model of the Technical University of Munich classifies roof styles as (F) Fastback , (E) Estate Back , (N) Notchback / Sedan . The bodies of stock cars can be modified for motorsport purposes while retaining their main characteristics. The DrivAer high-performance (hp) configuration,

2303-410: 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. Renault manufactured

2352-475: Was attributed to a dinner conversation at l'auberge de Port-Royal , chaired by Fernand Picard, where either Jean-Richard Deshaies or Marcel Wiriath said "the 4CV is the Queen of the road, the new arrival can only be the Dauphine. Dauphine is the feminine form of the French feudal title of Dauphin , the heir apparent to the throne. Ironically, both Robert Opron and Flaminio Bertoni of Citroën had wanted to name

2401-432: Was the base vehicle for the electric Henney Kilowatt . Among the aftermarket options for the Dauphine was a supercharger from United States company Judson Research & Mfg. Co.; this sold in 1958 for US$ 165, and was designed to be installed in about two hours without any chassis or body modifications. By the early 1960s, Renault sought to avoid the single-model-culture that had nearly destroyed Volkswagen, accelerating

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