Renault 4CV Overview: Specs, Generations, and Which One to Buy
Renault 4CV overview covering the 1947–1961 sedan: renault 4cv specs, its single generation, the 18 hp 0.8 MT version, and buying advice.
The Renault 4CV is a compact sedan produced from 1947 to 1961, with every version rated at 18 hp. If you are looking up renault 4cv specs, the picture is simple: one generation, one body style, a manual gearbox, and rear-wheel drive. It suits collectors of early post-war European cars and anyone who wants a historically significant small Renault rather than daily transport.
Renault 4CV generations
1 generation (1947–1961)
The first and only generation of the Renault 4CV was built from 1947 to 1961 exclusively as a sedan. Its power output stayed at 18 hp across the entire run, delivered through a manual transmission to the rear wheels. The lineup contains a single modification: the Renault 4CV 0.8 MT, powered by a 760 cc engine producing 18 hp. That one drivetrain combination — 760 cc, manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive — defined the car for its full fourteen-year production life, which is unusually long for a model that never changed its mechanical formula.
Because there is only one generation, there is no cross-generation comparison to make: any Renault 4CV you find, whether an early 1947 car or a late 1961 example, shares the same sedan body, the same 18 hp rating, the same manual transmission, and the same rear-wheel-drive layout.
Which Renault 4CV to buy
- 0.8 MT (1 generation): the only modification in the lineup, with a 760 cc engine producing 18 hp through a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive — it was the mass-market version, so it is the one you will actually find on the market.
Buying used here means buying a car that is at minimum six decades old, since production ended in 1961. The upside of the single-modification lineup is simplicity: there are no rare drivetrain variants to hunt for or mismatched configurations to untangle, and parts interchange logic stays straightforward across the whole 1947–1961 run. Earlier and later cars differ by production year rather than by mechanical specification, so choose by condition and completeness rather than by version.
There is no version of the Renault 4CV to avoid on the numbers: with a single 18 hp modification, nothing in the lineup is dominated by anything else. The decision is not which Renault 4CV to buy, but which surviving example of the 0.8 MT is in the best state.