The Renault Fiftie was a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

presented by

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

at the March 1996

Geneva Auto Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by the ...

to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of the 4CV. The concept used a bright metallic yellow color, honoring the 4CV's "butter pat" nickname. Styled by Benoît Jacob under the direction of

Patrick le Quément Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, Renault's vice president of corporate design at the time, the Fiftie used a mid-engine/rear-wheel-drive layout, with its exterior styling drew heavily on its ancestor's — though with a two-door, mid-engine configuration rather than the 4CV's four door, rear-engine/rear-drive layout. The Fiftie was part of a trend toward retrospective designs, including the VW New Beetle,

Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to: *Cars of the original Mini series called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000 *Cars of the Mini (marque), including a number of different models produced ...

and

Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 ( it, Cinquecento, ) is a rear-engined, four-seat, small city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975 over a single generation in two-door saloon and two-door station wagon bodystyles. Launch ...

Overview

The Fiftie used an aluminum frame from the

Renault Sport Spider The Renault Sport Spider is a roadster produced by the French automaker Renault Sport (a subsidiary of Renault) between 1996 and 1999. Project The idea for the Renault Spider was formulated in the early 1990s: in the midst of a revival after a d ...

and a carbon fiber body. Its interior used

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

, and

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

extensively, with a picnic basket concealed in the boot/trunk. Front styling recalled the horizontal chrome 'mustache bars' of the original 4CV, with the addition of distinctive apostrophe-shaped headlights. The targa-style roof used four removable roof panels that could store beneath the flat-folding rear window. The Fiftie was fully roadworthy, sharing most of the

's chassis, suspension, and mechanics as well as Renault's D7F 1.2-liter, 8-valve four-cylinder engine, which was subsequently introduced as a production engine in the

Twingo The Renault Twingo is a four-seater passenger city car manufactured and marketed by the French auto-maker Renault, introduced in 1992 and currently in its third generation. The first generation Twingo (two door, front engine) debuted at the Pa ...

. After introducing the Fiftie,

chose not to develop the concept further.

References

External links

Article with photos of the Renault Fiftie
{{Renault Fiftie Retro-style automobiles