The 2CV had been designed in the 1930s for use in the French countryside where the road network was poor — speed was not a requirement but a good ride, useful rough-terrain ability, a versatile body for load carrying, and economy and simplicity of operation were its key considerations.

The 2CV's suspension gave it an excellent ride and good grip and handling but was mechanically complex with many moving parts that required regular maintenance and lubrication at intervals as low as every 1000 miles (1600km).

While the Citroën had been designed during the Great Depression when money was tight and living standards were relatively low, by the 1960s the French economy was growing and people would be able to afford a more modern, refined, and less utilitarian small car.

In early 1956, Renault Chairman Pierre Dreyfus launched this new project: designing a new model to replace the rear engined 4CV and compete against the Citroën 2CV that would become an everyman's car, capable of satisfying the needs of most consumers.

The Renault 4 shared many design traits with the older Citroën 2CV to allow it to fulfill the same role as a versatile utility car, especially for people in rural France and other parts of the world with poor roads.

However, the Renault 4 updated this basic concept with a larger four-cylinder water-cooled engine with a sealed cooling system offering much better refinement and performance than the contemporary 2CV, with a top speed of over 104 km/h (65 mph).

[6] The R3 and R4 were targeted at the Citroën 2CV that employed soft springs and long wheel travel to absorb bumps on rough roads.

The Renault 3/4 applied the same approach and two models appeared at the Paris Motor Show in 1961 on a specialized demonstration display that incorporated an irregular rolling road.

Visitors could sit inside a car, which remained undisturbed while the suspension absorbed the erratic bumps of the rolling road.

[10] A "Super" version (branded "de Luxe" in some export markets) with opening rear quarter-light windows and extra trim was also offered.

With Volkswagen rapidly growing market share across Europe and North America, Renault also gave serious consideration to an air-cooled boxer motor option for the forthcoming R3/R4.

However, since Renault already produced the 747 cc version of the engine that was well proven in the 4CV, it made sense to use this as well in what would in many respects be the older car's successor.

[6] Moving the engine from the rear of the 4CV to the front of the new model involved significant planning: design changes to the unit were introduced as part of the process.

The inlet manifold was now a steel casting whereas on the 4CV it had been constructed of a light-weight alloy: this was driven by cost considerations now that aluminum was not so inexpensive as it had been fifteen years earlier.

Renault also designed a "sealed-for-life" cooling system, supported by a small expansion tank on the right side of the engine bay.

The cooling system contained antifreeze intended to enable operation without topping up or other intervention throughout a car's life provided ambient temperatures below -40°C were avoided.

[6] The dash-mounted gear lever was linked via a straight horizontal rod that passed over the longitudinally mounted engine and clutch directly to the gearbox right at the front.

Synchromesh featured only on the top two ratios, even though the low power of the engine required frequent gear changes by drivers using normal roads and wishing to make reasonable progress.

The three principal new models introduced by Renault since the war[11] featured monocoque "chassisless" construction[6] that was less expensive to manufacture process and reduced operating costs because of lower vehicle weight.

The Renault R3/R4 design defied this by now widely accepted mantra, employing a separate platform to which the body shell was then attached.

[12] This concept allowed a very simple design of the rear suspension using transverse torsion bars located one behind the other without affecting handling.

This feature, along with the installation of a thick protecting aluminum plate under the engine, has been used by off-road drivers and student 4L Trophy entrants.

A military contract did not materialize but Renault and Sinpar attempted to ride the late sixties/early seventies buggy wave in marketing it as a fun beach car.

In 1989, Colombian SOFASA produced the variants Brisa (Breeze) which was based on the French Plein Air and Jogging, which was marketed as a sportier version of the car and featured red accessories.

For the 1983 model year, the GTL got front disc brakes, the handbrake now working on the rear wheels, and there were a modified dashboard and cloth seats.

Volkswagen had switched Beetle production from West Germany to Mexico in 1978 (where it was made until 2003), with the new Polo and Golf proving hugely popular in Europe.

A Renault 4 Sinpar (the four-wheel drive version) was entered in the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979 and 1980 by Bernard and Claude Marreau, coming fifth in 1979 and in third in 1980.

[25] The Renault 4 forms the basis of the 4L Trophy, an annual rally established in 1997 for students who collect sponsorship and drive to the Sahara to deliver educational materials to children of the desert and of Morocco.

[26] The Renault 4 GTL was homologated in Group A. Jacky Cesbron raced one in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1993 and the Tour de Corse in 1991.

[27] Standard Renault 4s has taken part in a drag race at Santa Pod Raceway, Northamptonshire since 2004, and covered the quarter mile in 21.438 seconds with a terminal speed of 59.14 mph.