Renault Celtaquatre Coupe Spider from 1935 with four cylinders, 1463 cc, 18 HP, 95 km/h
The Renault Celtaquatre is a small family car produced by the French manufacturer Renault between 1934 and 1938. Although French, it took some of its styling cues from American cars of the time. Its rounded silhouette gave it the nickname “Celtaboule” (“Celtaball”).
The Celtaquatre was presented to the public in April 1934 and entered production a month later.
Its arrival coincided with that of Citroën’s Traction Avant, and the Renault’s launch was overshadowed by Citroën’s powerful publicity machine.
The car was powered by a four-cylinder 1463 cc side-valve engine, for which a maximum of 34 hp @ 3,500 rpm was claimed.
Power passed to the rear wheels via a classic three speed transmission. The suspension was based on rigid axles front and back, which was seen as a rather minimalist at a time when competitor vehicles from volume automakers such as the Peugeot 301 were being delivered with independent front suspension.
However, the 8CV Celtaquatre was also much more aggressively priced than the 8CV. At the Paris Motor Show in October the list price for a Celtaquatre with a standard “berline” (saloon) body was given as ₣16,900 francs, while the Peugeot 301 “berline normale” was priced at ₣20,500 francs.
