We’re all going on a summer holiday

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August is there, which means France, and much of the rest of Europe is having it’s yearly break. Now, going on holidays is one thing – preparing your car for it another. After a year of dull commutes in Lille or Lyon, restraining it to the passes of the Alps can be quite a challenge. It’s hot, it’s heavy packed and it’s another 500 miles to the holiday destination. That can prove to be a little bit too much. But fortunately Renault is there to the rescue. Or was in the early 1960s at least, when they had a string of R4 Fourgonettes turned into well-equiped Holiday Services vehicles.

They were striking cars with their bright tangerine paint, yellow wheels and smiley sun decals. The roof tops were painted white to reflect as little as possible from that burning sun – and just to make sure there was no doubt about them being Renaults they received big ‘lozange’ logo’s on them, too. Next, for a press shot the choice of car en panne surely couldn’t be a Renault. A Citroën or Peugeot perhaps? No, that would be a side hit to the obvious competitors. They took an Opel Kadett – a symbol of solid German engineering. France, douze points.

(Picture Jeroen Booij archive)

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