Renault Df104 Info

We eventually got the Smart Fortwo (two seats), the McLaren F1 (center drive), and the BMW i3 (city-focused). But none of them have the raw, eccentric charm of the DF104.

The result? The (the R5 "Le Car" in the US).

But in 1972, Renault pivoted. Instead of building the radical DF104, they took its soul —the lightweight ethos, the flat engine, the utilitarian interior—and watered it down.

Yes, the most successful supermini in French history owes its existence to the DF104. When you sit in an original R5, you are sitting in the ghost of a car too strange for its own time. One surviving DF104 prototype resides in the Renault Conservatoire in Flins, France. It is rarely shown to the public. When it does appear, collectors weep. It is the "missing link" between the post-war 4CV and the hot-hatch revolution. renault df104

When you think of classic Renaults, the mind usually drifts to the boxy charm of the 4, the rally-dominating R5 Turbo, or the quirky elegance of the Avantime. But tucked away in the secret archives of Renault’s historical collection— l’Usine de Flins —lies a car that breaks all the rules.

The result was the DF104. It was a three-seater (driver in the middle, like the McLaren F1, but decades earlier) built on a steel chassis with a lightweight fiberglass body.

30 HP sounds laughable today. But in a car designed to weigh less than 500 kg (1,100 lbs), that was enough to zip through the narrow streets of Paris with shocking agility. We eventually got the Smart Fortwo (two seats),

But here is where it gets weird. Under the rear deck sits an air-cooled, flat-twin "boxer" engine. Displacement varied across prototypes, hovering around 700cc to 800cc. It produced roughly 30 horsepower.

It doesn’t have a catchy name. It never graced a showroom floor. It was never even officially launched.

Do you have a favorite "forgotten prototype"? Share this post with a friend who loves weird old cars. The (the R5 "Le Car" in the US)

Meet the .

Renault’s marketing department had a meltdown when they saw the layout. The driver sat in the center. Two passengers sat slightly behind and to the sides, like an arrowhead.