Miguel Sánchez
The connection between aviation and motorsports is obvious and very prolific. Especially when we talk about the years before the Second World War, with designers like Gabriel Voisin marking the roadmap by taking his experience in the air to four wheels. In this way, everyday elements in our cars such as the turbocharger or direct injection saw their first practical applications in airplanes. With all this, the number of automotive engineers experienced in the manufacture of aeronautical engines is striking.
Thus, while Alfa Romeo left behind its Avio division not a few decades ago, companies such as Rolls-Royce continue to be a benchmark in the air sector. In addition, for the annals of mechanics there remain the aircraft engines built by Hispano-Suiza, FIAT Aviazione or the Daimler-Benz DB 600 of the XNUMXs. However, a rather unknown fact is the Renault's involvement in both civil and military aviation. Something that had its most memorable time during the second half of the thirties with the Renault 12R. An inverted V12 engine built in steel to produce 730CV in the most refined versions.
Responsible for equipping transport aircraft in its largest number of units, in the moments before World War II it achieved a certain celebrity by also equipping the Cuadron C.712 fighters. Protagonists of the French and Polish air forces, obviously far behind the technological power exhibited by the Germans and British. However, judging from your app history as well as the over ten years in the making, the Renault 12R engine was a true technological milestone in the history of the diamond house. Something in which the engineer Marcel Riffard participated, who also knew how to bring his aerial experience to the world of motor racing.
RENAULT 4CV, BASE FOR RACES
Presented in 1946 under the banner of Allied victory, the Renault 4CV proved to be the reasonable option for motorizing a country that had been severely depleted by the conflict. In fact, Renault had been nationalized by De Gaulle under accusations of collaborating with Louis Renault. Thus, the house of the rhombus began a totally new era in which its vehicles had to have a clear and appropriate social function for the majority. Coordinates in which the affordable and robust 4CV fit perfectly.
However, beyond the management of Renault there were a large number of sports enthusiasts organized in many teams, workshops and teams. In this way, and as in Italy had happened with the FIAT 1100, of the 4CV there were not a few versions of competition modified by hand. And not only in its mechanics, but also completely rebuilt in order to compete in a multitude of small trophies scattered throughout France. Something that could also be seen in relation to the Simca 8. Another simple, economical and easily customizable model.
At this point, in the early fifties the Parisian Société d'Etude et de Recherches made two competition models based on the Renault 4CV. Bodied with aluminum panels and fitted with a five-speed gearbox coupled to an improved 4CV engine, they were homologated under the Guépard name. With all that, they began their racing journey by also adding a Solex carburettor and an improved cylinder head. However, in 1954 one of those two units crashes. Just the moment when all the factors come together for the birth of the Renault 4CV Riffard Tank.
ARRIVES THE DESIGN OF MARCEL RIFFARD
Linked to the Renault brand since the days when he worked on aircraft equipped with the 12R engine, Marcel Riffard also came up with small-scale automobile designs. Thanks to this, when the pilot Paul Bobet decides to rebuild his crashed 4CV, he thinks of him for the realization of an aerodynamic bodywork. And it is that now the idea was not simply to participate in national trophies. He but harvest all possible world records in the category of 750 cubic centimeters taking advantage of the 743 in which the 4CV engine remained.
Something he achieved in at least three records. Helping its concise engine with aerodynamics that seems to honor in its simplicity the one exhibited in the different Bugatti tank. All this signed by Riffard, who had conceived a simple single-seater barquette defined by its fairings and low profile. Perfect for rolling in a straight line at the highest possible speed. Although the lack of a rear wing to improve downforce surely had to take its toll on poise. A detail that was little contemplated in 1956, when this 4CV Riffard began to walk towards his records. Of course, a few years later it was removed to a scrapyard from which it happily retired in 1969. It is currently part of the official Renault collection after having been auctioned in 2018 by Artcurial.
Photographs: Artcurial
