Renault R10

A now rare, final production-type, ‘3 box saloon’, rear-engined, R10 is fitted with the 1289cc, 5 bearing ‘Sierra’ engine :-
as fitted to the subsequent front engined (& ‘wheel drive’) R12 which would shortly totally supercede this older design:-
which itself had been in production for 5 years as a lengthened variant of the earlier R8:-
which had first been introduced by Renault in 1963 as the eventual replacement of the 845cc, 3 bearing ‘Ventoux’- engined Dauphine:-
which itself was introduced in 1956 as the eventual replacement for the 749cc, 3 bearing ‘Ventoux’- engined 4CV (‘750’ in the UK):-
which was Renault’s 1st post-war design!
So the R10 was the final Rear-Engined Renault model from the ‘post – war’ design ‘family’ which began some 29 years before in secrecy within the German-occupied ‘Billancourt’ Works in Paris in May 1941 with test running of the 1st ‘Ventoux’ engine. 9 month’s later it survived the following month’s RAF heavy bombing raid with the 1st road test of the original 4CV prototype in January 1943.
The final design was shown to the Press in September 1946 & was finally ready for production orders at the 1947 Paris ‘Salon’.
This particular vehicle was originally bought for spares in August 2004, but was saved from being scrapped when 2 valences (as rare as hen’s teeth) were obtained (for nothing!) 2 weeks later at the Beaulieu Autojumble which – + much skilful welding – made it ‘roadworthy’.
It has subsequently had new doors, wings, & bonnet & boot lids with a full respray & the wheels powder coated, but – mechanically speaking – the running gear, suspension, gearbox & engine are as fitted 54 years ago with the sub – 80K miles odometer believed to be accurate while the bimetallic automatic choke is still working faultlessly.