Details of Cars

Renault Primaquatre: the family Renault of the 1930s

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Renault at Retromobile 2020
A Renault of the Primaquatre era at the Rétromobile exhibition. Photo by Yannick Leclercq©, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Renault Primaquatre is an automobile produced from 1931 to 1941 and the last car built before Louis Renault’s death in 1944. It was first exhibited on 29 December 1930 as the Type KZ6.

Renault Primaquatre at a glance

Renault Primaquatre key facts
Maker Renault, France
Production 1931–1941
First shown 29 December 1930, Type KZ6
First engine 2,120 cc four, 35 hp at 2,900 rpm
Top speed 100 km/h at launch
Gearbox unsynchronised three-speed manual
Second generation January 1936, Type ACL1 with a 2,383 cc 14CV engine
Final types ACL2, BDF1, BDF2 and BDS1

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Renault Primaquatre.

History of the Renault Primaquatre

The KZ types

The Primaquatre was first exhibited on 29 December 1930 as the Type KZ6, a development of the KZ series. Its four-cylinder engine of 2,120 cc gave a published 35 hp at 2,900 rpm, the claimed top speed was 100 km/h, and the rear wheels were driven through an unsynchronised three-speed gearbox. In 1932 the Type KZ8 arrived with more width to distance it from the Renault Monaquatre, in 1933 the Type KZ10 grew from 3,700 to 3,900 mm with a more powerful engine, and in 1933 the KZ11 was a special series of 2,400 taxis for the G7 company. The Type KZ18 of 1934 passed 4,000 mm, and the Type KZ24 of 1935 measured 4,150 mm long and 1,600 mm wide.

The new Primaquatre

In January 1936 the New Primaquatre, Type ACL1, appeared with a new 2,383 cc 14CV engine giving up to 48 PS at 3,200 rpm. In the following years the types ACL2, BDF1, BDF2 and BDS1 were introduced and produced until the early summer of 1940, when the speed of the German invasion put an end to production.

Design and features

  • 1930s family car: a four-cylinder Renault of the middle class.
  • Yearly growth: bodies lengthened from 3,700 to 4,150 mm between 1933 and 1935.
  • G7 taxis: a special series of 2,400 KZ11 cars in 1933.
  • New engine in 1936: 2,383 cc and 48 PS in the ACL1.

Renault Primaquatre versions

  • KZ6 (1930): 2,120 cc, 35 hp.
  • KZ8, KZ10, KZ18, KZ24: wider and longer versions through 1935.
  • KZ11 (1933): a special G7 taxi series of 2,400 cars.
  • ACL1 (1936): the new Primaquatre with a 2,383 cc engine.
  • ACL2, BDF1, BDF2, BDS1: later types built until 1940.

The Primaquatre sat above the Renault Monaquatre, and the economy version of it was the Renault Novaquatre; its AGS derivative appears on the Renault AGx page. More cars are in the Renault collection.

Sources

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