In times of austerity in post-war France, Renault spotted a corner of the market that can loosely be labelled the 'not all that bothered, really' segment. People needed cars but didn't have a lot of money to spend and weren't altogether fussed if the car had nice paint or the option of a radio. In 1953 they launched a 'Service' version of their popular 4CV family car; a no-frills utilitarian machine for the cash-strapped Frenchman. It featured matt grey paint, no hubcaps, no front grille, no door trims, no opening windows, no indicators, and pull-cords instead of interior door handles (just like a 911 GT3 RS!).
Renault had, unfortunately, somewhat misjudged the market. With nobody showing even the slightest bit of interest, the 4CV Service was swiftly deleted from the line-up and never spoken of again. It speaks volumes that the only images available online are of scale models - an area in which, weirdly, the Service appears to have a broad cult following...
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