The Renault 1 000 Kg is a light

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

, initially of a one ton capacity, introduced by the manufacturer in 1947. A 1,400 Kg version followed in 1949, and the Renault 1,400 Kg soon became the more popular choice. A name change in 1959 saw the vans branded as the Renault Voltigeur (1,000 Kg) and the Renault Goélette (1,400 Kg), but in retrospect the Renault 1,000 Kg name is frequently preferred.

Origins

The 1000 Kg was originally presented in 1945 as a prototype light van designed for the military, and was offered for general sales from February 1947. In the summer of 1944 the French Ministry of Industrial Production set out a prescriptive plan for the post war motor industry. It was headed by

Paul-Marie Pons Paul-Marie Pons (24 June 1904 – 24 October 1966) was a French naval engineer who became a senior civil servant. He is remembered for the Pons Plan which restructured the French automotive industry in the second half of the 1940s. Life Born in L ...

and it was known as the

Plan Pons Paul-Marie Pons (24 June 1904 – 24 October 1966) was a French naval engineer who became a senior civil servant. He is remembered for the Pons Plan which restructured the French automotive industry in the second half of the 1940s. Life Born in Lo ...

. Under "The Plan",

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

and

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

(along with their

Chenard & Walcker Chenard-Walcker, also known as Chenard & Walcker, was a French automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer from 1898 to 1946. Chenard-Walcker then designed and manufactured trucks marketed via Peugeot sales channels until the 1970s. The facto ...

debtor/subsidiary) were restricted to making vans for the 1000–1400 kg market, while Citroën was to make small trucks of between 2 and 3.5 tonnes. In the event Citroën, which had already developed a van in the 1000 kG class before the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, went ahead with the design of the

Citroën H Van The Citroën H-Type vans (most commonly the Citroën HY), are a series of panel vans and light trucks, produced by France, French automaker Citroën for 34 years – from 1947 through 1981. They are notable for their industrial design, using man ...

, which was launched in 1947. It was the Citroën which would be Renault's most effective rival in this sector, although Renault would in the early years beat its rival on volumes thanks in part to the large number of Renaults produced for military and police use and for other public sector vehicle operators such as the

French postal service La Poste () is a postal service company in France, operating in Metropolitan France, the five French overseas departments and regions and the overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Under bilateral agreements, La Poste also has respo ...

. Police versions gained the informal appellation “panier à salade” (“paddy wagon”), appearing in newsreels removing arrested suspects following instances of civil disturbance during the troubled 1950s or, more memorably for many United States and UK film-goers in the 1960s, removing

Inspector Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical ''The Pink Panther'' series. Clouseau's immense ego, eccentricity, exaggerated French accent, and prominent mustache ...

following his arrest in the wake of a successful bank raid. Renault followed the Plan Pons agreement and designed the 206 E1 following general pre-war design ideas. It had a

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

onto which the van body was bolted and the body was made, until 1950, by fitting metal panels to a wooden frame. At a time when French industrial wages were low, the Renault was quick and inexpensive to produce.

Vehicle architecture

In contrast to the rival

, Renault’s design applied a traditional approach, using a

rear wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-whee ...

layout and rigid axles. Large wheels combined with a short wheelbase allowed for a tight turning circle and good ground clearance. These features reflected plans for a four wheel drive version in anticipation of military sales and to deal with the poor state of many French roads, especially in the countryside, at this time. The rear-wheel drive and big wheels resulted in the vehicle's raised interior floor height. Renault saw a steady demand for the van, especially from public sector buyers, and 124,570 units of vehicles were produced. By some criteria, it was France’s best selling vehicle in its class during the 1950s.

Chronology

The basic architecture and overall silhouette of the vehicle barely changed during a production run of nearly two decades, but there were numerous minor changes to the sheet metal, door hinge arrangements, front bumpers, lights and indicators as well as extensive adaptations for military and police versions. Later models, from the 1960s, can be distinguished by a small additional windows behind each of the side-doors. At launch the vehicle appeared as a boxy flat sided van with an advertised load volume of 7.45 m³ which compared with 7.3 m³ for the Citroën H as it appeared in the same year. The Renault’s 2,383cc petrol engine had originally been introduced in 1936 for the Renault Primaquatre; slightly downtuned for this application it offered . The dry weight of provided a maximum laden weight of . In 1947, a flatbed truck version appeared along with a bare chassis version enabling users to specify their own bespoke body variants from specialist truck-body builders. In July 1949, a heavy duty 1,400 kg version joined the range, and this was also the year when

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

became an advertised option. By 1952, Renault offered a more modern engine for economy minded buyers and a detuned version of the 1996 cc unit from the recently introduced

Renault Frégate The Renault Frégate () is an executive saloon car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1951 and 1960. Estate variants, the Renault Domaine and the Renault Manoir, were introduced in 1956 and 1958 respectively. Origins The Frégat ...

was an option for the 1,000 kg model. The Renault Colorale

station wagon A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...

also used some mechanical parts alongside the engine from the 1 000 kg, which was made intentionally in order to provide the vehicle with the same durability and reliability. In 1959 the vans received a name, now being branded as the Renault Voltigeur and the Renault Goélette.Gabriel Jeudy, ''Les camions de chez nous en couleurs'', éditions E.T.A.I. The Goélette, with its weight limit, was now offered with the 2141 cc "Étendard" engine, which featured the same 88mm bore as the 1996 cc but had an 88mm stroke. This engine was also developed for the

, which during its earlier years had failed to win market acceptance mainly because it was underpowered. The output when the engine in the van was lower than that produced in the passenger car. For 1961, buyers could specify a diesel option. The 1816 cc diesel unit came from

Indenor The PSA Group (Peugeot/Citroën) sells a variety of automobile engines. Later HDi engines are built as part of a joint-venture with Ford Motor Company. DJ/DK The DJ/DK is a family of inline-four diesel engines derived from the 2.1-liter XUD en ...

, a company established by

to specialise in the design and manufacture of diesel engines. This engine was offered in the Peugeot D4 in 1959. Although diesel powered vehicles were not popular in France, the lower fuel tax rate on diesel fuel made them attractive to buyers. From the middle of 1962, Renault substituted a 2720 cc diesel engine of their own construction producing . In 1959 Renault launched the

Renault Estafette The Renault Estafette is a light commercial front-wheel drive van produced by the French automaker Renault. Initially used the water-cooled Renault Ventoux engine, then later the Cléon-Fonte engine in a range of body styles. It was replaced ...

with a front-wheel drive layout which allowed for a lower floor and much improved space utilisation: the bulkier but in other respects comparable Renault Voltigeur was formally withdrawn in 1963. Production of the Renault Goélette continued until May 1965, when it was replaced by the Renault Super Goélette SG2 range of larger light trucks.

R 2087

The military version of the vehicle was homologated as the R 2087. It came with even greater ground clearance than the standard vehicle and was built, featuring four-wheel drive, in 1952. A variety of vans, with or without extra side-windows, and truck variations was produced. The military ambulance version was produced until 1969, several years after Renault had stopped offering civilian versions of the van.

References

External links

Renault Trucks pictures & history

Renault 1000kg on Renault website
{{Saviem 1 000 kg Saviem 1940s cars 1950s cars 1960s cars Cab over vehicles Vehicles introduced in 1947