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Elle prend le volant: la Parisienne

The R4 Parisienne is an iconic model, and many pages on the internet are devoted to it. Why then yet another page? Perhaps the best reason is that most pages only show some of the most well known images such as the ELLE magazine booklet covers, the official Renault brochure, some well known photos showing Sheila, etc.

However, multiple other sources exist that are worth noting. The most notable ones are Renault Magazine 51, ELLE Magazines 898, 899 and 928, some 'regular' brochures, and various issues of 4L Magazine and Gazoline 37. On this page, I intend to also show some of the less frequently featured ones. Enjoy!

1964 brochure. Note that the cannage is also present on the rear wing and rear door above the decorative strip ('baguette'), while the tartan isn't.

The occasion

While initially the advertising for the R4 did not specifically target female clients (in 1961, there were letters for rural or urban customers). This changed in 1963 with the ´ELLE PREND LE VOLANT´ campaign. Renault aimed at making a special version of the R4 which would be more attractive to female buyers who were becoming increasingly important as potential customers.

Renault Magazine 51 reports a 'test sans précédent' for 120 R4 Super

Campaign kick-off

A publicity campaign started in March 1963 when Renault made 120 R4 Parisienne available in 90 cities for 48 hours to 6000 pre-selected young female drivers all over France (Gazoline mentions only 4500, ELLE 928 4200, of which 3500 in the countryside). The initial Parisienne was based on the 1963 Super with its double bumpers and downward opening hatch. Additionally, the sides and front air inlet had either a yellow wickerwork (cannage) or red or green tartan over a black background, and embellishment lines in matching colours along the front wings, the grille and next to the air inlet, and along the black rims (´pour celles qui souhaitent une voiture «pas comme les autres»').The kick-off was on March 8 at the Renault store on Champs-Elysées and first lasted for a month in and around Paris. After that, the scene moved to the rest of France between April 12 and June 30. All selected test drivers were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their experiences with the car afterwards.

ELLE 898: Anne-Marie P. is introduced to the Parisienne. Note the elegant line emcompassing the grille and headlights.

ELLE 928: Grand départ at Champs-Elysées, the first designated driver cuts the ribbon.

Collaboration with ELLE Magazine

Renault sought close cooperation with ELLE Magazine to be able to better target a female clientele.

-	Elle Magazine 898 of March 8 came with a small fold-in booklet 'Elle prend le volant' ('She takes the wheel', a variation on the 1961 slogan 'Prenez le volant', remember?). It contains a description of a day in the life of Anne-Marie P. and her Parisienne. Of course, it emphasizes its versability and ease of use.
-	A week later, the next issue ELLE 899 of March 15 had a 2-page advertisement with the same title. It lists the answers of four Parisiennes - Mlle Claude Viguié, Mme Denise Desroziers, Mme Georgette Balland and Mme Janine Triquet - to questions like 'can it be driven with ease' and 'is it a practical car' etc.
-	Probably a few weeks later, a 2-pager titled 'Elle prend le volant en province' describes the kick-off of the part of the campaign that took place outside Paris, in Fontainebleau.
-	Finally, ELLE 928 of October 4 had again a fold-in booklet titled 'The "Elle au volant" said yes to the R4 "Haute couture" and Renault now sells the Parisienne'. It describes the favourable results of the testing and announces that Renault will start manufacturing the Parisienne. The cover, shown below, show the cars as they would be available in 1964.

ELLE 898 inlet cover showing the action model

ELLE 928 inlet cover showing the 1964 models

The same photo as in ELLE 898 (shot in front of the Jardin des Tuilleries, with the Hôtel de Crillon in the background) in Gazoline has an edited version of the ELLE sign

ELLE 899: Mlle Claude Viguié doing 60 in her R4 Super on the Champs-Elysées

Meanwhile, Renault Magazine 51 of July 1963, right after the end of the campaign, covered 'Madame prend le volant' over five full pages, partly describing the kick off in Paris on the Champs-Elysées, as well as impressions by some of the test drivers like Mme. Z., mother of a family who goes shopping and to visit a friend along the Loire, and Mlle Françoise T., a 3rd year student in Medicine, who commutes between Versailles and Paris.

Renault Magazine 51: Mademoiselle T. works at the Versailles hospital

RM 51: Easy shopping using the sliding window

Renault Magazine 51: The pretty Avenue de L'Opéra near Restaurant Monico, now Edouard 7

'Elle prend le volant en province' showing the 'plaques' fixed to the rear bumper

One of the test models leaving Fontainebleau castle showing the plaque in the front grille

For the province, the kick-off took place at the Château de Blois in front of the magnificent stairs:

Renault Magazine 51: 'Elle prend le volant en province' kick-off at Blois castle

ELLE 928: Elle prend le volant en province at Place Jeanne Hachette, Beauvais - the Café de la Paix is still there!

The production

After October, as a result of the positive reviews of the test drivers (the 'Elles au volant'), Renault started manufacturing the Parisienne for model year 1964, based on the 1964 Super, and therefore slightly different from the action models. The double bumpers were changed for the normal 1963 rectangular ones. The Super hatch was changed for one without sliding window and opened upward. The wickerwork was removed from the front air inlet, and on the rear doors and the rear wing above the decorative strip. The subtle striping along the front wings, grille and next to the air inlet was also removed. The rims were just plain grey with hubcaps. The '4 Super' logo on the hatch was replaced with the text '4 Parisienne'.

In subsequent years, more different background colours were added: bleu marine in 1965, vert 939 and bordeaux 721 in 1966, gris métallisé in 1967. For 1966, the 'Parisienne' logo was moved from the hatch to the front right wing. Changes on the other models were also applied to the Parisienne, such as the new beige dashboard and steering wheel for model year 1967. In 1968, the Parisienne became equipped with the new large grille encompassing the front beams, the rounded bumpers and the 4-speed gearbox. The tartan and wickerwork disappeared, being replaced by metallic paint. After 1968, the Parisienne was removed from the catalogue altogether in favour of the Plein Air.

February 1965 l'Auto Journal devotes an article to the Parisienne: a nice dress but a little long

Brochures

Parisiennes were present in the brochures from 1964 to 1967. A selection is shown below:

1964 brochure, the Place de la Concorde before the Fontaine des Fleuves (a favourite for Parisienne photos, for instance the press photos)

1964 brochure, the Fontaine des Fleuves

1965 brochure, la R4 au feminin, wicker on bleu marine. Note Parisienne logo on hatch and matching suitcases.

1965 brochure, the same models as in the 1963 brochure and the ELLE 928 inlet cover.

1965 brochure, Penelope in her green tartan on black model

1965 brochure, British variant with different layour and colours

1966 brochure, green tartan on blue

1966 brochure, wicker on blue

1967 brochure, wicker on green

Publicity

Strange, but very few advertisements showing a Parisienne are known except for one belonging to the Keller series and Cornélie, shown below

The Rue Bonaparte / Rue Jacob as seen on the Keller series of advertisements.

Cornélie

Cornélie figured in a dozen advertisements during 1964, also published in ELLE. In one of them, she is pictured with a Parisienne in which she participated in a rallye (and won!).

ELLE 972: Première au rallye

Press photos

Not many Parisienne press photos are known, a few are shown below:

1963, arrière droite

1964, Pl. de la Concorde, Église de la Madeleine in the back

1966, arrière droite

1966, Place de la Concorde, Assemblée in the back

1966, metro entrance at Place du Palais Royal, with the Louvre museum in the back

1967, Place de la Concorde with the Fontaine des Fleuves, and the Hôtel de Crillon and la Madeleine in the back.

Sheila

Sheila, a French singer who became popular in the 60s (and still is!), was contracted by Renault to promote the Parisienne. She owned one which she was given by Renault at 17, even before she obtained her drivers license. The cover photo of her LP 'Écoute ce disque' ('Listen to this record') shows her in her Parisienne. The photo in the middle is a publicity picture - hey, is that a mobile phone or is she listening to her own music on an early listening device? To the right a different version at the same set, taken from the 1964 berline brochure.

Sheila 'Écoute ce disque'

Sheila publicity picture

Sheila in the 1964 brochure

Les Parisiennes et Claude Bolling

Claude Bolling was a French jazz pianist, composer and actor who made numerous records with a group of four female singers known as Les Parisiennes (they still exist). Mostly they were referenced as 'Claude Bolling et les Parisiennes', but on an eponymous EP showing a green tartan Parisienne in the snow they are 'Les Parisiennes et Claude Bolling'. On the EP we find classics like 'La methode Française', Ah! C'qu'on est bête', 'Ouille, Ouille, Ouille, ça glisse' and 'Bonne nuit mes agneaux'.

Les Parisiennes et Claude Bolling (front)

Les Parisiennes et Claude Bolling (back)

Other countries

The Parisienne was especially popular in France, but it also appeared in special brochures in Belgium, Spain and Argentina, where it was built by IKA. It was also featured in the 'standard' French brochures between 1964 and 1967 that were simply translated for the Dutch and German markets so probably it was available throughout Europe. However, apart from an IKA Parisienne owned by Boerammetje, Parisiennes with other plates than French are rare.

Because the Scotch 'tartan' pattern was used, it was inevitable that a few publicity photo's be taken in Scotland, in this case Edinburgh, at Bo'ness Road / B924 with the famous Forth bridge in the background. In front of the Forth Bridge, the Forth Road Bridge is just being constructed so we know it is slightly before 1964 (when this bridge was opened).

Gazoline 37: Parisienne in Edinburgh with the inevitable bagpipe player

Gazoline 37: Parisienne with both Forth bridges in the background

Google streetview over the Forth bridges. The red mark is the photo location.

The announcement of the Parisienne did not only reach Elle Magazine, but also Spanish Velocidad in March 1963 where it is called 'a model very appropriate for a woman'. It also mentions the 3 varieties 'tisú escocés en rojo, verdy y caña'. French magazine 'Pour Vous Monsieur' shows the same photo as Velocidad but in the latter the 'ELLE prend le volant' plate was remove from the grille.

Spanish 'Velocidad' 79 of March 1963

French 'Pour vous monsieur' magazine used the same photo

Although already in Velocidad in March 1963 (!!), the Parisienne only appeared in the FASA brochures in 1966 and 1967 (note the absence of the front wing logo and rim rings, and the Spanish 1964-1966 bumpers). A 1964 British advertisement shows a Parisienne-like outfit, apparently the same car as was featured in the 1965 French brochure.

Spanish 1966/1967 brochure

Ad 'Gives a girl shopping room!'

1965 French brochure - similar to the advertisement

Italian car magazine Quattroruote features a photo adventure in four pages of a stewardess on the way to the airport who has a flat and is helped by a gentleman who helps her fix the tyre. The text reads something like 'Mama mia... the tyre! That's why I was skidding!" and 'Now we have to put the nuts back on. They are all in the wheelcap. We will tighten them later".

1966 Italian 'Quattroruote' magazine

Versione Parisienne, unknown origin

In Belgium, apparently, a similar campaign was run as in France 'Elle prend le volant', but here called 'Interdite aux messieurs'. Inside the brochure shown below the text reads 'Do you want to get to know this original car, this personal car created for the woman ‘in the wind’? Then take the Renault 4 Parisienne for a test drive, as part of the ‘Gentlemen not allowed’ campaign. The picture on the right is a variation on the French brochure.

Belgian 'Interdite aux messieurs'

Belgian 'Interdite aux messieurs' - slightly different from the original

French 1964 Parisienne brochure'

Car rental

SNCF offered a rental service 'Train + Auto' 'Affaires Paris' for those living in the countryside, apparently including Parisienne:

Car hire service operated by SNCF

this page last changed on Jan 26 15:19