Renault Estafette Highroof

It is often assumed that the Renault 4 (ref. Heller 80759), launched in 1961, was Renault's first front-wheel drive car. This is not the case. It was the Renault Estafette commercial vehicle from 1959.
The French competitors at that time were the Peugeot D3A/D4B and the Citroën Type H (Ref. Heller 80768). In Germany, VW offered the bus with a rear engine. Ford offered the Taunus-Transit with an aesthetic very similar to the Estafette, with a front engine and rear-wheel drive. The Estafette was based on the Citroën's front-wheel drive system, which thus offered a large, flat load floor, four independent wheel suspensions, a sliding side door and a three-wing rear door. It was initially produced as a van with a payload of 800 kg, from 1965 with 1000 kg, with a flat or high roof and a short or long wheelbase. Produced in more than 500,000 units until 1980, the Estafette became a symbol of its time.