Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 - Hidden talents

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 - Hidden talents

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Created on January 26, 2026

Text:

Martin Sigrist

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Vesa Eskola

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Archiv Automobil Revue

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The 4x4 crawls through the terrain like a tatzelwurm, the long suspension travel helps

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - All the essentials for driving are there, so off to the Sahara with it!

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Off to the next assignment at the end of the dirt road

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - traction with a lot of lateral inclination instead of a high center of gravity with a potential risk of tipping over as with the all-wheel drive competition

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The basic car was built for 33 years

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The million-seller was not only built in France

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - French lifestyle pressed into sheet metal and provided with an extra

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - For country doctors and adventurers

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - In terms of ground clearance, the R4 is far better than some modern SUVs

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Small car with big capabilities

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Long suspension travel instead of rigid axles

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Visually, the 4x4 is indistinguishable

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Slippery and greasy forest roads are the element of the 4x4

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Signal color red

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Over hill and dale

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - While the R5 was once the little friend, the Renault 4x4 is the companion for almost all occasions

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - For turning right, it only lacks the tires, not the climbing ability

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Reliable small car for all weather conditions

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Due to the short overall gear ratio, the 4x4 stops at 100km/h

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The manufacturer is Sinpar, not Renault

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The 4x4 also has a sealed radiator circuit

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Sophisticated defroster systems came later, a deerskin sponge is recommended

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The dashboard looks surprisingly modern for a car from 1975

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Manageable electrics

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The headliner is glued to the roof panel

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The trunk offers the full load volume despite the differential underneath

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The raging Sigrist before the next gear change hard on the rev limit at a speed of - 50...

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The additional installations are barely visible in the engine compartment

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Rather for fine shoes than coarse treads

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - A bit of fun? No, he's serious!

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Surprisingly many indicator lights for the entry-level Renault

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The Sinpar-Renault 4 is unsuitable for rough terrain

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Cleverly integrated differential, torsion bar springs and cardan shaft for the rear drive

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Handle hole for the interior door opener

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - There are no restrictions in the interior due to the four-wheel drive

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - cane gearshift

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Better all-wheel drive than heated rear window

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Better a dry desert than a salt-wet winter

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - One could have kept quiet about it - to surprise with it

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The dashboard is practical and simple

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - shifting diagram as for an H-circuit with stick

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Standard tire warmer on the left, also known as exhaust tailpipe

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - How exactly does the four-wheel drive power flow?

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Only a decisive, powerful jolt engages the all-wheel drive

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - Second shift rod for four-wheel drive

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The transfer case is flanged in front of the manual gearbox

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Renault 4L Sinpar 4x4 (1975) - The first section of the cardan shaft runs along the engine to the rear

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Citroen 2 CV 4x4 'Sahara' (1961) - at the 1961 Paris Motor Show (?)

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Citroën 2CV AZ (1958) - in the Museo nazionale dell`automobile di Torino

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Land-Rover (1975) - with overdrive for an extra 1850 francs - Geneva Motor Show 1975

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Steyr-Puch Haflinger (1960) - on the road in difficult terrain

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Renault Sinpar model range (1975) - From the manufacturer's contemporary brochure leaflet

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Summary

Perhaps it was a country doctor who decided to buy a rather modest Renault 4L in 1975, but treated it to an extra for which he had to spend another two thirds of the car's purchase price: All-wheel drive! We tried out for ourselves how the French minimalist car handles when it is driven on all fours.

This article contains the following chapters

An existentialist car for students?
Alternative to Beetle, Jeep, Land Rover or even tractor
Like the Döschwo, but with only one engine

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Perhaps his name was Buholzer, he had studied medicine for several semesters and saw his career choice as a kind of vocation. While other young men in the second half of the 1960s were intensely preoccupied with the question of their first car, Buholzer didn't really care. He devoted himself entirely to his studies, worked his way through, passed his state exams and finally took on a small rural practice, perhaps somewhere in the foothills of the Alps, where the gentle rolling hills fade into the flat midlands on the one hand and where these hilly landscapes are overlooked by the rocky ridges of the first Alpine mountain ranges on the other.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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