The 12-cylinder engine in the Renault 4
No, there was probably never a Renault 4 with a 12-cylinder engine. But there certainly was a 12-cylinder engine in a Renault 4.
In fact, at the end of 1978, I used my Renault 4 to transport that 12-cylinder Auto Union engine, which ultimately powered the Auto Union Type D at the Classic Car Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in August 1979, after that car had previously made its way back to Germany from the East with an “empty” (non-functional) engine.
Gerhard Kuss helped me back then to hoist the engine into the trunk of the R4 using furniture-carrying straps. Of course, there’s a much longer story behind these photos…
P.S. By the way, the Auto Union Type D is now part of the Loh Collection at the National Automobile Museum.
