The DFW Car & Toy Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, is currently displaying a remarkable piece of automotive history that challenges conventional perceptions of post-war economy cars. Among the museum's collection of over 200 vehicles, the 1950 Renault 4CV Roadster by Legros stands out as a testament to how coachbuilders could transform even the most humble automotive platforms into rolling works of art.
Originally introduced in 1947 as France's first post-war economy car, the Renault 4CV achieved significant commercial success as the first French automobile to surpass one million units sold. However, this particular example represents a dramatic departure from the mass-produced saloons typically associated with the 4CV name. Belgian coachbuilder Legros transformed the utilitarian vehicle into a bespoke roadster featuring hand-formed steel body panels, dual side mirrors, a shortened windscreen, louvered deck lid, and elegant driving lamps.
The car's rich blue finish highlights its compact charm and distinctive design details that exude European flair. Inside, the minimalist two-spoke ivory steering wheel fronts a Jaeger instrument cluster with a 120-km/h speedometer, gauges for coolant and oil temperature, fuel level, and battery charge. The five-digit odometer shows just 38,000 kilometers (approximately 24,000 miles), indicating the vehicle's exceptional preservation and rarity.
Powering this unique roadster is a replacement 845cc Ventoux inline-four engine paired with a four-speed manual transaxle, maintaining the car's original character as an accessible, agile runabout while adding distinctive coachbuilt elements. Ron Sturgeon, founder of the DFW Car & Toy Museum, emphasized the vehicle's significance, noting that "this Legros-bodied 4CV roadster is a brilliant reminder that even the most humble platforms can become rolling art when placed in the hands of a talented coachbuilder."
This exhibition matters because it preserves and showcases a nearly lost art form in automotive history. Coachbuilding represents a pre-industrial approach to automobile creation where skilled craftsmen created unique bodies for standard chassis, offering wealthy clients personalized vehicles before mass production standardized automotive design. The Legros 4CV demonstrates how even economy cars could receive this treatment, creating vehicles that blended accessibility with exclusivity.
The implications of preserving such vehicles extend beyond automotive history to broader cultural preservation. These coachbuilt cars represent intersections of engineering, design, craftsmanship, and social history, documenting how different cultures approached mobility and luxury. For automotive enthusiasts and historians, vehicles like the Legros 4CV provide tangible connections to post-war European automotive culture and the specialized crafts that flourished alongside mass production.
The DFW Car & Toy Museum, now located at 2550 McMillan Parkway in Fort Worth, offers free admission and parking at its 150,000-square-foot facility. Visitors can explore this rare Renault 4CV Roadster as part of the Ron Sturgeon Collection alongside approximately 3,000 toys and collectibles. More information about the museum's hours and collections is available at https://dfwcarandtoymuseum.com.
