4x4 RENAULT 4 CLOSE TO GREEN LIGHT

RENAULT IS CLOSE to signing off a four-wheel-drive version of the 4 for production, having engineered a working prototype of the 4 Savane 4x4 concept car.

- WILL RIMELL

Indeed, Autocar has driven the concept on a beach in Denmark and can report the model already feels fresh from the factory and ready for a place in Renault showrooms.

Few details of the prototype have been revealed since it was first seen at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris in the spring. However, the still-unspecified additional, rear motor is smaller than either the 118bhp or 148bhp units that normally power the 4's front axle. The tracks are 20mm wider, ground clearance is raised by 15mm and there are wider, 215mm tyres.