The 4cv, also called "la 4 pattes" (the 4 legs) or "la motte de beurre" (the slab) because of its shape and of the color of the first exemples, was the first car build by the Régie Nationale Renault France in the post-war period. Originally secretly designed in by Charles-Edmond Serre and Fernand Picard, Louis Renault, for who a car is a luxury product, didn't knew about the project that his two employees were creating for the post-war years.
The first prototype was built in December 1942 and get the name of Renault 106E, in january 1943 it escaped of few at the destruction during an American bombing on the factories.
The prototype, painted in green, was made of aluminium. In 1943-44, the Prince Von Urach, prince of Württemberg and director of Renault duringt the war, heard about a new car painted in green which would have been seen around the Pont de Sènes, he will ask to Picard who will deny the existence of a new project and will stop it during 2 weeks before to take it back with the car painted in black.
In the middle of 1943, the 106E is presented by Serre to Louis Renault who will not accept it, it didn't like popular cars. The second prototype is modified, it's now a saloon car powered by a 11hp engine, it's assembled in March 1944.
In August 1944, Louis Renault is arrested for collaboration with Germans and die in prison before to be judged, he's replaced at the head of the society by Pierre Lefaucheux who will develop the prototype of the 4cv.

The production began in 1947 with 300 exemples built for began the commercial promotion of the car. The first models were painted in yellow sand, the paint was originally used by the Afrika Korps for paint their vehicules whose some were built in the Renault's factories during the war.
The 4cv will know an huge success, with its 1 105 547 exemples built, it's the first French car to be built at more than 1 000 000 exemples, 170 000 exemples were sent to Canada and to the US, in 1953, Renault authorised the japanese society Shoji Okubo kk to build under liscence under the name of Hino 4cv, Argentina also had its utilitary variant of the 4cv.
In 1961, Renault took the decision to stop the production of the most sold car in France until 1955.

This exemple was built before 1954.