What should have been a regular trip to the swimming pool early one evening in October 2011, turned into an unexpected diversion and another entertaining episode in the life of a Renault 4 obsessive. I left my home in Lyon and spotted what seemed to be a Plein Air ahead of me at the traffic lights. Something didn't quite add up though, and when its driver signalled to pull into the nearby petrol station I realised that I was staring perplexed at the word 'Super' on the rear boot. Indeed, underneath I could see the double chrome bumpers exclusive to that model, and I knew I had crept up on some rare untamed beast let loose upon the streets.

The owner, Pascal, explained that this was a Renault 4 Super (R1124) from December 1962, first registered in 1963, and which had then been converted in 1969 into this R4 Super Torpédo and Plein Air lookalike. I would rarely expect to encounter either a Super or a Plein Air on the streets, let alone a combination of the two.

But that was not all. I was in for more surprises since Pascal invited me to a garage down the road that he shares with other members of the 4L-R6 Club de France (see R4 Links page). There, another of his projects sits under wraps, and can be seen below.

Pascal has been busy restoring this old 1962 classic (R1122), which features the original single pane windows in the passenger doors and hinged opening rear quarter windows. He was preparing it for display at the forthcoming Salon Epoqu'Auto at Lyon Eurexpo.

Two other R4s were sitting in the garage, including another Super edition awaiting restoration. Evidently a big enthusiast since first owning Renault 4s in his twenties, Pascal showed me pictures of the other models he had formerly owned, including the R4 F4 seen below.

He also has this 1969 Estafette sitting around at home.

So I had to postpone my swim but I instead took a dive into a secret world that has been sitting just around the corner from me. The convertible only gets a regular short run out during winter so I feel rather privileged to have got to see it. During my time in Lyon and its environs I've come across a couple of Sixties special editions, a Cartes Jeunes and various oldies, in addition to plenty of the more common Clans, Savanes and other assorted pots and pans, often sporting rally stickers or otherwise just the usual assortment of dents. I've also noticed that only recently, other passing R4 drivers in France have begun to wave, a phenomenon that has endured many years in other countries where models are more scarce, but which had yet to really infiltrate the car's homeland where it is still a car in regular use by persons unwitting of its collectable status.

After all my time spent in Britain, with the number of R4 sightings become less and less with every passing year, the novelty of living in France and seeing them on a regular basis has now started to wear off just a bit. But this was one amazing moment, to make a routine short excursion and happen across such a prized possession. It means that even in 2011, France is still a Renault 4 hunter's paradise.

An additional photo of the Super Torpédo receives the accolade of Star Car, and so can be found in that section at number SC33.