Make: Renault Model: Floride Year: 1960 Engine: Upright 4-cylinder 850cc rear mounted Transmission: 4-speed manual Owned: 6 years Owner: Ross McNaught
Viva
Floride
W
hen American servicemen returned from Europe after World War II with tales of opentop sports cars like the MG and Triumph, a demand for small, stylish, sportier cars was created. Both Ford and GM built models to appeal to this new market with the Thunderbird and Corvette respectively grabbing the attention of the American people. Volkswagen entered the game with their own mass produced sports car, the Karmann Ghia, based on the running gear of the Beetle. This model along with its famous cousin propelled sales of the German marque in the lucrative US market. Watching all this with great interest was Renault, the giant French car manufacturer who also wanted better sales in the States. During a fact-finding mission to the US, Renault executives attended a dinner party at the residence of the Governor of Florida. It was at this dinner that the Frenchmen decided to emulate the success VW had with the Karmann Ghia by designing a sporty car especially for the American market based on the platform of their own Renault Dauphine. Officially designated as Project 1092, the car ultimately became known as the Floride in honour of the place where the idea was conceived. The Renault Floride had its unveiling to the American public at the 1959 New York Motor Show. It was an instant success and more than 13,000 orders were submitted for the car. The Floride was produced for three years from 1959 to 62, and Ross McNaught of Accel Auto Electrics on the Gold Coast has been painstakingly restoring a 1960 model for the past 6 years. “I found it on Ebay,” Ross said. “I bought it from a place at West Queensland called Blackbutt, and when I got it home on a car trailer I found it had a lot more rust than I had hoped. “After I had it sandblasted I thought I won’t go ahead, there is too much rust.” But then Ross went back to Ebay, and found a Dauphine 16 | Motor Trader August 2013
Gordini, the car that the Floride had been based on. This new internet find provided him with a much needed engine, something the Floride was lacking, and panel work for the floorplan. “And then I learnt how to weld,” Ross said. “There were many times when I nearly gave up, but I persevered. “I was not looking for a Renault, I just saw the shape and really liked it.” Ross takes it out regularly on runs with the Renault club and it was used in his daughters’ wedding. The longest run so far was a 450km midnight to dawn road trip around the Queensland-NSW border areas.