1968 Renault Caravelle

Finished in light blue with a tan leather interior and a black hard-top, this 1968 Renault Caravelle has had more than £20,000 spent on it by its fastidious owner to get it “just right”.

Which is an awful lot of money – but then sometimes you’ve just gotta do what you gotta do, right?

And, if that makes no sense to you then that’s okay; you can get some very good PCP deals on a modern car right now and we won’t trouble you further.

But, if you’ve any romance in your soul then please do read on because this is a lovely example of one of the prettiest cars of its generation.

The coachwork was partially stripped back and resprayed in August 2023 by Hares of Berkshire, with the £4,782 bill being run up painting the roof, doors, sills and door shuts, blending in to the rear bodywork as required.

The car was then meticulously refitted by Thurley’s Classic Restorations, who did a mighty fine job of getting everything perfectly lined up and looking sumptuous.

The gloss black hard-top is not only in a virtually unmarked condition with a helluva shine to it, it also features one of the largest rear windows we’ve ever seen on a car this diminutive. The result is the cabin that is still flooded with light, even as you’re cocooned from the worst the weather can hurl at you.

The headlining on the hard-top is clean, taut and undamaged, which is all you can ask of a headlining, surely. Not that its condition is a surprise because it, like so much else, is new having been fitted in October 2023 by Flux Trimmers as part of a £3,738 bill.

They also fitted new window rubbers for the hard-top’s side and rear windows, and tailor-made a bag for the hood.

And nor does the story end there because the seller only asked them to do this work because he was so pleased with what they’d done a year earlier. Some of it was interior work, which we’ll cover later but a decent chunk of the £5,960 bill was accounted for by having the hard-top retrimmed.

And there’s more because if you think the soft-top tucks away uncommonly neatly then you’d be right because it sits underneath a custom tonneau cover that they created. Clever, huh?

Of course, the black fabric roof also rises and falls as it should, fits very nicely, and has no obvious damage or wear to either it or the plastic rear window.

If we can return to that £20,000 investment for a moment please, almost £750 of that was spent on putting the Caravelle back on the correct Michelin tyres. Fitted to steel wheels that are covered by a set of wonderfully ornate chrome wheel trims, the rubber is the legendary XZX, the iconic tyres that all French vehicles of the period seemed to be fitted with.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly.

The taillights are new too, as are the front indicators. All were sourced, of course, from France.

Our chap carried out his usual slightly-OCD inspection and came up with the following: there are some very fine scratches at the base of the bonnet above the Renault badge, plus a small scratch on the offside front wing behind the side repeater.

There is also a couple of tiny paint blisters below the chrome strip on the offside front wing, a small chip to the offside sill below the driver’s door, with a very similar one to the nearside.

There are also a couple of small chips and marks to the hard-top, but these are more visible than they might otherwise be because of the colour. Finally,
the rear engine cover sits slightly proud and the rubber seal on the hard-top has perished in places.

Trivial stuff then, as you’d expect.

The (recently recovered) rear seat might refine the word ‘rudimentary’ but that’s okay because the rest of the cabin is incredibly well thought out.

Take storage, for example, which is provided via a pocket in each door card, with another elasticated pocket in the footwell. There’s a good-sized glovebox too, plus a huge frunk, which is nicely painted and lined with rubber matting.

Very clean, it’s surprisingly commodious, and lifting the rubber mats out shows nothing other than solid metal.

But this is very far from being a capacious-but-utilitarian car like the Citroën 2CV.

Returning to the frunk, take note that the seller has had three small sections cut out of it to reveal three factory-fitted plates that would otherwise be hidden, something that is entirely in keeping with the care Renault took when building it.

Witness the dashboard, which is padded when every other manufacturer would have left it bare.

Or the door cards that feature a hockey stick-shaped (“elbows out”) piece of chrome trim too, which mirrors the shape of the trim on the A-pillars.

The carpets, which are bound with brown leather, are in an excellent condition, and while we’re down there can we point out the accelerator pedal is cranked to the right to give the driver a bit more legroom. And the leather pads that have been sewn to the carpet to protect it.

The steering wheel is also far nicer than it has any right to be given the Renault’s humble beginnings (“my father was a toolmaker” etc.), as are the front seats.

Genuine leather and as plump as you’d find in a car costing considerably more, please take the time to admire the knobs you use to tilt them forward; how nice are they? they pivot on big chrome hinges too; this is a car in which every detail, no matter how small, has been carefully considered.

Heck, even the reverse of the interior mirror is a delight.

Extra sound-deadening has been fitted for yet more comfort, and this was done by Flux Trimmers, whose bills over two years came to almost £10,000 but then they did make and fit the carpets, footwell panels, and dashboard, recover the rear seat, and install seatbelts.

The curved amber Perspex sunvisors aren’t only gorgeous, they’re also new – but then you could have guessed that from their condition, couldn’t you?

Speaking of gorgeous, our seller sourced a delightfully period-correct twin-spindle radio that only covers long- and medium-wave frequencies too, and how cool is that? It just needs connecting.

The inside of the folding roof is very good too, as is the painted hood frame.

Flaws, therefore, are few. The chrome bezels on the instruments are a little patinated, as is the gearknob. There is also an area of what look like glue on the side of the driver’s seat.

KFX 246F’s recent upgrades and improvements include the installation of a new brake master cylinder with braided steel hoses, and an upgraded Dynalite alternator that looks like the old dynamo but charges much better.

Electronic ignition makes for smoother and more reliable running, while a new clutch and a seven-hour repair to the gearchange mechanism makes for smoother gearchanges and, er, more reliable running.

As you can see it starts and runs beautifully, the little four-cylinder engine making a lovely noise in the process.

We took it for a quick spin and while it drove well, it was a little hesitant when it was cold. It also tracks to the left and the steering wheel is slightly off centre.

If you’ve got this far then the fact the engine bay is so nicely presented isn’t going to come as a surprise. There’s evidence of new ignition components and filters in there too, and there’s a spare fanbelt in the boot.

The underside is clean and has been very nicely undersealed. There’s a spare wheel in a cradle – and even that is fitted with a matching Michelin tyre.

The Renault doesn’t have a current MoT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have it MoT’d at the earliest opportunity. The cost of an MoT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic vehicle, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear bar the marker for a change of colour from green to blue.

The history file contains invoices and photos from the Caravelle’s recent restoration, including several from France.

There are plenty of older invoices on file too, some of them going back as far as 1970. We also spotted the original guarantee card and the stamped service history booklet in addition to a third-party workshop manual.

We’ve waxed lyrical about the Caravelle for a very good reason, and a large part of that is that it doesn’t ever make you feel like you’re being treated like a second-class citizen because you’ve chosen to buy a small car, which is priceless.

And so, virtually, is our estimate.

Because our estimate is that it’s only going to return between a half and three-quarters of the £20,000 he’s sunk into it – and that’s without factoring in what it cost him to buy it in the first place.

Which makes him one of us, a romantic who enjoys spending money on the things that make him happy – and therefore exactly the right sort of chap to buy a classic car from.

And in the interests of fairness, he’s happy to offer this with no reserve, so everyone will know exactly where they stand from the very beginning as it’s going to sell from the very first bid.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £10,000 - £15,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.