As Carlo Abarth was to FIAT and John Cooper to BMC, so Amédee Gordini was to Renault.

Since the 1950s, Amédee Gordini, known as 'Le Sorcier' for his almost magical ability to extract high power outputs from engines (particularly of small capacity), has been synonymous with performance versions of Renault saloons.

In the late 1950s/early 1960s, his competition-tuned Dauphines did exceptionally well in many forms of motor sport.

Their rallying victories were numerous and, indeed, a Dauphine was the first car ever to win outright the three most important rallies of the day: the Tulip Rally (1957), the Monte Carlo Rally (1958) and the Alpine Rally (1959) while also enjoying considerable great success on the racetrack.

For several seasons the Dauphine dominated national 1,000cc classes around the world, carrying off overall and class victories in such events as the Mille Miglia, Sebring 12 Hours and Tour de France.

The Dauphine remained in production until 1965, by which time it had be...