On February 16, 2016 I posted a story about the Renault Dauphine 1093 rally cars. I had seen one while participating in the 2016 Rallye Monte Carlo Historique. I included some information about the Renault Rally Team of three Dauphine 1093 cars that competed in the 1962 Shell 4000 rally. In that post I wondered where these cars are now, as seeing a Renault Dauphine in the USA or Canada is very unusual.
In the story I mentioned that there is a website devoted to the Renault Dauphine 1093 cars. The purveyor of that website, Jean-Francois Riou, sent me an email message that he has been keeping since about 2002 concerning a potential lead on the whereabouts of some of the three Renault Dauphine 1093 cars that took part in the 1962 Shell 4000 rally. With Jean-Francois’ permission, I am including this potential lead below:
“Georges Boucher has a car dealership, “Boucher Motors” at 310 East 2nd Street in the City of Vancouver BC (sorry I don’t know the postal code) and their telephone is (604) 873 2454. You could try getting in touch with Georges directly. Many years ago I bought a used Peugeot 404 Injection engine from him and at the time he had a photo on the wall of a Dauphine 1093 on the wall, with Canadian license plates on the car. My friends and I were “into” Dauphines then (I had an R1094 converted to R-10 drivetrain and my friend had an R 1091 Gordini). We asked Georges about that 1093 and he wouldn’t tell us whether he still had the car or not, but we thought he did, as why else would he not tell us. This was around 1982.
About the other 1093, it was bought by someone in Winnipeg way back in 1970 and he used it for 10 years and then he re-sold the car in British Columbia around the late 1970s or 1980. He told me the car was in the interior of BC at the time but I was unable to follow up on that information. I think the car might have been used in the Shell 4000 (Trans-Canada Rally) in the early 1960s.
So I’m afraid that’s all the information I have. Bonne chance!
Mike Tippett”
There might be something in that message that might lead to finding the whereabouts of some of these special rally cars. If anyone can add some information to the above lead, then that would be great.
The Renault Dauphine 1093 Cars Have Two Distinctive Central Blue Stripes
Perhaps these cars no longer exist, but perhaps one or more is lingering in a barn or a field somewhere.
The link to the Dauphine 1093 website: http://www.dauphine1093.fr
If you have any comments or questions about this post, then either leave a comment below or send me a private email: shanna12 at comcast dot net
stevemckelvie.wordpress.com 
Is there anything significant that distinguishes the 1093s from Gordinis? I’ve just finished writing a book on the Shell 4000 history (hopefully will be published soon!) and I also know where two Gordinis are in Alberta and one in Ontario. None of them are this colour scheme, but who knows what happened between 1962 and now.
The Shell 4000 archives will hopefully soon have a ton of serial number information for all/most of the participating cars, which could help. In the meantime, if there is anything that would distinguish the 1093s from Gordinis, I could investigate!
Hi Dave!
If the cars have been painted, then the only visual differentiator between a 1093 and a Gordini that I am aware of is that on the right side (standing from the back of the car) rear deck lid there is a prominent chrome emblem that says “Gordini” on the Gordini. Many of the Gordinis were painted blue and possibly the 1093 cars were repainted blue as well. The serial number information might help someone tell the difference.
When you get your Shell 4000 book published, make sure that I am aware of it, as I would like to buy a copy.
Thanks for any help tracking down the Renault Team cars in the 1962 Shell 4000 rally!
Steve McKelvie
Thanks Steve. Both cars I know of are blue but that could be a repaint. Hard to know. I’ll try to get more photos of each and hopefully I’ll have serial number information soon, which would be definitive.
I’ll definitely let you know when the book is ready to go!
Thanks!
Hi Dave, I will send you via email a photo that I have of a back view of a Dauphine Gordini.
Steve McKelvie
Hi Guys, I am the one who wrote that message above. One approach would be to review ICBC records in BC…if G. Boucher had the 1093 in BC, the car would still be in their database. I think I will request a list of all Renaults in BC (I got a similar one from ICBC for all 3700 Peugeots that were/are here) and that may (assuming the serial numbers are somehow identifiable as R1093) would be the basis for starting a search. All ICBC will give is the VIN and model, no other data, but it’s still a good start.
Hi Mike,
Thank you for running this down. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.
Steve McKelvie
I have just requested a list from ICBC, we will see if the 1093 VINs are intelligible in the data! I will let you know.
Steve, and update: ICBC declined due to workload but I will try again in early 2017.
About the 1093, they all had a mechanical Jaeger tachometer mounted in the left hand cubby on the dash, a 180 km/h – or 110 MPH – speedometer, 1093 badging on the engine lid and right front fender, 58 SAE HP instead of 38 in the Gordini, diagonal track rods on the rear axles like a later R-8, finned drums and a few other changes.
…uhh, make that….AN update…..
So I have asked ICBC again and they didn’t say no. So perhaps I will get a list early in 2018. The other news is Monsieur Riou’s website shows photos of a 1093 in a scrapyard in the USA, taken around 2015. The car was California registered and last on the road in 1968. I and trying to chase that one down. Could it be one of the TCR cars?
We found that 1093 but it’s not for sale. Working on the owner….still no word from ICBC
Latest update: Still hoping for the list from ICBC – sent a reminder Friday June 12th…..meanwhile we know that a total of 23 examples of the 1093 were imported to Canada, mostly in 1962, and further that at least six of these were licensed consecutively in 1962 in Montreal with the plates 397-306 (car 106 in the Shell 4000); 397-307, 397-308, 397-309 (car used in press photos for April news release); 397-310 (car 104 in the Shell 4000); and 397-311 (car 101 in the Shell 4000). So we have photos of four of these cars.
At least two were sold in Vancouver in 1962 and a friend and I met with one of the former owners, who doesn’t know what happened to his 1093 after he traded it in in 1968. The prairies apparently had their fair share of 1093s too – for example a Renault ace mechanic, John Gaughan, told me that when he was working for Renault in Winnipeg that there was one there circa 1970.
I have word from someone in Quebec that one of these cars may survive yet in Canada. We’re working on getting more information on that.
I did get the list of 10,000+ Renault VINs from ICBC in fall 2020. No 1093 VINs were among them, sadly. This doesn’t mean none are here, just that none has been registered for the road since 1973.
One last thing: the 1093 that had a photo on Georges Boucher’s wall was owned by Norman Cousins, who bought his 1093 new from a fellow named Lazenby, who worked at the Renault Canada office on Burrard Street in Vancouver. Boucher was at a photoshoot of Norm’s car at QE Park and the photo on his wall was of that car. So: Boucher never owned it. This was confirmed in a phone conversation with Georges Boucher Jr. in 2018.
Norm Cousins was still around in 2018 (age 92) and hopefully today as well, and I spoke with him at some length about the car back then. Seems he had it for about 7 years and traded it in 1969 or 1970 at a Citroën dealer for a DS. Norm was the treasurer for the sports car club that ran Westwood in the early 1960s. Norm competed there in his 1093 as well as at other PNW tracks. Norm also indicated that Lazenby’s Vancouver office had a second 1093 in 1963 but he doesn’t know what became of that one either.