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Rovin - 1950-1959 | 
| Immediately after world war ii, a flood of tiny microcars was unleashed on the french market. One of the best was the rovin, launched at the 1946 paris salon. Like most of its breed, it had open, doorless bodywork and a single-cylinder engine, and looked as though it had escaped from a fairground bumper-car ride | Specifications performance
Top speed of 47 mph
engine typedrivetrain: Water-cooled, sidevalve, flat twin
displacement 425 cc
power rating 11 hp (13 hp by 1953)
transmission 3-speed dog-clutch + reverse
chassis: Integral steel backbone; Independent front suspension by transverse leaf spring and wishbone; Rear suspension by coil springs; 880 lbs. |
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| | About vehicle
Cyclops
robert de rovin had built motorcycles before the war with his brother raoul. His original rovin car had a single headlight and a rear-mounted 260cc single engine but never made it to production. The 1947 salon saw a more polished design, with two headlights, roll-up windows and a 425cc flat twin engine. About 380 were built before it was succeeded by the wider-bodied rovin d3 at the end of 1948.
falling sales
at 370,000 francs, the first rovins were more expensive than the citroen 2cv, but sold well anyway because there was a four-year waiting list for the little citroen. Later rovin models undercut the citroen in price but sold no better. In 1952, the engine was enlarged to 462 cc, but sales continued to fall. Petering out at the end of
the fifties, the rovin had come in like a lion but went out like a lamb.
The rovin was as basic as could be, but ironically was built in the old delaunay-belleville luxury car factory. |
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