Renault realised that in the USA, they were losing a lot of business to the Volkswagen Beetle with their existing Dauphine model. So at a distributor convention, the American dealers suggested the management of Renault to come up with an alternative that can use parts of the existing Dauphine. 

The model that was developed post the dealers suggestion was the "Floride", but because public sentiments in the State of Florida would be hurt due to similarity in name, Renault decided to use the name "Caravelle" for the American market. But outside USA, it was sold as the Renault Floride.

This car with a 1.1 litre engine was designed by Pietro Frua of bespoke design house Carrozzeria Ghia and was produced for nearly a decade, over 1.18 lakh cars were produced.