Why is 4-velocity, the proper time derivative of position, automatically normalized to length 1 (or c, depending on unit convention)?
It is related to the vector (1, 3-velocity) by a factor of gamma, the Lorentz factor. Which also happens to be (?) the inverse of the length of the vector (1, 3-velocity). The Lorentz factor is both the conversion between time and proper time derivative and normalizes 4-velocity.