- A faithful replica of the first ‘production’ Renault

- Meticulously built by the manufacturer, regardless of cost

- In running order

- No reserve

For Louis Renault, his venture into cars really began in 1898, when – to test his direct drive transmission, for which he would file a patent the following year – he installed it in a small car he had developed himself, based on a De Dion tricycle. On Christmas Eve, he presented his prototype to his friends and, given their enthusiasm and the ability of his car to drive up the rue Lepic in Montmartre, he set about building a virtually identical model, the Type A. A small open two-seater, it was both simple and ingenious: powered by an air-cooled single-cylinder De Dion Bouton engine connected to the rear wheels without a chain or belt thanks to its ‘direct drive’, it was the first production Renault, built in the workshops set up at the same time at Billancourt with financial support from Louis’ brothers, Marcel and Fernand. First shown to the public at the Automotive Exhibition in June 1899, it had a steering wheel with two handles mounted on a vertical column, control levers for the engine, and brakes operating on the rear wheels and transmission; starting was by means of a crank handle located at the driver's feet.

Louis Renault took part in his first races with a Type A and in 1899, he and his brother Marcel won the first two places in the ‘amateur driver’ category of the Paris-Trouville race. Further successes made him realise the importance of these results in increasing sales, and he capitalized on them in his early advertising.

A century later, to mark the company’s centenary, the decision was taken to build a replica of this remarkable Type A. Starting from a surviving example, which was complete but well worn, and a list of parts, scale drawings were created over several months by Claude Petit, a volunteer working in the team under Jean Robert, then head of Renault’s ‘Heritage and Innovation’ department. Depending on the part in question, the drawings were then sent to the factory units able to reproduce them exactly, and altogether, eight replicas were assembled. One of them was fitted with an electric motor so that it could be driven in locations where exhaust emissions were forbidden, the other seven with a rebuilt De Dion engine.

This is the case for the example offered for sale, which is one of the few also fitted with a transmission faithful to the original design. It is therefore in running order and is a fine tribute to the manufacturer’s beginnings, an opportunity to take the place of a driver from the period and master the controls of this pioneering vehicle, and a moving way in which to remember that this car laid the foundations for an immense business empire.