Renault type A 1899
Restoration is
worth a book
Amazing book
About 140 of the Renault Type A were built after production started in 1899 and as far as we know there are still seven original examples left in the world. This car, production number 75, was bought by Australian Peter Briggs from a French museum and after its restoration Graeme Cocks wrote a great book about the very first Renault.
Pictures: Graeme Cocks, York Motor Museum & Paul Kane
Garden house
Every Renault enthusiast can relate his own version of the founding history of Renault - how the technically driven Louis built his own car in the garden house of the family's country house in Billancourt, presented it to his friends on Christmas Eve 1898 and immediately sold some in advance.
Exciting boy's book
There is, of course, more detailed history and Graeme Cocks’ book provides an in depth account making it an absolute 'must' for the true Renault aficionado who will read 'Louis Renault's Amazing Type A' rather like an exciting boy's book.
Trendy restaurant
Louis and Marcel left brother Fernand at home on Christmas Eve while mother Renault went to the night mass. The couple drove their own car from Billancourt to a trendy restaurant on the rue du Helder in Paris, two streets away from the Opéra where the Chess hotel is now located. The Renault brothers met their friends Georges Grus, Louis Cabarrus, Emile Duke and Paul Hugé there.
Louis had built his car purely for his own amusement and was probably thinking of selling the technical innovations but in no way had he thought seriously about starting a car factory. In the restaurant, he also met lawyer Maître Vian who mocked Louis' vehicle and challenged Louis to take him for a ride at night. This resulted in the famous climb from rue Lepic to Montmartre, a road with a steep gradient of 13 percent. The restaurant was about 2 kilometres from rue Lepic and Louis drove the lawyer at maximum speed along the Seine back to the restaurant.
Christmas Eve
Jean Perrier and Emile Duke followed and they all placed orders with deposits for the small car built by Louis Renault. He also took orders from the Italian tenor Francesco Tamagno and the celebrated French singer Comtesse de Guerne, who also celebrated Christmas Eve in the restaurant due of the proximity of the Opéra. At the crack of dawn on December 25, 1898, the socially clumsy Louis left the restaurant with 12 orders for a car that he had not intended to produce in volume in the first place. With Marcel Renault beside him as an experienced businessman, the car sold itself.
Picture: The Renault A type from the Museum of Compiègne, number 22 in the series.
It can never be stated with certainty how many examples of a car have survived a period of more than 120 years but currently there are seven original known examples in addition to the eight replicas that Renault built for its 100-year anniversary in 1998. The car with the lowest production number, 15 to be precise, is part of the permanent collection of the Museu Nacional de l'Automobil in Andorra. The second in succession is number 22 which can be seen at the Musée National de la Voiture et du Tourisme in Compiègne, France.
Picture: The Renault A type from the Renault Classic collection, number 27.
Unique occasion
This example is considered to be the most original Type A as the car was donated to the museum by Louis Renault in May 1929 and has not been touched since then. Visitors to Rétromobile 2018 were able to see the car which was a unique occasion because a few dozen metres away on the Renault Classic stand, A-type number 27 was displayed, which is part of the factory collection. This was followed by number 75 which has been on display for many years at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England but is still owned by the descendants of Douglas Copley who bought the Renault in the twenties and enjoyed it for decades.
Picture: In this state Peter Briggs bought his Renault A-type number 110.
Then follows car number 110, the main subject of this beautiful book. The car was first on display in the Musée de l'Automobile de Provence on the famous N7 between Avignon and Aix-en-Provence which opened in 1967 and was continued by the founder's sons. They took a trip to Australia in 1983 and visited Perth car collector Peter Briggs who had just opened his York Motor Museum and bought the Renault.
London Brighton
It looked as if it had never been driven during the museum years. After a fire in the workshop and six years in another museum Lindsay Taylor came into contact with the owner. It was decided to carry out an extensive restoration followed by participation in the 2017 London to Brighton Run and a test drive by Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo. It is also nice to mention that during the restoration, the digital drawings were gratefully used that Renault produced to build the eight replicas in the run-up to its 100th anniversary in 1998.
These are just a few details from a great book that can be ordered from: www.motoringpast.com.au
Joint order
The book Louis Renault's Amazing type A costs 45 dollars in Australia, which is about 27 euros. However, the postage costs for sending one copy are considerable. Fans of this book can contact Losange Magazine by mail. If there is sufficient interest, it may be possible to place a joint order with the publisher: losangemagazine@gmail.com