Founded by
Louis
Renault and his brothers Marcel
and Fernaud as the Société Renault
Frères in 1898. Louis provided the engineering
expertise, while the brothers concentrated on
running the business. Their first car, the “Voiturette”,
was sold to a friend of Louis after he took a
test ride. The company turned to motor racing
to raise their profile, and Louis and Marcel
quickly garnered success in the first French
city-to-city races. Marcel was tragically
killed in an accident during the 1903 Paris to
Madrid race, and although Louis would choose
never to race again, he remained committed to
motor racing, his company taking out the inaugural
Grand Prix race of 1906 in a Renault AK 90CV.
Renault went on to manufacture cars, taxis, buses
and commercial vehicles in the pre-war years,
however they turned to munitions, airplanes and
even the Renault FT-17 tank during World War
1.
Louis Renault was honored by the Allies for
his company's contributions to their victory,
and by wars end Renault was the number one private
manufacturer in France. A dark period for the
manufacturer came during the next conflict, Renault
using their factories to manufacture trucks for
Nazi Germany. Just how
Louis Renault should have
played his hand during this dark period of history
remains debatable, but following the liberation
of France in 1944 he was arrested and sent to
prison; he would be killed (broken neck) before
having time to prepare his defense.
The Renault
industrial assets were seized by the provisional
government, their factories becoming a public
concern. Against the odds, new chief Pierre Lefaucheux
would lead the company into a resurgence, mostly
attributable to the wonderful 4CV model, a car
that rivaled the German
Beetle and British
Morris
Minor.