Chassis No. 03

Engine No. 3433

The 1898 Type A was the first automobile designed by Louis Renault, founder of the Renault industrial empire. Its performance was progressively improved through successive developments up to the Type D, presented at the 1901 Paris Motor Show. It was fitted with a larger engine, a 4½ hp water-cooled single cylinder, and, to facilitate driving, featured a steering wheel in place of tiller steering; mixture and ignition controls were moved from the dashboard to the steering column for better control, making it a more modern machine.

This 1901 Type D Series B, chassis no. 03, fitted with De Dion-Bouton engine number 3433, powering the car to nearly 40 km/h, fitted with four-passenger coachwork executed by noted London coachbuilders Thrupp & Maberly was long displayed at H & D Cleland Ltd., Scotland's oldest Renault dealership, opened in 1901. Upon their closing in 1960, it was acquired by Thomas Love as a gift for the 21st birthday of his son Thomas Love Jr., still in Scotland. The latter drove it on numerous occasions in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run before acquiring the oldest existing Rolls-Royce, U44, and leaving the Renault in storage for more than twenty years. It was subsequently sold to the former Irish owner, who acquired it in 2003 before passing it on to the current Belgian owner in 2010.

Dated to 1901 by its 1950 Veteran Car Club of Great Britain dating certificate, a digital copy of which accompanies the car, this Type D promises wonderful days by taking an early start from Hyde Park on the first Sunday of November.