Renault 4½hp Type D Rear-Entrance Tonneau with Canopy, 1901
Renault 4
Renault 4•
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Chassis No.: 6006
Estimate: £75,000 - £85,000 GBP
- Known ownership history
- Featured in the famous motoring motion picture Genevieve
- Many-time London-Brighton Run participant
Founded by Louis Renault and his brothers Marcel and Fernand in 1898, the company that would become France's biggest automobile manufacturer started humbly enough, with a solitary 1¾hp De Dion-engined prototype, the sprung rear axle of which would soon be copied by many contemporaries. Production at the Billancourt factory was soon under way on a large scale, demand for its products being enhanced by the performance of Renault cars in the great inter-city races so popular in France at the turn of the 19th Century.
From the outset Renault engineering was of the highest quality, as exemplified by this 4½hp De Dion-Bouton-engined Type D, which is typical of the first generation of Renault cars. In July 1901 La France Automobile referred to the Type D Renault as being a very elegant and practical reduction of the large type of automobile carriage, of which it has all the advantages of comfort, sweetness and elegance without the inconveniences of expense, weight, consumption, bulk and price. The Type D was launched at the Salon de l'Automobile held in the Grand Palais in Paris at the end of January 1901 and homologated with the Ministry of Mines (responsible for approving new car models) in February 1901.
Despite having a single-cylinder engine of only 450cc, the Type D was a willing performer. In May 1901 Miss Vera Butler drove her father, the balloonist and wine merchant Frank Hedges Butler, from Paris to Nice and back via the Alps, a round trip of some 1,250 miles. Her Type D climbed several Alpine passes, including the ascent to La Grande Chartreuse, where the snow had drifted to depths of six feet, and eventually returned to Paris "without mishap ... creating a record at the time for a journey with a lady driving and so small and low-powered a car".
This 1901 Renault was an early import into the UK. The Lincolnshire County Council Archive was able to provide details of the 1903 Vehicle Registration, which shows that the first owner was a Mr William Herbert Lindsay of Well Vale, Alford, Lincolnshire. This substantial mansion still exists and was visited by the previous owners of this car in 2014. The present owners of Well Vale were very welcoming and said they would love to see the car back in the grounds at some time in the future, but sadly they had no records of the original Mr Lindsay.
The Renault appears to have been stored at the house until 1950 when it was purchased by Mr Tom Lightfoot, an enthusiastic member of the Veteran Car Club. He restored the car to working order and it was dated 1901 (Certificate 255) by the Veteran Car Club. The VCC Gazette published a photograph of the car on its first event in 1952 (see file).
In 1953 the Renault featured in that most famous motoring motion picture Genevieve, and can be seen arriving in Brighton. Subsequently the car was sold to a Mr Wally Littler, a member of the VCC who owned several early cars. He campaigned 'BE 29' enthusiastically over a number of years and enjoyed driving long distances, overnight on many occasions, to win the 'Rally to the Event Trophy'. This culminated in him winning the Lord Trophy three times, an unbroken record to this day. Documented in the VCC magazine, his longest drive was from Loughton, Essex to Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, returning to Blenheim and completing 500 miles to compete in the Rally. The magazine reported that "they appeared severely weatherbeaten and suffering from exposure". Numerous other trophies came his way.
Following Wally Littler's death in 1963 the car passed to his sister, and it was stored near her home in Clacton, Essex. Her husband returned it to the road in 1996 to successfully complete the 100-Year Celebration of the London to Brighton Run. It then returned to storage and was sold to the previous owner in November 2010. Some £10,000 has been spent with a specialist company for works including fitting a starter motor and refurbishing the gearbox (invoices available), since when 'BE 29' has completed several more Brighton Runs as well as many VCC events.
