Founded in 1898 by Louis Renault and his brothers Marcel and Fernand, 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.

At a time when automobile design had yet to crystallise, Renault's front-engined, rear-drive design presaged that of the modern car, while other advanced features included wire-spoked wheels shod with the newly invented Dunlop inflatable tyre.

Few changes were found necessary before the Type A was ready for presentation to the public in 1899.

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.

The single-cylinder Renault was updated annually, the Type G of 1902 featuring an 864cc water-cooled De Dion motor rated at 6hp.

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