Combat New Car Depreciation with RTI, VRI and Finance Shortfall Gap Insurance

The History of Renault

If you want to trace the history of the French car manufacturer Renault, you need to head back to the last days of 1898.

This was when Louis Renault drove his Voiturette - the very first Renault model - up a steep hill for a bet. It was a bet that paid off, since it was that moment which is now seen as the turning point in the early days of Renault.

Ironically enough for a company that designs cars for everyday use nowadays, the Renault company first won attention and orders as a company that made cars capable of winning races. But Renault has had many firsts during more than a century of making cars. Indeed it became known in this manner especially in the early years. The first Grand Prix ever run back in 1906 was won by a driver in a Renault car.

But there is a different history of Renault that can also be explored. You see, many people think of Renault and they automatically think of cars. This is after all what the company is best known for. But during the Second World War they also made FT17 tanks to help with the efforts to end the war. They certainly came in very useful. Elsewhere in their long history of more than a century, Renault has made such diverse vehicles as farm tractors, vans and aeroplane engines.

The company has been through tough times in other ways. Louis Renault, the man behind the company, died in 1944. The following year Renault was nationalised. It would be more than fifty years before the company was privatised again, leading to another major stage in its history.

If you look back over the history of Renault you will also see plenty of well known cars there. Everything from the original Voiturette, through to the famous Renault 5 (first produced in 1972) and right through to the modern day Clio - it all has the unmistakeable stamp of Renault on it. This is a company that has survived sometimes tough times throughout more than a century. We should expect it to continue producing another century of innovations as well.

CLICK HERE FOR A NO OBLIGATION GAP INSURANCE QUOTE

BUY GAP INSURANCE DIRECT