1909 Renault AX Voiturette

1909 Renault AX Voiturette

Renault engineering was of the highest quality from the outset, and the arrival of multi-cylinder models really put the company on the map. By 1904 Renault was building its own engines: large-capacity fours at first, followed by the AX twin that later developed into the AG, famous for its WWI role as the 'Taxi de la Marne'. Powered by a 1,100cc twin-cylinder engine of 8hp and featuring the 'coal scuttle' bonnet and bulkhead-mounted radiator that would characterise Renaults until the late 1920s, the AX arrived at a time when the motor car was beginning to gain a measure of respectability. The unreliability of early cars had provided good cause for public scepticism but the advent of the AX, destined to become Renault's pre-WWI best seller, ushered in a new era. Here was an easy-to-drive car of simple design, whose mechanical workings even a technically illiterate layman might begin to understand. The water-cooled twin with its mechanically operated valves was simple and robust, endearing qualities to the novice motorist, and the three-speed gearbox was easy to master. For so small a car the AX possessed unparalleled flexibility between 8km/h and 56km/h in top gear, clinging to that gear on all but the steepest gradients.

Descriptions & pictures by bonhams & flickr