This superb car is regarded as Renault's response to Rolls-Royce's Ghost. It is about the same size and quality as the Ghost, it has a similar capacity 6 cylinder 7.6 litre engine and was clearly aimed at the same very wealthy clientele.

This particular car went straight to America in 1909 where it stayed until 1984. Its first owner kept the car until 1921, during which year it had a major engine overhaul and it also acquired a Packard Twin 6 rear axle about that time. Between 1921 and 1948 it was used a a private hire vehicle and it was also leased out to film companies. During this time it covered a huge mileage and been fitted with at least three different bodies. In 1948 it was acquired by Bill Harrah for his Reserve Collection which he set up to preserve cars which he considered were of real importance but were not in quite the right condition for his main collection. When Harrah died the current owner purchased the car with the help of well known veteran car specialist Stephen Langton.

By this time the Renault was in a fairly poor state so he set about a really detailed no expense spared comprehensive "nut and bolt" restoration. This included dismantling the chassis and replacing the rivets which held it together as well as totally rebuilding the engine with a new crankshaft, new cylinder blocks, new connecting rods, new pistons and a pressurised oil system. To make life easier for the driver the car has also been fitted with an electric starter. The engine is very powerful and gives the car a top speed of 80+ miles per hour! The Roi de Belges body frame was meticulously built by VCC past president S. John Mitchell of Biggleswade using 100 year old pitch pine which has been covered with a beautifully hand crafted aluminium skin. The hand stitched leather upholstery was the work of another VCC past president Peter Phillips. This very imposing car really has to be seen as everything about it is of the best quality - the Bleriot headlights alone would buy you a decent small Edwardian car - and it carries the rather splendid registration CR 1909 which is a nice coincidence as Renault's wife was called Christiane though we make no claim that the car was ever owned by the Renault family!

Inevitably this is a car for the serious collector, its quality and rarity (one of only three left) mean that it cannot be inexpensive though it will look like very good value when compared with an Edwardian Ghost!

NB The Renault comes complete with its own purpose built 1995 Renault Midliner car transporter with a hydraulically operated tilt and slide container. You can see the vehicle in the last photograph.