Louis Renault in 1903 in his first car.
Louis Renault, the founder of the French automobile company that bears his name, died in prison on this day in 1944 at age 67. The Frenchman found himself behind bars after being named as a suspected Nazi collaborator, a charge he denied. The circumstances leading up to his arrest and death remain mysterious, but he cemented his legacy in the auto industry long before the rise of the Nazi party.
The first Renault car
Louis Renault, born in 1877, build his first car in 1898 with the help of two hired workers. Dubbed the Voiturette, the car featured a De Dion-Bouton 1 cylinder engine, giving the car a top speed of about 20 miles per hour. After demonstrating the vehicle could maneuver hilly roads without issue on Christmas Eve of 1898, he re...