Footnotes

• Founded by Louis Renault and his brothers Marcel and Fernand in 1898, 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. From the outset Renault engineering was of the highest quality and the arrival of multi-cylinder models really put the company on the map. As well as motor cars, Renault manufactured taxis, buses and commercial vehicles in the years before The Great War, and during hostilities branched out into munitions, military aircraft and armoured vehicles. By the War’s end this diversification had seen Renault establishing as France’s biggest manufacturing enterprise.
  When the Société des Transports en Commune de la Région Parisienne (STCRP) decided to replace trams with buses it chose the Renault TN4, which had been introduced in 1929. One of the last of the ‘TN’ series, the TN4H was launched in 1936 and belongs to the final generation with a directly accessible rear platform. In order to create more passenger space, the TN4H adopted a ‘cab forward’ layout, doing away with its predecessors’ projecting bonnet. Compared to previous models, the body was restyled and extended (to 9.34 metres in length), boasting five windows with rounded corners instead of four rectangular ones. The four-cylinder petrol engine displaced 5,883cc and produced 58hp, which was good enough for a top speed of 40km/h (25mph). Weighing 7¼ tons unladen, the TN4H could accommodate 50 passengers. A total of 410 TN4Hs was ordered by the STCRP, the last of which was not withdrawn from service until January 1971.
  This particular TN4H comes with a good history file containing its original 1937 Carte Grise and a letter from the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens museum stating that it was in service in Paris from 4th June 1937 to 15th January 1971. The vehicle, which has been fitted with two new batteries, also comes with an original specification sheet and parts list. The vendor advises that in 1991 he drove the TN4H to Paris, a trip that was widely reported in the press, and that it runs perfectly and is totally original throughout. The interior said to be is excellent, retaining its varnished wooden ceiling and enamelled notices conveying messages such as ‘Do Not Lean Out Of The Window’ and ‘Only 9 Standing In This Area’, etc. MoT exempt, the vehicle is offered with current road fund licence and Swansea V5. A quantity of spare parts is included in the sale.
  

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Category: Motoring / Motor Cars

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