Louis Renault
Background
Louis Renault was the youngest of the three Renault brothers and the technically minded one, building his first car -- the Voiturette, fitted with his patented direct-drive transmission -- in the family's garden shed in 1898. Marcel and Fernand, who had business experience running their father's button and textile firm, joined him to found Renault Freres on February 25, 1899, with the elder brothers handling business and administration while Louis focused on design and manufacturing. To prove the cars' speed and reliability, Louis and Marcel became formidable competitors in early city-to-city races, with Marcel winning the 1902 Paris-Vienna race outright.