As Great Race contestants discovered last year, when the oldest vehicle in the race - a 100-year-old 1911 Velie - won top honors, the format of the cross-country event puts older vehicles at a great advantage. In fact, thanks to factoring that increases an entrant's score based on the age of the car, the older a car is, the better, which has a little to do with why we'll be seeing a 105-year-old 1907 Renault in this year's edition of the Great Race.

A little, but not everything. You see, Alan and Mary Travis, who will be entering the Renault, are no strangers to Great Race competition, having won the race multiple times in the 1980s. What's more, they won in a 1916 Mitchell and a 1910 Knox Raceabout, proving that they are also no strangers to competing with brass-era cars. More recently, Alan Travis rode a 1914 Excelsior in the 2010 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run.

Photos courtesy Alan Travis and GreatRace.com

According to Travis, the Renault is an original Vanderbilt Racer, a roadgoing version of the Renault that won the first Grand Prix in 1906, one of 10 to 15 commissioned by Willie K. Vanderbilt for him and his wealthy friends to race around Long Island. These cars have since become known as "the first supercar" for both their exclusivity and their outrageous performance. Powered by a massive 521-cu.in. L-head four-cylinder engine and fitted with a four-speed transmission and 2.1 ring and pinion, the Renault should easily travel at 85 MPH, Travis said. "On the 1968 Glidden Tour, it was ticketed at 88 MPH." Travis, who has been restoring the Renault since he bought it six months ago, said he sought the car out because he wanted to compete in the Great Race in a car that was older than his 1910 Knox and in a car that was capable of such a competition. "It will be completely original with no modifications, which means it will still start with the crank," he said. Following the Great Race, he plans to run the Renault at Pikes Peak and in the Monterey Historics.

Read the Whole Article