1924 Renault NN Town Car (by Labourdette)
Launched as Renault’s replacement for the wartime AX model, the 1924 Renault NN established itself as France’s quintessential middle-class family automobile. Known contemporarily as the Renault 6 CV, this compact car featured a four-cylinder 951cc side-valve engine producing approximately 15–17 horsepower, paired with a three-speed manual transmission. The NN incorporated several technological advances, including front-wheel brakes and a wheelbase extended by 200mm over its MT predecessor.
The model gained legendary status in 1927 when Lieutenant Georges Estienne accomplished a pioneering Sahara Desert crossing by automobile, traveling over 18,000 kilometers in 36 days from Paris to Fort-Lamy, reportedly with only one spare part and a can of oil. This remarkable achievement demonstrated the NN’s exceptional reliability and durability under extreme conditions.
The example featured here represents an uncommon variant with exclusive coachwork by Henri Labourdette of Paris. Labourdette, famed for creating the revolutionary “Skiff” boat-bodied automobiles in 1912, was renowned for innovative design and superior craftsmanship. With approximately 150,000 units produced through 1930, the NN became one of Renault’s most successful pre-war models, though Labourdette-bodied examples remain exceptionally rare today.
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