Modern Transport

Willie K. Vanderbilt II in the Renault “Vanderbilt Racer,” c. 1907. Photo courtesy of the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum.

By the turn of the century, the genteel sport of coaching had begun to lose its luster as enthusiasts turned to the newer, zippier automobile. Willie K. Vanderbilt II, son of William and Alva Vanderbilt, was an early proponent of auto racing and could often be found speeding around the dirt tracks of Newport and Long Island. In 1904, he founded the Vanderbilt Cup, the country’s first international auto race. “It’s well-documented they were racing on Bellevue Avenue, on Second Beach, on Ocean Drive, and it quickly became a thing where as they organized races, they started using the Aquidneck Horse Track,” says David de Muzio, executive director at the Audrain Auto Museum. Three years later, Willie approached the French car company Renault about building the “Vanderbilt Racer,” promising to find buyers for at least ten of the vehicles or pick up the $150,000 cost (close to $5 million today) himself. “It’s a really important car in the history of early automotive racing and the history of automobiles in Newport,” says de Muzio, who notes the car could reach 80 mph. Today, only a handful remain, including one in the Audrain Auto Museum’s collection. “I’ve driven it at forty miles per hour, and it’s scary as hell,” he says. “At eighty miles per hour, it’s not for the faint of heart by any means. It really is an exhilarating experience.”

“It’s well-documented they were racing on Bellevue Avenue, on Second Beach, on Ocean Drive, and it quickly became a thing where as they organized races, they started using the Aquidneck Horse Track.” —DAVID DE MUZIO