[1][2] The 90 hp model was the first Renault aero engine with articulated master-and-slave connecting rods allowing corresponding cylinders in each row to be arranged directly opposite each other which improved dynamic balance.

[1] As with Renault's V8 air-cooled models, engines intended for pusher aircraft were fitted with a centrifugal blower while those engines intended for tractor aircraft used a cowl mounted air scoop to feed cooling air over the large finned cast iron cylinders.

This method of gearing allowed the engine and propeller to be run close to their optimum speeds without the additional weight penalty of a gearbox[1][4] while the reverse rotation of the crankshaft and propeller reduced gyroscopic forces improving aircraft handling.

[5] The Renault 90 hp was first exhibited at the 1911 Salon de l’Aéronautique at the Grand Palais in Paris.

[6] By mid 1912 the engine had been fitted to aircraft manufactured by Astra, Farman[7] and Breguet.