c1904 Peugeot Autocycle (Project)

Description

Like so many pioneering car makers, Peugeot started off building bicycles in 1882, adding a De Dion motor mounted perpendicularly to the rear wheel for the 1898 Paris Exhibition but this remained a prototype. Peugeot’s first motorised production vehicle was actually a tricycle (again with De Dion Bouton mechanical assembly), followed by a quadricycle in 1900. The company launched its first motorcycle in 1901, powered by Swiss made engines by either Zürcher or Lüthi (ZL) and soon began making their own proprietory single-cylinder engines displacing 239cc, allowing for a top speed of around 25-30mph. Known as “Motobicyclettes”, these primitive machines featured belt drive and a reinforced bicycle frame, with the engine mounted inside the frame. Peugeot entered a team of five 3.5hp machines in the 1903 Paris-Madrid race and continued to expand the range, with engines increasing in both output and capacity. The French company pioneered the use of double overhead camshafts and a 500cc twin-cylinder engine appeared in 1914, inspired by the success of the Grand Prix racers and proved hugely successful, winning numerous races after the First World War.