DE DION-BOUTON

1 3/4 HP Tricycle - 1899

Father of them all

"What an embryo the automobile would still be if the De Dion-Bouton Tricycle had never been born!" claimed a turn-of-the-century ad. "At this date – June 15, 1899 – sales total 21,800 units." And certainly the high-speed engine invented in 1894 was a major factor in the development of the French car and motorcycle industry. Many of the pioneer makers in Europe and America bought (or copied) De Dion-Bouton engines rather than developing their own power units.

Both Sides of the Atlantic

In the US, the first Peerless and Pierce-Arrow cars used single-cylinder De Dion-Bouton engines; in France, Aster, Automoto, Comiot, Clément, Gladiator and Peugeot built two-, three- and four-wheeled cycles powered by genuine or copy De Dion-Bouton engines.

Choice of the Famous

The De Dion-Bouton tricycle was the car of its day, which lasted scarcely ten years: by 1905 the tricycle had been eclipsed by the reliable and rapid motorcycle. Many famous motorists were riders of De Dion-Bouton tricycles, among them the Hon. C.S. Rolls (later of Rolls-Royce). The De Dion-Bouton company was an odd partnership between a sturdy aristocrat, politician, lover and duelist, Count Albert De Dion, and a tiny engineering genius named Georges Bouton. In the 1880s they had built steam carriages and sold them to a few adventurous souls – but it was their petrol-engined cycles and cars that brought them lasting fame.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 240cc C66x70mm) air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke; trembler coil ignition

Power Rating: 1.75 hp@ 1500 rpm

Valves: automatic overhead intake, side exhaust

Fuel System: De Dion-Bouton carburetor

Transmission: direct gear drive to rear axle; choice of "sport," "average" or "touring" ratios

Suspension: none (except the air in the tires!)

Brakes: friction shoe on tire (front); drum (rear axle only)

Wheels: wire clincher (front & rear)

Weight: 220 lb

Maximum Speed: 35 mph

"To go fast, it 's better to be light than powerful," said an 1899 treatise on the De Dion-Bouton tricycle – and in its day, the De Dion was the fastest vehicle on the road!