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Introduction
The Peugeot Story
D
eugeot celebrated its 100th automotive
anniversarv in 1998 but its histow stretches
1
back a furiher 88 years
and
en&mpasses
an incredibly diverse range of products.
Now part of the massive PSA industrial
conglomerate that includes Citrogn and
Peugeot, the Peugeot dynasty has classically
humble beginnings.
Brothers, Jean-Pierre and Jean-Frederic
Peugeot decided to manufacture cold rolled
steel in the family mill on the Doubs river in
eastern France. A far cry from the high-profile
World Rally Championship, Le Mans and
Formula One with which Peugeot has latterly
become known. Fine steel strips and springs
were sold to the nearby Swiss clock-making
industry and by 181 8 the brothers had moved
into producing steel for tools, mainly saw
blades. By 1824, 70 workers toiled in the
factory at Herimoncourt and in 1850 the
famous Peugeot trademark, the rampant Lion,
was being used to mark their top grade of
steel. The king of beasts was formerly
registered as a trademark in 1858.
In a manner which reflected the innovative
industrial production of Victorian Britain,
Peugeot further diversified into coffee mills
made of wood or metal, some for grocers'
shops and cafes, others for the home. There
followed pepper mills, washing machines,
furniture, wireless sets, sewing machines,
crinolines,
umbrellas, irons and
even
shotguns. Much later, the first modern food
processor, the Peugimix, was the talisman in
a whole range of kitchen appliances.
The First Motor Vehicles
The first bicycles were made in 1882 at
Beaulieu-Mandeure after Armand Peugeot
was inspired by this new form of locomotion
during his stay in England as a student.
In 1889, Peugeot took a leap of faith with
its first 'car', actually a tricycle powered by a
steam engine. From this inauspicious start
The lOOcc Speedfight 2
they designed a four-wheeler the following
year which used a Panhard-produced
Daimler 565 cc V-twin engine. Cooled by
water circulating in the frame tubes, it weighed
500 kg and produced 1 hp at 1000 rpm. Top
speed was little more than stationary.
The type 3 car of 1891 introduced mass
production techniques for the day
-
64 were
made in four years. Six years on, the type 15
was the first car powered by an all-Peugeot
engine.
The first Peugeot motor-bicycle appeared
in 1902, a 1.5 bhp single cylinder engine in a
cycle frame, and the company found itself in
the heady position, repeated elsewhere
across Europe, as newcomers to both car and
motorcycle manufacturing.
The first Peugeot motor-
bicycle appeared in 1902
5 hp machine was produced in tandem
with the Bebe car designed by Ettore
A
ugatti. In 1905, a 12 hp racing
motorcycle emerged to set two world records
including the level kilometre at 76.612 mph.
Peugeot's also featured in the first
l T
races
on the Isle of Man in 1907.
After the First World War Peugeot won
various Grands Prix races with a 500 cc
machine and in 1925 rider Pean set a new
world speed record at 103.1 5 mph on a 750 cc
machine.
By 1929 Peugeot embarked on its first truly
mass-produced car, the 201, and Peugeot
motorcycles were selected for use by the
French army, Gendarmerie and the national
postal service. A new Peugeot bicycle was
also coming off the assembly line every 45
seconds.
The motorcycle range expanded to include
175,250,350 and 500 cc machines but after
the Second World War production focussed on
smaller machines with the first scooters being
made in 1955. Racing had taken a back seat
but Peugeot won the 175 cc class at the 1952
Bol d'Or leading to the launch of the 175 cc
Grand Sport road model.
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