Peugeot

Peugeot is a major French car brand which is today part of PSA Peugeot Citroën. Peugeot's roots go back to bicycle manufacturing at the end of the 19th century. Its headquarters are located in Paris, avenue de la Grande Armée. more...

Company history

Although the Peugeot factory had been in the manufacturing business for some time, their entry into the world of wheeled vehicles was by means of the bicycle. Armand Peugeot (educated at the Ecole Centrale Paris) introduced the Peugeot "Le Grand Bi" penny-farthing in 1882 and a range of bicycles thereafter. Indeed, Peugeot bicycles have been built until very recently, although the car company and bike company parted ways in 1926.

Armand Peugeot became very interested in the automobile early on, and after meeting with Gottlieb Daimler and others was convinced of its viability. The first Peugeot automobile (a three-wheeled steam-powered car) was produced in 1889, in collaboration with Léon Serpollet. Steam power was heavy and bulky and required lengthy preparation before running, so it was soon abandoned in favor of the petrol-fueled internal combustion engine. 1890 saw the first such vehicle, powered by a Daimler engine and with four wheels.

Further cars followed, twenty-nine being built in 1892. Peugeot became the first manufacturer to fit rubber tires to a petrol-powered car that year (solid tires; pneumatic would follow in 1895). The vehicles were still very much horseless carriages in appearance and were steered by tiller.

1896 saw the first Peugeot engines; no longer were they reliant on Daimler. Further improvements followed; the engine was soon under a hood (bonnet) at the front of the car, instead of hidden underneath, the steering wheel was adopted, and they began to look more like the modern car.

Peugeot added a motorcycle to its range in 1903, and motorcycles have been built under the Peugeot name ever since.

1913 saw a Peugeot driven by Jules Goux winning the Indianapolis 500. This car was powered by a Straight-4 engine designed by Ernest Henry, which had been successful in Grand Prix racing. This design was very influential for racing engines as it featured for the first time DOHC and 4 valves per cylinder providing for high engine speeds, a radical departure from previous racing engines which relied on sheer huge displacement for power. When one of the Peugeot racers remained in the United States during World War I and parts could not be acquired from France for the 1914 season, owner Bob Burma had it serviced in the shop of Harry Arminius Miller, by a young mechanic named Fred Offenhauser. Their familiarity with the Peugeot engine was the basis of the famed Miller racing engine, which later developed into the Offenhauser, or "Offy" racing engine.

By that year, Peugeot produced half of the cars built in France. 1916 and 1919 saw repeat wins at Indianapolis.

During the 1914-1918 years Peugeot turned largely to arms production, becoming a major manufacturer of arms and military vehicles, from bicycles to tanks and shells. Postwar, car production resumed in earnest; the car was becoming no longer just a plaything for the rich but accessible to many. 1926, however, saw the cycle (pedal and motor) business separate to form Cycles Peugeot -- the consistently profitable cycle division seeking to free itself from the rather more boom-and-bust auto business.

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