Brissonneau et Lotz was a French
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
engineering company, engaged in the manufacture of railway locomotives and wagons.
The company was also a supplier of rolling stock to the
Paris Metro
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Sin ...
, constructing in 1951 the first metro trains in the world to be equipped
with rubber tyres
A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...
.
[
In 1972 it was absorbed into ]Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
, becoming Alsthom Groupe Brissonneau. The company was founded in Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
where it had many of its principal facilities, but by the time it lost its independence it had acquired or established factories and workshops in many parts of France.
Automobile production
In the 1950s Brissonneau and Lotz branched out into automobile production, building a small low volume cabriolet sports car based on the Renault 4CV
The Renault 4CV (french: quatre chevaux, as if spelled ''quat'chevaux'') is a rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive, 4-door economy supermini manufactured and marketed by the French manufacturer Renault from August 1947 through July 1961. It was the ...
, which was launched during the summer of 1956. A couple of years later, during 1958 and 1959 the small automobile factory was transformed into a substantial production facility when the company received a contract from Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
to assemble the manufacturer's stylish new Floride model. The Floride, later rebadged as the Renault Caravelle
The Renault Caravelle is a sports car manufactured and marketed by Renault for model years 1958–1968 in a single generation — as a rear-engine, rear-drive open two/four-seater designed by Pietro Frua of Carrozzeria Ghia, using the floorpan ...
, would continue to be produced at the factory until 1968.Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
, making the body for the Opel GT
The Opel GT is a front-engine, rear-drive two-seat sports car manufactured and marketed by Opel in two generations — separated by a 34-year hiatus.
The first generation Opel GT (1968 –1973) debuted as a styling exercise in 1965 at the Pa ...
sports car. Lower volume production of other car bodies continued until the factory closed in 1996 following an industrial dispute.
External links
Sources
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