Vinot-Deguingand was a French automobile producer.Linz, Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.'' Georgano: ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.''Georgano: ''Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours.''

History

In 1898 Lucien-Marie Vinot-Préfontaine (1858–1915) and Albert Deguingand (1872–1943) founded the business at

Puteaux Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. In 2016, it had a population of 44,941. La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the ...

for the manufacture of bicycles. Motor car production began in 1901. Sources vary about the format of the name - Vinot & Deguingand, Vinot-Deguingand or, from 1907, Vinot. In 1906 or 1909 Vinot acquired

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

and until 1920 two virtually identical ranges were offered with the Vinot and the Gladiator names. The company also owned a London based subsidiary called "Vinot Cars Ltd" which often provided for Vinots to have their bodywork fitted by locally based English coach-builders. The early cars sold in England were sold under the name "La Silencieuse". After the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

manufacturing activity was transferred to newly acquired premises at

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...

on the west of

Paris 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. S ...

. However, production ended in 1926 in response to a falling away in customer demand. The factory was sold to Donnet-Zédel. It was later sold to

Henri Pigozzi Henri Théodore Pigozzi (born Enrico Teodoro Pigozzi; 26 June 1898, in Turin – 18 November 1964, in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a car merchant and industrialist who is best known for having founded Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie A ...

and became the principal production location for Simca-Fiat (subsequently Simca) Lucien-Marie Vinot-Préfontaine having died in 1915, Albert Deguingand in 1927 founded another auto-maker, named Société des Nouveaux Ateliers A. Deguingand, which would last till 1929 or 1930.

Automobiles

The first car had a twin-cylinder 1500cc engine and chain drive. In 1903 the twin cylinder model was designated as the manufacturer's "10CV" model, and was joined by a four cylinder 3300cc "H14CV" and a "F18CV". The 5800cc "30CV" followed in 1905, joined in 1906 by the manufacturer's first six-cylinder car. The range for 1908 comprised a "10/14CV" and a "16/24CV". A "24CV" with a 4-litre engine was added in 1910. The range in 1914 involved cars with engine sizes of 1700cc, 2100cc, 2600cc and 4200cc. Less than a year following the outbreak of peace, in October 1919 the manufacturer took a stand at the 15th Paris Motor Show and exhibited the 12CV Vinot-Deguignand Type BO, which sat on a wheelbase and was powered by a 4-cylinder engine of 2603cc.

Competition

A team from Vinot & Deguingand took part in the inaugural 1923 Le Mans 24 Hour race. The brothers

Léon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

and Lucien Molon completed 77 laps in a 10HP Vinot & Deguingand Type BP. This total was 51 laps behind the race leader and sufficient for 26th place overall and 6th place in the 2.0 classification.

Reading list

* Harald Linz, Halwart Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.'' United Soft Media Verlag, München 2008, . (German) * George Nick Georgano (Chefredakteur): ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.'' Volume 3: ''P–Z.'' Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, . (English) * George Nick Georgano: ''Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours.'' Courtille, Paris 1975. (French)

Sources and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinot-Deguingand Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1898 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1926 1898 establishments in France 1926 disestablishments in France