The Cognet de Seynes/C de S was a French

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

manufactured in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

from 1912 or 1913 until 1926. The company was formed by financial backer Edouard de Seynes (1881–1957) and engineer Victor Cognet.

The partners

Edouard de Seynes was just 25 when he first met Viktor Cognet in 1907. De Seynes was born in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had ...

but had recently moved to Lyon following his marriage. He still had the impetuosity of youth, and he was passionately interested in things mechanical: also he was rich. He was impressed by the engineering talent of his new friend and soon suggested a business partnership. Viktor Cognet was a little older, and already had a small factory alongside the

Heyrieux Heyrieux () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Twin towns Heyrieux is twinned with: * Busnago, Italy, since 1999 See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is a list of the 512 com ...

road, on the south-eastern side of

. Here he manufactured "silent gear-boxes" to a design over which he had registered a patent. The two of them went into business as sub-contractors for a range of industrial companies in the region, but the idea of becoming automobile manufacturers with their own names on the vehicles was envisaged from early on, and their first car was presented in 1913. Cognet de Seynes automobiles continued to be produced until 1916. During 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 ...

the company also made aero engine parts for

Anzani Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy. Overview From his native Italy, An ...

. Peace broke out at the end of 1918. The manufacturer retained its head office and factory beside the

road, but changed its name to C de S. In 1920 control passed to a man named Ducerf who came from

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the ...

and had plans to build a range of cars, using the pre-war design with only minor updating. He planned to make 300 cars a year but this did not happen. Edouard de Seynes took back control and the factory settled down to a production rate of 20 to 30 cars a year. The last cars were made in 1926 when the company closed, being unable to compete with mass manufacturers.

The car

The first, and as it turned out only model was of a simple design and first appeared in 1912 or 1913 (sources differ) and had a 1124 cc four-cylinder engine with a 3-speed gearbox described as "recilinear and without cardan joints". It sat on a wheelbase. With three- or four-seat tourer body the car was said to be able to reach . The car reappeared as the "C de S 5 HP" at the 15th Paris Motor Show in October 1919. The 3 or 4 seater "Torpedo" bodied tourers were still offered, along with a "Conduite interieure" (two-box sedan/saloon/berline) version. Also listed was a "Camionette (500 Kilos)" light van version. Two cars are believed to have survived.

References

David Burgess Wise David Burgess-Wise is a motoring author, enthusiast, and automobile historian. According to the dustcover of the book "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles" he edited in 1979, David Burgess Wise ith no "-"was born in 1942. A motoring wr ...

, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles''. {{reflist

External links

Photo of 1923 model
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Manufacturing companies based in Lyon 20th century in Lyon Businesspeople from Avignon