Background

The earliest Peugeot models from 1889 were

steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...

tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...

s, built in collaboration with

Léon Serpollet Léon Serpollet (4 October 1858 – 1 February 1907) was a French engineer and developer of flash steam boilers and steam automobiles. Léon Serpollet was born in Culoz, in the Ain department of France in 1859, son of the carpenter August ...

. In 1890, Armand Peugeot met with car technology innovators

Gottlieb Daimler Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (; 17 March 1834 – 6 March 1900) was a German engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf ( Kingdom of Württemberg, a federal state of the German Confederation), in what is now Germany. He w ...

and

Émile Levassor Émile Constant Levassor (21 January 1843 – 14 April 1897) was a French engineer and a pioneer of the automobile industry and car racing in France. Biography Levassor was born in Marolles-en-Hurepoix. After studying engineering and graduat ...

and became convinced that reliable, practical, lightweight vehicles would have to be powered by

petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...

and have four wheels. The Type 2 was the first such model. Peugeot's one-time partner, Serpollet, continued with steam technology under the brand name

Gardner-Serpollet Gardner-Serpollet was a French manufacturer of steam-powered cars in the early 20th century. Léon Serpollet is credited with inventing and perfecting the flash boiler in the late 1800s.Panhard et Levassor Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed b ...

and then sold to Peugeot. It was a 15° V-twin and produced 2 bhp, sufficient for a top speed of approximately .

World record

Peugeot decided to show the quality of the Type 3 by running a demonstration model alongside the cyclists in the inaugural

Paris–Brest–Paris Paris–Brest–Paris (PBP) is a long-distance cycling event. It was originally a 1,200 km () bicycle race from Paris to Brest and back to Paris in 1891. The last time it was run as a race was 1951. The most recent edition of PBP was held on 18� ...

cycle race Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

in September 1891, thus gaining official confirmation of progress from the race marshals and time-keepers. His chief engineer Louis Rigoulot and rising workshop foreman Auguste Doriot proved the robustness of the design, as this demonstration car ran for , from Peugeot's factory in

Valentigney Valentigney () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Valentigney is best known as the place where Peugeot began operations; several members of the Peugeot family still live in the area. ...

to Paris, over the race course, and then back to Valentigney, at an average speed of , without major malfunctions. This was the longest run to that time by a petrol-powered vehicle and about four times as far as the previous record set by

from Paris to Lyon. The demonstrator became the first Peugeot sold to the public. A lightened Type 3 was entered into the

Paris–Bordeaux–Paris The Paris–Bordeaux–Paris Trail race of June 1895 is sometimes called the "first motor race", although it did not fit modern competition where the fastest is the winner. It was a win for Émile Levassor, who came first after completing the 1,1 ...

race in June 1895, finishing second and maintaining an average speed of .

Italian production

In 1891 Costruzioni Meccaniche di Saronno of

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label=Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the ca ...

, Italy, began assembling Peugeot Type 3 cars under a Peugeot license.

References

* Peugeot's * Histomobile's {{Peugeot historic timeline Type 3 1890s cars Rear-engined vehicles Vehicles introduced in 1891