1896 Léon Bollée Voiturette

Léon Bollée Automobiles was a French company founded by Léon Bollée in Le Mans to build a first vehicle called "Voiturette".

The Bollée family, all car makers, created three brands:

steam vehicles, Amédée Bollée (father), built between 1873 and 1885.

petrol (gasoline) cars, Amédée Bollée (son), built between 1896 and 1923.

the automobiles of Léon Bollée, between 1895 and 1931.

The first "Voiturette" built by Léon Bollée in 1895 was a three-wheel tandem driven by a single-cylinder 3 HP engine and belt drive. The cars sold well and several hundred were made for Léon Bollée by Hurtu & Diligeon, only the prototypes were made at the Le Mans factory.

The law restricting motor vehicles to four miles per hour on Britain's public roads was repealed in 1896 and in November of that year a 'race' was held in celebration from London to Brighton, which saw a 'one-two' for the Bollée brothers in their Bollée cars.

Leon Bollee was the first in France to build small gasoline powered vehicles, beginning to do so in 1895. This voiturette as he called it, was introduced in the 1896 Paris-Marseille-Paris race. With three speeds of 6-12-18 mph, it was one of the fastest of its type. In 1897 modified versions won the Paris-Dieppe race at 24 mph and the Paris-Trouville race at 28 mph.

Specifications: tandem two-seat tri-car;engine four-cycle, single-cylinder,air-cooled, with hot tube ignition;bore 76 mm., stroke 145 mm., displacement 650 cc., 2.5 hp.

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