1899 Boursaud Open Tourer

1899 Boursaud Open Tourer

The company Boursaud was a founding of the son of the blacksmith Boursaud, who built a small automobile by hand under the name "Boursaud Jeune" (Junior) from 1897 to 1898 in the French village of Baignis. He used the then already reliable and advanced DeDion-Bouton 1 cylinder engine with 2.6 kw / 3.5 hp, bore x stroke 84x130 mm, water-cooled in the rear.

This was combined with the straight-toothed 2-speed gearbox from Bozier, which is mounted to the right of the engine. However, there was still no differential compensation, but the rigid drive was better than many comparable belt-driven vehicles. The cooling is also already significantly better than in various contemporary vehicles, because here a front-mounted tube cooler was used, which works in a closed-loop process in contrast to water loss cooling. The magneto ignition is adjustable on the steering wheel. A separate supply tank with engine oil lubricates the drive by means of a drip oil drain valve as so-called "loss lubrication" without oil pump. Also, the steering geometry was quite advanced, as it acted on the steering knuckles, instead of on a turntable. Front and back are semi-elliptic leaf springs, which are hung on the ladder frame made of steel. Front brakes were not common then, but there is a rear foot brake and a parking brake.

Despite all progressiveness, only 3 copies were built, since at that time neither magazine advertising nor the exhibition of the vehicle could afford in Paris 300 km away and the unpaved road network without gas stations allowed no long-distance travel.

Incidentally, the workshop building still exists today. On the occasion of a village festival this only still existing vehicle was presented at its place of origin under the enthusiasm of the population and the press.

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