De Dion Bouton Type E Vis-a-Vis Vouiturette
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Car producer : |
De Dion Bouton |
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Model: |
Type E Vis-a-Vis Vouiturette |
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Year: |
1900 |
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Type: |
Vis-a-Vis |
The first 4-wheeled De Dion voiturette came on the market in 1899, and was a neat 2 ¾ HP 3-seater vis-à-vis with engine at the back (air-cooled barrel and water-cooled head) driving via an ingenious 2-speed gear to an unsprang back axle. Not many of were made and in a few months a vastly improved 3 ½ HP (fully water cooled) version came out with the famous De Dion axle in which the final drive and defferential unit is rigidly attached to the chassis and drive is transmitted by independendt, universally-joined half shafts; the wheel being carried on a light tubular dead axle mounted on springs in the usual way. The clever 2-speed gear was retained: the gears were always in mesh and each pair was brought into action as wanted by expanding clutches – one for each speed – controlled by steering – column gear lever without the need for separate foot operated clutch. The same year, the tricar was joined by a four-wheeler and in 1900 by a vis a vis voiturette, the Model D, with its 3¾ CV (2.8 kW) 402 cc (24.5 cu in) single-cylinder engine under the seat and drive to the rear wheels through a two-speed gearbox. This curious design had the passenger facing the driver, who sat in the rear seat. The voiturette had one inestimable advantage: the expanding clutches of the gearbox were operated by a lever on the steering column. In March 1900 came an improved model, the Type E. Wheel bearings were upgraded, and the shaft brake was replaced with two band brakes, one acting on each rear wheel. The gear change was revised, providing lever operation with a neutral position. The engine and three-quarter elliptic leaf-spring suspension were continued from the Type D.
Although there was brief production of De Dion vehicles in New York in 1900 and 1901, this vehicle bears the dealer medallion of G. Loisel of 17 rue Monsigny, Paris. According to Amicale De Dion, the De Dion Club in France, it was built there in 1900 and exported to the U.S. sometime thereafter.
The Model D was developed through Models E, G, I, and J, with 6 CV (4.5 kW) by 1902, when the 8 CV (6 kW) Model K rear-entry phaeton appeared, with front-end styling resembling the contemporary Renault. Until World War I, De Dion-Boutons had an unusual decelerator pedal which reduced engine speed and ultimately applied a transmission brake. In 1902, the Model O introduced three speeds, which was standard for all De Dion-Boutons in 1904.
In 1901, the De Dion-Bouton Motorette Company began manufacturing De Dion-Bouton automobiles under license in Brooklyn, New York. A small quantity of American De Dion Motorettes were made. These had either 2-seater vis-a-vis or closed coachwork and were powered by 3.5 hp American-made engines. Kenneth Skinner was the enterprising man behind the inevitable marketing of a De Dion Bouton inspired product in America. Sensibly he translated the french 'voiture' as motor and marketed the cars as 'Motorettes'. Close inspection of the cars today reveal that with this particular venture a very large percentage of the car was built here. Many of the components are cast with 'NY' next to their part numbers and most of the aluminium castings have 'Motorette' cast into them. Built on Church Street in Brooklyn and sold in Manhattan on West 66th, sadly, the home appetite was not as strong as that in Europe, and the company seemed to have failed within a year.
Despite widespread marketing among contemporary publications, the six-month to a year produc-tion span wouldn't have supplied the American market with nearly as many automobiles as were churned out in Puteaux in Paris, so it is thought that the numbers built must have been hundreds rather than thousands.
The venture was in operation for only one year. They gained a reputation for unreliability during that time. Representatives of De Dion in the United States claimed that the licensee violated their contract and advertised for a new licensee.
A small number of electric cars were also made in 1901.
In 1900, De Dion-Bouton was the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, producing 400 cars and 3,200 engines. The company soon began producing engines and licenses for other automobile companies with an estimate of 150 makes using them. Production was so great, it proved impossible to test every engine; if it failed on the bench, it was simply disassembled. Every engine was being made by hand; the assembly line had not yet been introduced. By 1904 some 40,000 engines had been supplied across Europe. That year, De Dion-Bouton's factory at Quai National (now Quai de Dion-Bouton), Puteaux, employed 1,300 and produced more than 2,000 cars, all hand-made.
The engine moved to the front in 1903 in the Populaire with 700 or 942 cc (42.7 or 57.5 cu in) engines, the latter being powerful enough to allow trucks to be added to cars, and by the end of the year reverse gear had also appeared. It was joined by the 6 CV (4 kW) 864 cc (52.5 in3) Types N and Q (the latter a low-priced K), the 8 CV (6 kW) R, and their first multi-cylinder model, the two-cylinder 1728 cc (105 in3) 12 CV (8 kW) S, followed in 1904 by the four-cylinder 2,545 cc (155.3 cu in) 15 CV (11 kW) Type AD and 24 CV (18 kW) AI. But as with modern technology things moved quickly and the company had to move with the times, by the turn of 1904/5 an inline four cylinder was offered, being simply four individual pots on a common crankcase. Next the radiator was moved above the chassis in the style made fashionable by Mercedes and with it the 'alligator' or 'coal scuttle' bonnet was retired. The gearbox too would follow fashion and move to a side control mechanism, by the time De Dion fielded their Peking-Paris team in 1907. The model AX as offered here represented the evolution of the first four that was introduced, on a slightly longer more substantial frame and with magneto ignition. As a bare chassis it cost 11,500 French Francs more than twice the price of their single cylinder car which was still offered, and with formal coachwork, 40-50% could reasonably be expected to be added. The cars were also getting more and more conventional in styling, with the radiator moving in front of the engine and the clutch changing from hand lever to pedal.
The company became the first to make a successful mass-produced V8 engine, a 35 CV (26 kW) 6,107 cc (372.7 cu in) CJ in 1910, followed by a 7.8 liter and a 14.7 liter for the U.S., as well as by a 3,534 cc (215.7 cu in) Type CN in 1912.
During World War I the company made gun parts, armoured vehicles, and aircraft engines, as well as cars and trucks. The company produced an anti-aircraft version of the French 75mm field gun, the Canon de 75 modèle 1897, mounted on a V8-powered De Dion-Bouton truck for the French Army between 1913 and 1918.
The company stagnated after World War I. The V8 continued to appear until 1923, and in spite of new models with front-wheel brakes, the factory closed for much of 1927. On reopening two models were listed, the Type LA with a 1,982 cc (120.9 cu in) four-cylinder overhead valve, aluminium-piston engine, and the Type LB with a 2,496 cc (152.3 cu in) straight-8. The latter was very expensive and sales were few, despite growth to 3 litres (180 cu in) in 1930. A rumored takeover by Peugeot or Mercedes did not materialize, leading to the end of passenger car production in 1932.
Small numbers of commercial vehicles were made until 1950; the last vehicles to carry the De Dion badge were licence-made Land Rovers in the early 1950s. The company name was bought by a motorcycle maker in 1955.
American De Dion
1901 2-seater vis-a-vis or closed 3,5HP
In 1901, the De Dion-Bouton Motorette Company began manufacturing De Dion-Bouton automobiles under license in Brooklyn, New York. A small quantity of American De Dion Motorettes were made. These had either 2-seater vis-a-vis or closed coachwork and were powered by 3.5 hp American-made engines.
The venture was in operation for only one year. They gained a reputation for unreliability during that time. Representatives of De Dion in the United States claimed that the licensee violated their contract and advertised for a new licensee.
