Audibert & Lavirotte
Encyclopedia
The Audibert & Lavirotte was a French automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, manufactured in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
from 1894 to 1901.
The company, the oldest maker of automobiles in the city, was set up by Maurice Audibert and Emile Lavirotte built cars that were generally similar to the Benz. These were up to 6 horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
, and featured belt
Belt (mechanical)
A belt is a loop of flexible material used to link two or more rotating shafts mechanically. Belts may be used as a source of motion, to transmit power efficiently, or to track relative movement. Belts are looped over pulleys. In a two pulley system, the belt can either drive the pulleys in the...
drive and rear-mounted engines. In 1900, the company built three 36 hp racers, which were entered in the Nice-Salon-Nice race on the 25th of March 1901. They were the heaviest vehicles in the race, weighing over 1600 kilograms each . They manufactured a so-called Berline de Voyage, which may have been the first saloon car as early as 1898. The company ceased production in November 1901, after financiers did not pay and the factory was forced to shut down.
The plant was taken over by Mario Berliet in 1902. Lavirotte helped finance this action and was employed by the Berliet
Berliet
Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and other utility vehicles, based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France.-Early history:...
company until his retirement in 1927. Audibert went to Rochet-Schneider
Rochet-Schneider
Rochet-Schneider was a French company that produced automobiles during the early 20th century. The Rochet-Schneider sales slogan was "strength, simplicity and silence"....
. He died in 1931.