Lion-Peugeot
Encyclopedia
Lion-Peugeot is a formerly independent French
auto-maker. It is the name under which in 1906 Robert Peugeot and his two brothers, independently of the established Peugeot
car business, began to produce automobiles at Beaulieu near Valentigney.
In 1910 the two family auto-makers Automobiles Peugeot und Lion-Peugeot merged to form the business Société des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot, but the merged business continued to use the Lion-Peugeot name for smaller models inherited from the formerly independent business until 1916.
leaving the family business which was called, at that stage, “Les Fils de Peugeot Frères” (The Sons of Peugeot Brothers). Eugène and Armand Peugeot, who were related to each other as second cousins, had recently taken over control of the successful Peugeot metal-working business specialising in certain types of industrial and domestic components and tools. (More than a century later, the Peugeot museum
displays an impressive range of nineteenth century coffee grinders.) The Peugeot company was an early participant in the automobile manufacturing business, their first petrol/gasoline car
being produced in 1890 and gaining national publicity in 1891 through participation in the Paris–Brest–Paris cycle marathon.
Participation in the auto-business required investment on a scale that would commit the company to a major change of direction, away from products with which it had a proven track record. The company had been producing bicycles
since 1882 which in the 1890s may very well have been seen as a safer investment than powered motor vehicles. Eugène Peugeot opposed the necessary scale of investment in automobile making, and 1896 his cousin split away, to form Automobiles Peugeot. The cousins signed an agreement that gave Armand’s business the sole right to manufacture Peugeot automobiles, the corollary of which was that the residual Peugeot business, under Eugène, would stay out of the powered vehicle business.
Despite the agreement between the Peugeot cousins, the residual business under Eugène Peugeot continued to produce bicycles, tricycles and quadricycles, some with motors and some without. Relations with Armand evidently were not cordial.
, whose “Automobiles Peugeot” business was enjoying great success, became less confrontational with Eugène no longer so active in the business. An agreement was entered into to regularise relations between the two companies. The company previously controlled by Eugène agreed to pay a million francs annually to Armand Peugeot, and in return Armand agreed to the company manufacturing cars independently of his own “Automobiles Peugeot” business. These cars started to be sold in 1906, badged as "Lion-Peugeots": the first of them was the Lion-Peugeot Type VA
.
During the ensuing decade Lion-Peugeot automobiles were produced and sold in reasonable quantities with several models breaking through the 1,000 units threshold. While the Peugeot Bébé
, launched in 1904 by "Peugeot-Automobiles" before the reconciliation, continued its own successful career, new model investment by the "Peugeot-Automobiles" now concentrated on mid-range and larger cars, leaving the "Lion-Peugeot" business to build a Peugeot presence in the small car sector. This pattern was sustained during the remaining years of peace after the two businesses merged in 1910, until the termination of the "Lion-Peugeot" brand in 1916, by which time war-time economic conditions had for the time being effectively put an end to passenger car manufacturing in France.
Robert Peugeot and his brothers evidently felt none of their father's hostility to Armand, and it seems to have been the death of Eugène in 1907 that opened the way for the reunification of the two Peugeot automobile businesses. Armand's own only son had died in 1896, and his lack of a direct male heir may have encouraged him to respond positively to his junior kinsmens' promptings. The merger of the two businesses took place formally in 1910, although in terms of the way the model ranges came together, the merger took place progressively over several years. In 1916, demand for passenger cars having collapsed, the plant that had produced the Lion-Peugeots was closed, and after the war small models again became fully integrated into the Peugeot range. However, the first decade after the war saw France greatly impoverished, and it would be some years before automobile production would again become a profitable activity for Peugeot which had, prudently as matters turned out, retained a solid presence in the bicycle business.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
auto-maker. It is the name under which in 1906 Robert Peugeot and his two brothers, independently of the established Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
car business, began to produce automobiles at Beaulieu near Valentigney.
In 1910 the two family auto-makers Automobiles Peugeot und Lion-Peugeot merged to form the business Société des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot, but the merged business continued to use the Lion-Peugeot name for smaller models inherited from the formerly independent business until 1916.
Background
To understand why there were two Peugeot automobile businesses it is necessary to refer to a family disagreement that culminated, in 1896, in Armand PeugeotArmand Peugeot
Armand Peugeot was a French industrialist, pioneer of the automobile industry and the founder of the French firm Peugeot.-Family:...
leaving the family business which was called, at that stage, “Les Fils de Peugeot Frères” (The Sons of Peugeot Brothers). Eugène and Armand Peugeot, who were related to each other as second cousins, had recently taken over control of the successful Peugeot metal-working business specialising in certain types of industrial and domestic components and tools. (More than a century later, the Peugeot museum
Musée de l'Aventure Peugeot
The Musée de l'Aventure Peugeot is a historical museum devoted to the Peugeot automobile business. The museum was founded by members of the Peugeot family, opening in 1988 across the road from the company’s huge industrial site at Sochaux in the Franche-Comté...
displays an impressive range of nineteenth century coffee grinders.) The Peugeot company was an early participant in the automobile manufacturing business, their first petrol/gasoline car
Peugeot Type 2
The Peugeot Type 2 is the first petrol/gasoline powered motor vehicle produced between 1890 and 1891 by the French auto-maker Peugeot at their Valentigney plant...
being produced in 1890 and gaining national publicity in 1891 through participation in the Paris–Brest–Paris cycle marathon.
Participation in the auto-business required investment on a scale that would commit the company to a major change of direction, away from products with which it had a proven track record. The company had been producing bicycles
Cycles Peugeot
Peugeot was a manufacturer in the French bicycle industry through the 20th century.-History:Peugeot was a French manufacturer of bicycles founded by Jean Pequignot Peugeot who, in the 19th century, made water mills...
since 1882 which in the 1890s may very well have been seen as a safer investment than powered motor vehicles. Eugène Peugeot opposed the necessary scale of investment in automobile making, and 1896 his cousin split away, to form Automobiles Peugeot. The cousins signed an agreement that gave Armand’s business the sole right to manufacture Peugeot automobiles, the corollary of which was that the residual Peugeot business, under Eugène, would stay out of the powered vehicle business.
Despite the agreement between the Peugeot cousins, the residual business under Eugène Peugeot continued to produce bicycles, tricycles and quadricycles, some with motors and some without. Relations with Armand evidently were not cordial.
Reconciliation
By 1905 control over the residual Peugeot business had passed to the three sons of Eugène, Robert Peugeot (1873 – 1845) , Pierre Peugeot (1871 – 1927) and Jules Peugeot (1882 – 1957). Relations between the new Peugeot generation and their cousin ArmandArmand Peugeot
Armand Peugeot was a French industrialist, pioneer of the automobile industry and the founder of the French firm Peugeot.-Family:...
, whose “Automobiles Peugeot” business was enjoying great success, became less confrontational with Eugène no longer so active in the business. An agreement was entered into to regularise relations between the two companies. The company previously controlled by Eugène agreed to pay a million francs annually to Armand Peugeot, and in return Armand agreed to the company manufacturing cars independently of his own “Automobiles Peugeot” business. These cars started to be sold in 1906, badged as "Lion-Peugeots": the first of them was the Lion-Peugeot Type VA
Lion-Peugeot Type VA
The Lion-Peugeot Type VA is an early motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot between 1906 and 1908.First presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1905, but not offered for sale until the next year, the Type VA was the first of a succession of models to carry the...
.
During the ensuing decade Lion-Peugeot automobiles were produced and sold in reasonable quantities with several models breaking through the 1,000 units threshold. While the Peugeot Bébé
Peugeot Bébé
The Peugeot Bébé or Baby was a small car nameplate from Peugeot made from 1905 to 1916. Vehicles under this name were known technically within Peugeot as the Type 69 and the Type BP1.-Type 69:...
, launched in 1904 by "Peugeot-Automobiles" before the reconciliation, continued its own successful career, new model investment by the "Peugeot-Automobiles" now concentrated on mid-range and larger cars, leaving the "Lion-Peugeot" business to build a Peugeot presence in the small car sector. This pattern was sustained during the remaining years of peace after the two businesses merged in 1910, until the termination of the "Lion-Peugeot" brand in 1916, by which time war-time economic conditions had for the time being effectively put an end to passenger car manufacturing in France.
Robert Peugeot and his brothers evidently felt none of their father's hostility to Armand, and it seems to have been the death of Eugène in 1907 that opened the way for the reunification of the two Peugeot automobile businesses. Armand's own only son had died in 1896, and his lack of a direct male heir may have encouraged him to respond positively to his junior kinsmens' promptings. The merger of the two businesses took place formally in 1910, although in terms of the way the model ranges came together, the merger took place progressively over several years. In 1916, demand for passenger cars having collapsed, the plant that had produced the Lion-Peugeots was closed, and after the war small models again became fully integrated into the Peugeot range. However, the first decade after the war saw France greatly impoverished, and it would be some years before automobile production would again become a profitable activity for Peugeot which had, prudently as matters turned out, retained a solid presence in the bicycle business.
Lion-Peugeot Cars
| Type | Years | Cylinders | Capacity | Power | Units produced | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type VA Lion-Peugeot Type VA The Lion-Peugeot Type VA is an early motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot between 1906 and 1908.First presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1905, but not offered for sale until the next year, the Type VA was the first of a succession of models to carry the... |
1906–1908 | 1 | 785 cm³ | 6½ hp | ca. 1,000 | |
| Type VC Lion-Peugeot Types VC and VC1 The Lion-Peugeot Type VC and the Lion-Peugeot Type VC1 are early motor cars produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot between 1906 and 1910.... |
1906–1910 | 1 | 1,045 cm³ | 8½ hp | ca. 1,000 | |
| Type VC1 Lion-Peugeot Types VC and VC1 The Lion-Peugeot Type VC and the Lion-Peugeot Type VC1 are early motor cars produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot between 1906 and 1910.... |
1906–1910 | 1 | 1,045 cm³ | 8½ hp | included with VC | |
| Type VC2 Lion-Peugeot Type VC2 The Lion-Peugeot Type VC2 was an early motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot between 1909 and 1910. 1,175 were produced.... |
1909–1910 | 1 | 1,045 cm³ | 9 hp | ca. 1,175 | |
| Type VC3 Lion-Peugeot Type VC3 The Lion-Peugeot Type VC3 was an early motor cars produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot in 1911. 135 were produced.... |
1911 | 1 | 1,045 cm³ | 9 hp | 135 | |
| Type VY Lion-Peugeot Types VY and VY2 The Lion-Peugeot Type VY and the Lion-Peugeot Type VY2 were early motor cars produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot between 1908 and 1909.... |
1908–1909 | 1 | 1,841 cm³ | 12 hp | 142 | |
| Type VY2 Lion-Peugeot Types VY and VY2 The Lion-Peugeot Type VY and the Lion-Peugeot Type VY2 were early motor cars produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot between 1908 and 1909.... |
1908–1909 | 1 | 1,841 cm³ | 12 hp | included with VY | |
| Type V2C2 Lion-Peugeot Type V2C2 The Lion-Peugeot Type V2C2 was early motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot in 1910. By this time Lion-Peugeot had been producing motor cars for four years, but the V2C2 was the fist model with an engine of more than one cylinder.The V2C2 was propelled using a... |
1910 | 2 | 1,325 cm³ | 12 hp | 680 | |
| Type V2Y2 Lion-Peugeot Type V2Y2 The Lion-Peugeot Type V2Y2 was an early motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot in 1910. It closely resembled the manufacturer’s Type V2C2, but it had a larger engine and was faster. 300 V2Y2s were produced.... |
1910 | 2 | 1,702 cm³ | 16 hp | 300 | |
| Type V2C3 Lion-Peugeot Type V2C3 The Lion-Peugeot Type V2C3 was an early motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot in 1911. It closely resembled the manufacturer’s Type V2C2 which it replaced. 520 V2C3s were produced.... |
1911 | 2 | 1,325 cm³ | 12 hp | 520 | |
| Type V2Y3 Lion-Peugeot Type V2Y3 The Lion-Peugeot Type V2Y3 was a motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot in 1911. It closely resembled the manufacturer’s Type V2C3, but it had a larger engine and was faster. 215 V2Y3s were produced.... |
1911 | 2 | 1,702 cm³ | 16 hp | 215 | |
| Type V4C3 Lion-Peugeot Type V4C3 The Lion-Peugeot Type V4C3 was a motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot between 1912 and 1913. It was the manufacturer’s first car with a four-cylinder engine. 653 were produced.... |
1912-1913 | 4 | 1,725 cm³ | 9 hp | 653 | |
| Type VD Lion-Peugeot Types VD and V4D The Lion-Peugeot Type VD was a motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot in 1913. It was developed from the slightly smaller Lion-Peugeot Type V4C3 of the previous year. Approximately 800 Lion-Peugeot Type VDs were produced.... |
1913 | 4 | 1,888 cm³ | 10 hp | ca. 800 | |
| Type V4D Lion-Peugeot Types VD and V4D The Lion-Peugeot Type VD was a motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot in 1913. It was developed from the slightly smaller Lion-Peugeot Type V4C3 of the previous year. Approximately 800 Lion-Peugeot Type VDs were produced.... |
1914 | 4 | 1,888 cm³ | 10 hp | ca. 700 | |
| Type VD2 Lion-Peugeot Type VD2 The Lion-Peugeot Type VD2 was a motor car produced near Valentigney by the French auto-maker Lion-Peugeot in 1915. It was usefully longer than the manufacturer’s 1914 model, the Type V4D Approximately 480 Lion-Peugeot Type VD2s were produced. It was the last Lion-Peugeot produced before... |
1915 | 4 | 1,888 cm³ | 10 hp | 480 | |
Sources and further reading
Notes- Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: Die große Automobil-Enzyklopädie, BLV, München 1986, ISBN 3-405-12974-5
- Wolfgang Schmarbeck: Alle Peugeot Automobile 1890–1990, Motorbuch-Verlag. Stuttgart 1990. ISBN 3-613-01351-7