Soncin was a French

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...

 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...

 constructed by Louis Soncin and manufactured between 1900 and 1902. A two-seat 4½ hp voiturette

Voiturette

Voiturette is a word mostly used to describe a miniature automobile; however, it has several nuanced meanings, depending largely on the usage date.-History:...

, it was the forerunner of the Grégoire

Grégoire

-Gregoire as a surname:*Alexandre Grégoire , Haitian painter*Christine Gregoire , American Democratic governor of the state of Washington*Christophe Grégoire , Belgian footballer...

. A Soncin raced by Henri François Béconnais set the 1 km speed record (48 seconds) on September 21, 1899 at Achères

Achères, Yvelines

Achères is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France. It is located from the center of Paris.The commune of Achères lies on the south bank of the Seine in a loop of the river, on the edge of the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye...

, and the speed record of 91.8 kilometre per hour driving a Soncin at the «Semaine de Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

» on March 30, 1900. It was a frequently used racing vehicle of the days, such as in the Paris-Toulouse-Paris in July 1900, and a tricycle raced by L. Gastè won races at Targa Rignano

Targa Rignano

The Padova - Bovolenta race was an automobile, voiturette and motorcycle race. The first day had a straight race speedrecord track between the cities of Padova and Bovolenta in Italy, followed by a race in Padova the next day. The name Targa Rignano was only used in the years 1902, 1903 and...

 (1900 and 1901). A Soncin 10 hp won the Coppa Brescia on September 10, 1900.