Vivinus car

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...

s were made by Ateliers Vivinus S.A. of Schaerbeek, Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 (1899 - 1912).

The owner, Alexis Vivinus (1860-1929), had made bicycles in the 1890s and become an importer of Benz. From 1895 he started to make his own range of cars. These were belt-driven 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:...

 models with a 785 cc single-cylinder engine and 2-speed transmission by belt drive. Licences to make his designs were sold to firms such as New Orleans of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Georges Richard

Georges Richard

Georges Richard was a French automobile that was manufactured from 1897 to 1902. Originally copying Benz cars of the era, Richard bought a licence, in 1900, from the Belgian Vivinus to build voiturettes. The designer Brasier joined the firm in 1902 and the marque became Richard-Brasier. Georges...

 of France and De Dietrich

De Dietrich

De Dietrich is a holding company based in France which traces its history back to the early 17th century. It was active in the automobile, railway and industrial machines industry. It sold it holding stake in De Dietrich Ferroviaire to Alstom in 1990...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

From 1907 a range of more conventional 4-cylinder cars were made with shaft drive along with motorcycles and aero engines.

The company went into liquidation in 1912. The workshop was taken over by Fabrique Automobile Belge. Vivinus himself later joined Minerva.