About De Dion Bouton
De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1932. The company was founded by Comte Albert de Dion (1856-1946), Georges Bouton (1847-1938) and his brother in law Charles Trépardoux. Bouton and Trépardoux had been making small steam engines and toys when they met de Dion who offered to go into partnership with them forming De Dion, Bouton et Trépardoux in Paris in 1883.
Steam cars
By the end of 1883 the new company had made an improved boiler for small boats and also fitted one to a steam-powered automobile. This had the boiler and engine mounted at the front driving the front wheels through belts and rear wheel steering. An improved vehicle, the La Marquise, was made in 1884 with front wheel steering and rear wheel drive and seats for four people. The vehicle still exists in road worthy condition and has been a regular entry in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
Two more cars were made in 1885 followed by a series of lightweight two cylinder tricars, which from 1892 had Michelin pneumatic tyres. In 1893 steam tractors were introduced which were designed to tow horse type carriages for passengers or freight (sometimes called "steam drags") and these used an innovative axle design which would become known as the de Dion tube (though it might more fairly be called the Bouton axle), where the location and drive function of the axle are separated. The company manufactured steam buses and trucks until 1904. Trepardoux resigned in 1894 as the company turned to petrol (internal combustion) vehicles.
Internal Combustion Engine cars
In 1893, following some experiments, de Dion became convinced that the future lay in the internal combustion engine. Trépardoux was not to be convinced and left the company in 1894 which was then renamed De Dion, Bouton et Compagnie. A new small single cylinder engine of 137 cc was built which ran at the unheard of speed of 3000 rpm and used electric ignition. Both inlet and exhaust valves were overhead and a flywheel was fitted to each end of the crankshaft. The engine was fitted to a three wheel bicycle based frame bought in from Decauville and put on the market in 1896 with the engine enlarged to 185 cc. The petite voiture remained in production until 1902. In 1898 it was joined by a four wheeler and in 1900 by the vis-a-vis with engine under the seat and drive to the rear wheels through a two speed gearbox. The engine moved to the front in 1903 in the Populaire model with 700 or 942 cc engines, the latter being powerful enough to allow trucks to be added to the cars, and by the end of the year reverse gear had also appeared.
