Le Zèbre

France, 1900 – 1932

SA Le Zèbre, Suresnes, Puteaux, Seine

Towards the end of the first decade of the 20th century, most French light car makers were adding cylinders rather than deducting them, but the little 600cc 5hp Le Zebre car was popular in spite of having only one to start with. The Le Zebre car had two forward speeds and shaft drive. Not until late 1912 did a 4-cylinder Le Zebre car appear. The bore was tiny, 50mm, but the stroke was long, at 120mm. Cubic capacity of the Le Zebre car was 950cc, later reduced to 785cc. This Le Zebre car (and, by now, the single) had a 3-speed gearbox. It was continued for a short time after the war. The engineers who were responsible for the Le Zebre car achieved greater fame than their car. Salomon went on to help design the 5CV Citroën, while Lamy performed the same service for Amilcar.

In 1925 a completely new design of Le Zebre car appeared. This Le Zebre car had a 2-litre sv engine with Ricardo head, 4-speed gearbox and front wheel brakes, and was still offerd in 1930. The Le Zebre car make’s last appearance was at the 1931 Paris Salon when they exhibited an otherwise conventional light Le Zebre car, but with single-cylinder opposed-piston Lilloise diesel engine.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN

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