Du Pont

US, 1920 – 1932

(1) Du Pont Motors Inc, Wilmington, Del., 1920 – 1923

(2) Du Pont Motors Inc, Moore, Pa., 1923 – 1932

E. Paul du Pont’s company built quality cars in limited numbers, total production being 537 vehicles of all Du Pont types. First of the line was a Du Pont 4.1-litre sv four with their own engine, selling for $2.600, but this gave way to proprietary-engined sixes, initially powered by Herschell-Spillman. The 1925 Du Pont Model D had a 6-cylinder 5-litre Wisconsin engine with overhead valves that developed 75bhp, a constant-mesh gearbox, and Lockheed hydraulic brakes to all four wheels. Its successor, the Du Pont Model E, could be had with a supercharger, but the best-known, and best, Du Pont was the Du Pont Model G speedster introduced in 1928. With its narrow straight wings copied from the Amilcar, Woodlite headlamps and grille concealing the radiator, the last a pioneering feature, the Du Pont Model G was not a good-looking car, but it was a very effective one. Like all the DuPont speedsters it had four forward speeds. The 5.3-litre, sv straight-8 engine, by Continental, gave 114bhp at 3600rpm with catalogued modifications. With the latter, 100mph was guaranteed. In the 1929 Le Mans 24 Hours race the Du Pont Model G proved itself faster than the other American entries, Stutz and Chrysler. Touring bodywork was, of course, available on the Du Pont car, and in 1931 came the long wheelbase (12ft 2 in) Du Pont Model H, built in a Stearns Knight frame. The later Du Pont cars were assembled in the Indian motorcycle factory at Springfield, after E. Paul du Pont had acquired this concern.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN

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Lion-Peugeot

France, 1906 – 1913

(1) Les Fils de Peugeot Frères, Beaulieu-Valentigney, 1906 – 1910

(2) SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot, Audincourt, 1910 – 1913

The Lion-Peugeot car started as an independent venture by Robert Peugeot in the motor cycle factory at Beaulieu-Valentigney, which had been used for Lion-Peugeot car manufacture until the establishment of the SA des Automobiles Peugeot in 1897. These Michaux-designed voiturettes Lion-Peugeot cars were produced in direct competition with the cars from Audincourt, and the original chain-driven single at £125 filled a gap left by the discontinuation of the original Peugeot Baby. Already the Lion-Peugeot car company were trying their hand in the Coupe des Voiturettes, but made no impression in 1906 or 1907 against Sizaire-Naudin and Delage. The first of the classic racing V-twin Lion-Peugeot cars made its appearance in 1908, and from 1909 to 1911 the Lion-Peugeot car marque was renowned for some very odd machines, which took advantage of regulations more concerned with bores than with strokes. The 1909 Lion-Peugeot cars, victorious in both the Catalan Cup and the Coupe itself, were made with 1.9-litre engines, a single of 100x250mm and a twin of 80x192mm, the former having three valves per cylinder, but the peak of Lion-Peugeot cars was reached in 1910 with the fantastic Lion-Peugeot VX5, an 80x280mm V-twin with twin carburetors, developing 95bhp. The driver of the Lion-Peugeot car had to look round, rather than over the engine. There was a companion 65x260mm V4, really two twins in series. In spite (or perhaps because) of this, Lion-Peugeot cars had to be content with 2nd place in that year’s Coupe des Voiturettes. They tried once again in 1911 with a Lion-Peugeot V4, this time using the relatively modest stroke/bore rato of 2:1.

By 1910, the production Lion-Peugeot cars had grown up into 1.7-litre transverse V-twins with 3-speed gearboxes and shaft drive, though chain-driven versions were still available on Lion-Peugeot cars as late as 1911. The reunion of the two rival Peugeot companies, however, signaled the end of these eccentricities: though a touring V4 Lion-Peugeot car was announced in 1911 and was made with a 4-speed gearbox, pressure lubrication, and pedal-operated rear-wheel brakes, the Lion-Peugeot car designation was dropped at the end of 1913. The 1.9-litre VD Peugeot of 1914 marked the end of this line of development and none of the Lion-Peugeot car derivatives survived World War 1.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com