CarBrandLogos archive · Peugeot · 1891

PeugeotType 3

Peugeot's first petrol production car, proved by shadowing a bicycle race.

The story

A defining chapter in Peugeot history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Peugeot Type 3, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Armand Peugeot had already experimented with steam before concluding that the internal combustion engine was the better bet. The Type 3 of 1891 was the result, and it was the first Peugeot built in any real series: 64 were produced up to 1894, which by the standards of the period made it something close to mass production.

1891 Peugeot Type 3 · Alf van Beem · CC0

Design and engineering

The car was a vis-a-vis, with passengers facing each other, powered by a 565 cc V-twin licensed from Daimler and mounted at the rear driving the rear wheels. It produced about 2 hp at 1000 rpm. Every element of it was provisional, but the arrangement worked well enough to be sold to customers rather than merely demonstrated.

In production

Its reputation was made on the road. In 1891 a Type 3 followed the Paris-Brest-Paris cycle race over a distance of more than 2,000 kilometres, running alongside the riders and finishing, which at the time was a far stronger argument for the motor car than any showroom claim. Peugeot replaced it with the Type 4 and went on building cars continuously from there, which makes the Type 3 the start of one of the longest unbroken lines in the industry.

At a glance