7 replies to this topic

[Bordino]

I wanted to know more about the 1906 Coupe des Voiturettes at Rambouillet and reading numbers of l’Auto of the year via Gallica I was able to get an overview of the event but ultimately was puzzled by a few questions. So I take the risk to share them with you in the hope that somebody can help me to solve them.

For example, Charles Faroux and Géo Lefevre, who were the permanent reporters and promoters of the race often post a table of the qualified cars for the next day of the event. One of these cars, driven by a Mr Pellegrin, is officially named “Auto-Stand” most of the time but appears sometimes as a De Dion Bouton and this, more and more as the race goes on. At some point we can learn that this car is the personal De Dion of Pellegrin, a car “which has already done 12000 kilometers during travels and races”, notably at the “Coupe du Matin”, earlier in the year where it was clearly designed as a De Dion Bouton.

I found an ad for a car salesman named “Auto-Stand” in a 1906 number of L’Auto, could it be Mr Pellegrin’s garage ? And if so, can it be said that Auto-Stand is the entrant of that De Dion-Bouton, which would be, de facto, a “privateer” car, as opposed to the official Delages, Peugeots, Sizaires, etc ?

 

During the seven days of the race, in that same table, there is always a difference between the two Delage, Number 3 (Pessonneaux) has a 100 mm bore for an imposed minimum weight of 646 kg and Number 14 (Menard) 106 mm for 719 kg. Can someone tell me if it is a typo or a real difference ,as the Type A , the 1906 model, is referred to have a 106 mm De Dion engine ? I know De Dion made 100 mm engines.

I have other questions about engines, which could well show my lack of culture, but there is also mention, from time to time, of De Dion engines in the Vulpès or le Métais. I even read somewhere I can not recall that the Alcyon was a cousin of the Peugeots. So if anybody has some light to share on this long-forgotten subject, I would be very grateful.

 

 

 

[68targa]

Kent Karlsake's Racing Voiturettes has this brief mention:

 

... although one rather mysterious car, sometimes called a De Dion Bouton, sometimes called an Auto-Stand, figured in the list of starters and probably at least used a De Dion engine.  

Then as a footnote he goes on to say: 

 

 In this connection, it is probably significant that, at least very shortly after this time, and possibly before it,  there was at 34 rue Pergolèse in Paris, a garage  called Auto-Stand, which was doubtless responsible for this entry.  After changing its name in the meantime to Pereaux & Toulza, Auto-Stand was still at the same address in 1948. It is, moreover, curious if nothing more, that it was to the rue Pergolèse that De Dion, Bouton et Trépardoux (as the firm was then called) moved in 1883, before moving on the next year to Puteaux.

 

[Bordino]

Many thanks for that rich answer, Targa !

There was an other Auto-Stand garage at 20 Rue Duret in the same time frame.

Also at this address was the office of "Omnia" the locomotion magazine.

Is it possible that De Dion did not want to associate his name to motorsports ?

[Vitesse2]

Mention of Omnia leads me to wonder whether there might be some connection to its founder, the journalist Louis Baudry de Saunier? In 1906 he left La Vie Automobile (which he had co-founded in 1901 as La Locomotion) to start Omnia. He was also the motoring correspondent of l'Illustration.

[robert dick]

L'Auto-Stand was a large De Dion agency, 20 Rue Duret (between Avenue de la Grande Armée and Avenue Foch), Paris.
With regard to better promotion, l'Auto-Stand prepared and entered De Dion cars in reliability trials and races, such as the Tour de France or the Coupe des Voiturettes. It was a sort of "Scuderia Ferrari" for De Dion.
L'Auto-Stand was owned and directed by Georges Péreaux, "propriétaire-directeur de l'Auto-Stand, garage, commerce d'automobiles et d'accessoires, spécialité de voitures De Dion-Bouton".
Georges-Victor Péreaux was born in La Cassine/département des Ardennes in September 1864.
At Auto-Stand, Pellegrin (first name ?) was Péreaux's right-hand man.

In 1905 the standard bore-and-stroke dimensions of the De Dion singles were 90 x 110 mm (type Y) and 106 x 120 mm (type Z).
In 1906 they were 100 x 120 (type AL) and 110 x 130 mm (type AM).
 

[Bordino]

Thanks a lot Robert, each of your interventions sounds as if you were just returning from that Paris at the start of the 20^th century. Even though Gallica is an amazing source, I still have a lot to learn in the hope of approaching a small part of your knowledge someday.

I always felt there was something a bit unclear in the way Faroux described the Auto-Stand car. I must admit that, even though he was a great promoter of the sport, his patronizing writing style can fail to entertain.

So, can Auto-Stand can be considered as one of the first “officines” in motor racing ? Or are there earlier occurrences ?

 

 

Regarding the De Dion engines, it is quite possible that Delage number 3 had an AL engine and number 14 a Z one. De Dion was a very prolific engine builder at the time and many car maker bought their product.

It is quite hard to find the first names of the actors in those times, journalists only gave second names, except for some celebrities. And the riding mechanics were rarely even named. For that race, there is only mention of Chenard who was Pessonneaux’s riding mechanic and had a few broken ribs in the accident that left his driver badly injured, and Lucas who was de facto Mesnard’s team mate, ran in the qualifications but left the driving wheel on the 7^th day for the timed race.

 

[robert dick]

Kent Karslake's remark:

In 1923 Péreaux sold fifty percent of his Auto-Stand business to Louis Toulza, resulting in the Société Péreaux et Toulza, l'Auto-Stand, 34 Rue Pergolèse (adjacent to 20 Rue Duret).

In 1928 the Auto-Stand company was transformed into a société à responsabilité limitée, and in 1930 Georges Poilpré took over the majority of parts. 

 

= = = =

L'Auto-Stand was launched in January 1902 by Georges Péreaux and Louis Flanet:

 

In December 1903 l'Auto-Stand added the exclusive agency for France of the Belgian Pipe cars.

 

= = = =

Charron, Girardot & Voigt's CGV was an early forerunner of the Scuderia Ferrari. The Panhards driven by Charron and Girardot in June 1900 in the first Bennett race were owned by CGV. In 1902 CGV began to build CGV cars, among them a straight-eight which in 1902 was as exotic as Ferrari's V12 forty-five years later.

 

[Bordino]

There is always a precursor, Charron was a great character of this golden age. Paris at the start of the 20^th century might have looked like the Silicon Valley of the Automobile.