9781422269657

A. Darracq et Cie (Automobiles Darracq) Darracq’s auto company became one of the first to mass-produce vehicles. His manufacturing plant at Suresnes, France, made bicycle parts, tricycles, motorcycles, and quadricycles. He had retained his license to produce Millet motor bicycles, which he powered with five-cylinder rotary engines. In 1898, he obtained a license to build Léon Bollée voiturettes . Voiturettes, the French word for miniature automobiles, typically feature three tires, although in the opposite order of a trike: two in front and one in the rear. He still did not drive, so Darracq’s cars proved theoretical in design. His first round of Léon Bollée voiturettes incurred a loss of $12,500, because his changes to the design introduced steering problems, a quirky five-speed belt drive, and a crude hot tube ignition. Darracq learned from his mistake and immediately turned to a more experienced automotive engineer to design the company’s next project. Engineer Paul Ribeyrolles, a graduate of Chalons-sur Marne’s Arts et Métiers College, designed for Automobiles Darracq an internal combustion engine vehicle in 1900. The voiture legére , or light cart, featured a 6.5 horsepower engine with a 785 cc displacement. It offered a shaft drive and three-speed column gears. Darracq sold 100 of the vehicles and drew the interest of Adam Opel. A Partnership with Opel and a Racing Start In 1901, Darracq and Opel founded a planned strategic partnership to jointly produce vehicles to sell in Germany under the brand name Opel Darracq. Each engineer brought to the table a valuable innovation—Opel’s vehicle body design and Darracq’s chassis design. The Opel Darracq vehicles used the best of both companies with a two-cylinder engine. Darracq’s interest in automobiles grew, and although he still avoided learning to drive one, he branched out into building race cars under the Automobiles Darracq brand. He even founded a

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