If the conversation comes about the brand of French cars, then everyone remembers Peugeot, Renault and Citroen. Nevertheless, the history of the French car does not end on these three marks. However, it also begins much more interesting.

It was 1910. A car in those days was still more luxury than a means of transportation. Two enterprising merchants rode their motorcycle for business, and had an accident. As a result, Robert Bourbo and Henri Devaux concluded that they needed something more reliable and sustainable than two, or even three-wheeled vehicles.

And so their first car appeared, which the creators called Bedelia. It was a cart on bicycle wheels, on which a two-cylinder motorcycle engine was installed. With a volume of one liter and power of 10 horsepower, the “carriage” accelerated to 85 km. at one o'clock. This was achieved thanks to the ease of construction. French cars have always been different from American car brands for their ease.

The wooden stroller Burbo and Devo managed to win a number of prestigious races. Unfortunately, the economic crisis has stopped the development of the company, and it was abolished. French cars Bedelia brand now a rarity, which can be found in museums and collectors. Something this rarity reminds me of our modern VAZ 2106.

Bedelia 1913 release. Similar and similar models served as medical carriages during the war.

A veteran of Voisin, not a single conversation about old French cars can do without it.

In 1919, the name of Gabriel Voisin for France is the same as for the 1960s USSR, the name of the designer Sergei Korolev. This man - the hero of the war and the creator of the first seaplane, after the war, suddenly decided to abandon the career of a military aircraft designer and started designing cars.

Recommended article: The title of the fastest car in the world took Hennessey Venom GT

His ideas, previously implemented in the aviation industry, have found application in the creation of vehicles. In particular - light aluminum alloys. In the development of the first cars Voisen took part and the future chief designer of "Citroen", a famous engineer Andre Lefevre.

Neighbor C27 Aerosport Coupe 1934 года

It was the Citroen prototype, which was never put into production, that became the basis for the future Voisin C-1 car. The car was designed in the same 1919, and a year later its mass production began. In 1922, the car participated in the most prestigious race of France and won first place.

Cirocco had a speed of 150 kilometers per hour. Unfortunately, now there are only a few photos of this car, which Voisin equipped with the best for its time V12.

The latest creation of an eccentric Frenchman was a car, released immediately after the end of the war in 1945. The model was named Biscutter.

French vintage cars like this are now very popular with collectors. And if Voisin was alive now, he would have made a fortune.

Вообще, если попытаться вспомнить все french car brands, список не будет слишком длинным, даже если сравнивать со списком автомобилей из Германии. В этом Франция уступает Великобритании, или США. Впрочем, мы всё же попытаемся вспомнить хотя бы часть:

1) SIMCA is a company founded in 1934 by Henri-Theodore Pigozzi. The car of this brand in 1939 won the famous race at Le Mans.

2) Rosengar. This brand appeared in 1928 when Lucien Rosengar founded the Society for the Development of the French Automotive Industry, which was saved by Citroen, who was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Recommended article: A new car up to 350,000 rubles is a rarity.

3) Venturi - the manufacturer of sports cars, inspired by Ferrari and Porsche.

Venturi Fetish. This car on an electric motor accelerates to 225 kilometers per hour.

4) It is also impossible to forget about Bugatti. Founded in 1909, now the brand belongs to Volkswagen.

Bugatti Veyron, 2012. From zero to a hundred in 2.5 seconds. And 430 kilometers per hour in a straight line. This is not fiction, this is Bugatti.