Société Parisienne
Société Parisienne logo, 1890s
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| Private | |
| Industry | Bicycle and Automobile manufacturing |
| Founded | Paris, 1876 |
| Founder |
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| Defunct | 1903 |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
Société Parisienne (Maison Parisienne) was a French manufacturer of velocipedes, bicycles and tricycles from 1876. They began limited automobile construction in 1894 and regular light car (voiturette) construction in 1898 or 1899, and they ceased operation in 1903. The vehicles, variously known as Parisienne, Victoria Combination, Eureka, l'Eclair, Duc-Spider and Duc-Tonneau, were manufactured by Société Parisienne E. Couturier et Cie of Paris.
The first attempt at vehicle manufacture in 1894 was planned to be powered by an 'air compressor' but it did not work.
The first successful motor vehicles were Benzes built under license by M. Laboure of La Maison Parisienne.
In 1898 the company engineer, a M. Serex, designed a flat-twin car which ran in the Marseille-Nice Race of that year; this, too, was built along the lines of a Benz.
The 'Victoria Combination' voiturette achieved front-wheel drive by mounting the engine directly on the front axle and then turning the whole assembly with a tiller, while the driver and passenger were towed in a Victoria trailer (Calèche).
'La Société Parisienne de constructions Velo' was founded in 1876 by Mr. Reynard, who was awarded the 'Diploma of honour' at the Exposition Universelle (1878). By 1891 it was run by Monsieur Couturier.
'La Société Parisienne de constructions Velo' manufactured velocipedes, bicycles and tricycles at its works at 10 avenue de la Grande Armée, Paris, from 1876, and was described in L'Industrie Vélocipédique (Cycling Industry) of 1891 as 'the oldest velocipede manufacturer in France', by which time the workshop was regarded as a model for industrial organisation and practice. The bicycles were described as light, high-quality, 'precision machines', and the range included safety bicycles and a folding Military model.
'La Société Parisienne de constructions Velocipedes et Automobile' built motor vehicles at 10 avenue de la Grande Armée. The earliest record of Parisienne's ambition regarding motorised vehicles is the list of applicants for entry to the world's first motoring competition, the 1894 Paris–Rouen Competition for Horseless Carriages (Concours du 'Petit Journal' Les Voitures sans Chevaux) run by the Paris newspaper Le Petit Journal. The application, listed as number 52, stated that the 'Société Parisienne de constructions Velo' of Paris would use a four-seater vehicle powered by an 'air compressor'—It did not show up at the event. At the 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris race two Parisiennes (Parisienne-Benz) were entered by Guyonnet and Charles Labouré, and completed the 1,710 km course in 102 hours to record eleventh and twelfth places respectively. The cars were reportedly slightly modified Benz Viktorias, using a single-cylinder, 2.9-litre, 4.5 hp petrol engine.
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