Léon Bollée Automobiles was a French company founded by Léon Bollée in Le Mans to build a first vehicle called Voiturette.In 1895 he presented a small three-wheeled petrol car that he named Voiturette7. The first Voiturette built by Léon Bollée in 1895 was a three-wheel tandem driven by a single-cylinder 3 HP engine and belt drive.
TheVoiturette was powered by an air-cooled, single cylinder 650cc 3hp engine with bore x stroke of 75 x 145 mm and employed hot-tube ignition and three forward gears. The Voiturette was at the time the fastest petrol-engined vehicle on the road.
The Voiturettehad a tubular frame with a steel footwell at the front to protect the passenger’s feet from puddles on the road and the driver sat at the rear.In 1897 modified versions won the Paris-Dieppe race at 24 mph and the Paris-Trouville race at 28 mph.
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In 1899 the vehicle was superseded by a 4-wheeler and in 1901 the design rights were sold to Darracq. In 1899 the vehicle was superseded by a 4-wheeler and in 1901 the design rights were sold to Darracq. Later on Bollée became fascinated with aviation: the first flight by the Wright brothers in Europe was made in August 1908, at Léon’s request. Unfortunately he was seriously injured in an air crash in 1911.
