Sunday, December 11, 2011

Bebe Peugeot, one more interesting and rare car I've never heard of, but found at the Mullin museum, and learned of on Wikipedia. What a great hobby!

 cool radiator ornament




The original Bébé was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1904 and stole the show as a modern and robust creation that was cheap, small, and practical.

Tiny dimensions meant that its small engine could propel it to 25 mph. Though selling price was deliberately kept as low as possible, technologies like rack and pinion steering and a driveshaft instead of a chain were included in the vehicle. Production began in Audincourt in 1905, and the car proved to be popular. Bébé sold 400 units in the first year, or 80% of Peugeot's production. It was also exported, particularly to Britain. The Type 69 was sold until 1912

The Type BP1 Bébé was a design by Ettore Bugatti, initially for the German car firm Wanderer, then also built under license by Peugeot for the French market.

 Peugeot displayed it under their marque at the Paris Motor Show in 1912. Production began in 1913 following discontinuation of the Type 69. Wanderer built their car with Bugatti's own 4-speed transmission, but in order to keep production costs down for the French version, Peugeot fitted a 2-speed gearbox initially, which was then replaced by their own 3-speed.

Bébé scored some racing success among small car classes, notably at Mont Ventoux in 1913, where it won in its class. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_B%C3%A9b%C3%A9

No comments:

Post a Comment