On this day in 1891 the Peugeot Type 3 Quadricycle debuted. The company manufactured 64 of these internal combustion powered vehicles between 1891 and 1894. It marked the second attempt by Peugeot to build a petrol powered auto, though multiple steam powered prototypes had come first. After company founder Armand Peugeot consulted with early automobile engineers Gottlieb Daimler and Emile Levassor, he became convinced internal combustion was the future of transportation. His Type 3 featured an engine designed by Daimler that produced 2hp, giving the vehicle an approximate top speed of 11 mph.
To debut the Type 3 Armand Peugeot ran a demonstration model in the inaugural Paris-Brest-Pariscycle race beginning on this day in 1891. The car ran for 2,045 kilometres (1,271 miles), from Peugeot’s factory in to Paris, and then back to Valentigney. It had an average speed of 14.7 km/h (9.1 mph), and suffered no major malfunctions. The demonstrator would later become the first Peugeot sold to the public.
