Brissonneau et Lotz was a French
locomotive
A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...
engineering company that specialized in the production of railway locomotives and wagons.
The company was also a supplier of rolling stock to the
Paris Metro
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, constructing in 1951 the first metro trains in the world to be equipped
with rubber tyres
A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over w ...
.
[
In 1972 it was absorbed into ]Alstom
Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...
, becoming Alsthom Groupe Brissonneau. The company was founded in Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
where it had many of its principal facilities, but by the time it lost its independence it had acquired or established factories and workshops in many parts of France.
Automobile production
In the 1950s Brissonneau and Lotz branched out into automobile production, building a small low volume cabriolet sports car based on the Renault 4CV
The Renault 4CV (, as if spelled ''quat'chevaux'') is a car produced by the French company Renault from August 1947 through July 1961. It is a four-door economy car with its engine mounted in the rear and driving the rear wheels. It was the fir ...
, which was launched during the summer of 1956. A couple of years later, during 1958 and 1959 the small automobile factory was transformed into a substantial production facility when the company received a contract from Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
to assemble the manufacturer's stylish new Floride model. The Floride, later rebadged as the Renault Caravelle, would continue to be produced at the factory until 1968.Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
, making the body for the Opel GT
The Opel GT is a front-engine, rear-drive two-seat sports car manufactured and marketed by Opel in two generations separated by a 34-year hiatus.
The first generation Opel GT (1968–1973) debuted as a styling exercise in 1965 at the Paris Motor ...
sports car. Lower volume production of other car bodies continued until the factory closed in 1996 following an industrial dispute.
External links
Sources
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