automobile
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
constructed by
Louis Soncin
Louis may refer to:
People
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
Other uses
* Louis (coin), a French coin
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
* ...
and manufactured between 1900 and 1902. A two-seat 4½ hp
voiturette
A voiturette is a miniature automobile.
History
''Voiturette'' was first registered by Léon Bollée in 1895 to name his new motor tricycle. The term became so popular in the early years of the motor industry that it was used by many makers ...
, it was the forerunner of the
Grégoire
Grégoire is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname / Family name
* Alexandre Grégoire (1922–2001), Haitian painter
* Antonina Grégoire (1914-1952), Belgian commercial engineer, feminist and communist, ...
. A Soncin raced by
Henri François Béconnais
Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include:
People French nobles
* Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France
* ...
set the 1 km speed record (48 seconds) on September 21, 1899 at Achères, and the speed record of driving a Soncin at the «Semaine de
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionL. Gastè won races at
Targa Rignano The Padova–Bovolenta race (1900–1908) was an automobile, voiturette and motorcycle race. The first day had a straight race speedrecord track between the cities of Padova and Bovolenta in Italy, followed by a race in Padova the next day. The n ...
(1900 and 1901). A Soncin 10 hp won the
Coppa Brescia
The Coppa Florio (or Florio Cup) was a motorsport race for automobiles first held in Italy in 1900. It was renamed in 1905 when Vincenzo Florio offered the initial 50,000 Lira prize money and a cup designed by Polak of Paris. The cup was to be aw ...
on September 10, 1900.
Specially-tuned Soncin engines were also used by
Chase Brothers Motorcycle
Chase Brothers Motorcycle was a British motorcycle maker.
Origins
Arthur Chase was a professional bicycle racer, his brother Frederick Walter Chase a former works rider for BAT in 1902.
In 1903, the brothers co-founded a motorcycle company, ...