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130 years ago: Preliminary decision for the gasoline engine - The first major car race Paris-Bordeaux-Paris 1895

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Created on January 21, 2025

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Panhard-Levassor (1895) - Emile Levassor with co-driver, who had to "pinch" him awake from time to time, Paris-Bordeaux-Paris 1895

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Panhard-Levassor (1895) - No. 5, the winning car of the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race

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Panhard-Levassor (1895) - No. 5 at the start of the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race

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Panhard-Levassor (1895) - Etching of the finish of No. 5 - Paris-Bordeaux-Paris 1895

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Panhard-Levassor (1891) - sectional drawing of an early model with shorter wheelbase

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Panhard-Levassor Phénix (1895) - The new two-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1.2 liters and 4 hp

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Panhard-Levassor (1895) - The new Phénix engine installed in the chassis

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Bollé Nouvelle (1880) - the only steam car in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race

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Bollé Nouvelle (1880) - in Bordeaux, the turning point of the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race in 1895

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Bollé Nouvelle (1880) - full steam ahead against the petrol cars in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race

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Bollé Nouvelle (1880) - almost a motorhome with kitchen, toilet and sleeping space

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Jeanteaud (1895) - the only electric car in the field. Starting number 25 broke down at Orleans and did not finish the race

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Michelin (1895) - on Peugeot chassis. Spare tires and spokes in the rear "trunk"

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Michelin (1895) - with pneumatic tires on the strikingly large wire-spoked wheels - Paris-Bordeaux-Paris 1895

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Peugeot (1895) - official winner of the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race

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Peugeot (1895) - the four-seater Peugeot with starting number 16

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Peugeot (1895) - Flowers for the winner: the 1 of starting number 16 is covered by a flower arrangement - Paris-Bordeaux-Paris 1895

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Roger-Benz (1895) - starting number 13, in 8th place last of the petrol-engined cars

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The forefather of the Bollé crew: meticulous preparation including "road book"

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The participants in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race were even insured: with "Zurich"

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Sectional drawing of the Panhard gearbox, gears in oil bath for the first time

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The defective parts of the Bollé steam car

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Michelin (1895) - Michelin advertisement with the successful race participation

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Peugeot (1896) - Advertising with successes in motorsport

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Benz (1895) - The Benz advertisement is wrong: the second Roger-Benz took 8th place

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Special supplement on the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race in the US newspaper "Scientific American"

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Poster for the automobile exhibition at the Rapp Gallery in Paris

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Panhard-Levassor (1895) – Nr. 5, der Siegerwagen des Rennens Paris–Bordeaux–Paris

Panhard-Levassor (1895) – Nr. 5 beim Start zum Rennen Paris–Bordeaux–Paris

Panhard-Levassor (1895) – Radierung der Zielankunft von Nr. 5 – Paris–Bordeaux–Paris 1895

Panhard-Levassor (1891) – Schnittzeichnung eines frühes Modells mit kürzerem Radstand

Panhard-Levassor Phénix (1895) – Der neue Zweizylinder mit 1,2 Litern Hubraum und 4 PS

Panhard-Levassor (1895) – Der neue Phénix-Motor im Fahrgestell installiert

Summary

In the early days, the automobile struggled to gain acceptance. The first car races were a means of popularizing and clarifying the best drive technology. One of the most spectacular took place in 1895, covering 1200 kilometers from Paris to Bordeaux and back - and the question of whether to use petrol, electric or steam propulsion ultimately had only one answer. This article takes a look back 130 years to the marathon race with motorized carriages.

This article contains the following chapters

The first big car race
Panhard & Levassor
Emile Levassor at the press conference after the race
Bollé steam car
Jeantaud electric coach
Michelin
Worldwide response and commercial success

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

1895: France has three million horses and around 200 automobiles, 50 of which are in Paris. The only fast means of transportation is the railroad, which reaches a speed of 90 km/h on the Paris-Bordeaux line. In addition, there are countless bicycles, the first individual means of transportation before the era of the automobile. The bicycle was also an early means of sport and was used for racing. Interestingly, it was the well-known magazine Le Vélo, among others, that advocated racing with automobiles in 1895: "Motorized road traffic is a problem that concerns all of humanity." Technologically and sociologically, the car owes a great deal to the bicycle - even the idea of racing! In 1891, for example, Pierre Giffard, the publisher of the Petit Journal, organized a Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race. The longest bicycle race took place between Paris and Bordeaux. As the automobile became increasingly popular, but was rejected in many places, he decided to organize a car race that would promote the popularity of the new individual means of transport. On the other hand, it could help to find out in a technology-neutral competition which motorization - namely steam, petrol (gasoline) or electric drive - would be best in the medium term. This was by no means clear in the early days of the automobile, even though there were already many signs pointing to the petrol engine.

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