Helck Family Collection: The 1894 Paris-Rouen Race- The First “Road Wagon” Contest
The first competition among motor vehicles is generally considered to be the 79-mile "race" from Paris to Rouen on July 22, 1894. Thanks to the the Helck Family Archives, the 21 participants (six steamers and 15 propelled by gasoline or petrol) in this historic contest are documented below. The first motor vehicle with a steering wheel was also one of the participants.
The photos are courtesy of The Helck Family Collection.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
The contest was organized by the newspaper Le Petit Journal as the first contest of 'voitures sans chevaux" (carriages without horse).
Le Petit Journal announced prize money totaling 10,000 gold francs for vehicles that met the ideal requirements of comfort, ease of handling, cheapness and freedom from danger. Reliability was more important than speed.
The 21 Participants
#4 De Dion- Bouton A steam tractor drawing a two-wheeled landau or "Victoria"
Driver/Entrant: Count Jules-Albert de Dion.
Power: Steam
Capacity: 6 persons
Finish: 1st, averaging 11.6 mph
#7 Gautier
Driver/Entrant: P.Gautier
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 4
Finish: 16
#10 Scotte
Driver/Entrant: J.Scotte
Power: Steam
Capacity: 10
Finish: Stopped. Did not finish
#13 Panhard et Levassor
Driver/Entrant: Hippolyte Panhard (the son of the Panhard founder Rene Panhard)
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 4
Finish:4
#14 Panhard et Levassor:
Driver/Entrant: Dubois
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 4
Finish: 10th or 13th
#15 Panhard et Levassor
Driver/Entrant: Emile Levassor, French automobile pioneer
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 2
Finish: 5th or 7th
#18 Serpollet
Driver/Entrant: Ernest Archdeacon, later founder of the Aero Club of France
Power: Steam
Capacity: 7
Finish: 17th
#19 Serpollet
Driver/Entrant: Etienne Le Blant
Power: Steam
Capacity: 10
Finish: Stopped. Did not finish.
#24 Vacheron/Panhard et Levassor - Considered to be the first automobile with a steering wheel
Driver/Entrant: Alfred Vacheron
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 2
Finish: 11th or 12th
#27 Peugeot Awards
Driver/Entrant: Louis Rigoulot
Power: Gasoline
Capacity: 2
Finish: 11th or 12th
#28 Peugeot
Driver/Entrant: Auguste Doriot
Power: Gasoline
Capacity: 4
Finish: 3rd
#30 Peugeot
Driver/Entrant: Michaud
Power: Gasoline
Capacity: 4
Finish: 9th or 10th
#31 Peugeot
Driver/Entrant: Emile Kraeutler
Power: Gasoline
Capacity: 5
Finish: 5th or 6th
#42 Le Brun
Driver/Entrant: A. LeBrun
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 4
Finish: 6th or 8th
#44 De Prandieres Serpollet
Driver/Entrant: De Prandieres
Power: Steam
Capacity: 4
Finish: Stopped. Did not finish.
#53 de Bourmont
Driver/Entrant: de Bourmont
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 4
Finish: 9th or 13th
#60Le Blant Serpollet
Driver/Entrant: Maurice Le Blant
Power: Steam
Capacity: 9
Finish: 15th
#61 de Montais-Brasier
Driver/Entrant: Roger de Montais
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 2
Finish: Stopped. Did not finish.
#64 Panhard et Levassor
Driver/Entrant:Emile Mayade
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 4
Finish: 7th or 8th
The #64 Panhard can be seen on the left.
#65 Peugeot
Driver/Entrant: Albert Lemaitre
Power: Gasoline
Capacity: 4
Finish: 2nd, averaging 11.5 mph
#85 Benz
Driver/Entrant: Emile Roger (the world's first automobile dealer, selling Roger-Benz from1888 to 1896).
Power: Petrol
Capacity: 4
Finish: 14th
Awards: Took fifth prize
Awards- Five prizes were awarded at the end of the competition.
The # 4 De Dion-Bouton finished first in Rouen. However, it did not meet "ideal" conditions of the competition- since it required a mechanic to keep the engine going and was too expensive and difficult to handle. A total of 17 vehicles of the 21 participants finished the contest.
First prize ($5,000 francs) was shared by the Peugeot and Panhard et Levassor companies for both " employing the petrol motor invented by Herr Daimler of Wurtemburg" and whose vehicles "came closest to the ideal."
Second Prize ($2,000 francs)was awarded to the firm of De Dion, Bouton et Cie for their "interesting tractor (#4) that works like a horse and gives both absolute speed and pulling power up hills."
Third Prize ($1,500 francs): #19 Serpollet was awarded thrid prize because of "great possibilities as a light omnibus."
Fourth Prize ($1,000 francs) was shared by Vacheron (#24 Panhard) and Le Brun (#42 Le Brun) for "their improvements to the Daimler motor as applied to a carriage."
Fifth Prize was awarded to Emile Roger (#85 Benz).
A consolation prize was given to J. Scottie (#10 Scotte) "whose steamer burst a boiler tube."
Newspaper Accounts
The August 8, 1894 issue of The New York Times reported the results in this article "Winners in the Road-Wagon Race."
The New York Herald reported the results as "Novel Road Carriages- Vehicles propelled by steam and petroleum race from Paris to Rouen."
La Vie au Grand Air reported on "The First Contest"
Note the use of the term "automobiles" in this undated clipping.
Comments
This is simply amazing stuff,never know what we’ll get from you,and thanks to the Helck Family.I mailed you a pictures from the newspaper that I get,that I thought you would like,I mailed it yesterday
Another automotive coup! Thanks. In the last photo, the caption says that’s the son of the Peugot brothers in #30 behind the #61 Brasier of de Montais - that’s at odds with your individual photos. The #61 shown above is an open three-wheeler and the one in the lead in the clipping is a closed four-wheeler pictured individually above as either duBois’ #14 or Mayade’s #64 Panhard. Also, note that the most of the cars have solid tires and the paving is Belgian block - what a pounding the vehicles and passengers must have taken (I had to sell my 1948 Jag drophead because I had to drive it daily on Belgian block and it was being beaten to bits)! Sam, III
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From Howard Kroplick I
Sam, the previous published captions for this photo in books were wrong. Clearly, the vehicle in the front was the #64 Panhard driven by Mayade.