Peugeot Type 3 quadricycle
This four-seat Peugeot looked like two benches facing each other, yet it proved that a petrol car could travel far beyond its home town.
Peugeot Type 3.jpg · Arnaud 25 · Public domain (PD-self)
More than a set of wheels.
Armand Peugeot had tried steam in 1889 and built his first petrol car in 1890. For the new Type 3 in 1891, he sent engineer Louis Rigoulot and mechanic Auguste Doriot from Valentigney to Paris, then alongside the Paris–Brest–Paris bicycle race, and home again. The expedition put the unfamiliar horseless carriage in front of thousands of people. Peugeot delivered a Type 3 to private customer Monsieur Poupardin on 2 October 1891, and the model became Peugeot's first series-produced automobile, with 64 made through 1894.
Look a little closer.
The Paris–Brest journey needed fuel relays about every 100 km, and the crew used fresh grass to shade a fuel tank that became troublesome in hot sun.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
A publicity trip that doubled as an endurance test
Peugeot asked bicycle-race officials to record the quadricycle's passage so the journey would be independently witnessed. Including the trip from Valentigney to Paris and the return home, the car covered about 2,500 km in the detailed heritage account. The anniversary summary counts 2,045 km for the Paris/Brest-centered route and gives a 14.7 km/h average, so those two distances describe different journey scopes rather than a contradiction.
Source: L'Aventure Peugeot · The Type 3 at Paris–Brest–Paris ↗Why 2 CV and 2.5 HP both appear
Peugeot's 130th-anniversary specification lists 565 cc and 2 CV. The more detailed journey narrative describes the particular Paris–Brest demonstrator as a 2.5 HP Daimler. Early power labels and the exact expedition car need not be silently treated as identical; this page keeps the source wording visible instead of inventing a modern conversion.
Source: Peugeot/Stellantis · 130 years of the Type 3 ↗Where these facts come from
- Peugeot/Stellantis · 130 years of the Type 3
- L'Aventure Peugeot · The Type 3 at Paris–Brest–Paris
- Peugeot/Stellantis · Aventure Peugeot at Epoqu'Auto
- Peugeot/Stellantis · The number 3 at Rétromobile
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed October 1, 2026.