Paris–Rouen (motor race)
Videos
Paris–Rouen was a pioneering city-to-city motoring competition in 1894 which is sometimes described as the world's first competitive motor race.
Le Petit Journal 6 August 1894
Jules-Albert de Dion finished first in a steam powered De Dion tractor towing a caléche carriage, but was not eligible for the prize. Among the passengers are de Dion, Étienne van Zuylen van Nyevelt-Rothschild, and writer Émile Driant.
Albert Lemaître (pictured on left) finished second in a 3 hp Peugeot but was judged the winner. Bicycle and tyre manufacturer Adolphe Clément-Bayard was the front passenger.
Pierre Giffard
Jules-Albert de Dion
Videos
Marquis Jules Félix Philippe Albert de Dion de Wandonne was a French pioneer of the automobile industry. He invented a steam-powered car and used it to win the world's first auto race, but his vehicle
Paris–Rouen (motor race)
…comprised interwoven routes around Paris to select the entrants for the main 126 km (78 mi) event. The first driver across the finishing line at Rouen was Jules-Albert de Dion, but he did not win the main prize because his steam vehicle needed a stoker and was thus ineligible. The fastest petrol-powered car was a 3 hp (2.2…
"Automobile". Caricature by Guth published in Vanity Fair in 1899.