Horseless Carriages Contest

Venue	Road from Paris to Rouen
Location	France
Corporate sponsor	Le Petit Journal Pierre Giffard
First race	22 July 1894 (unique race) 102 entrants 21 qualified 4 stopped
Distance	126 kilometres (78 mi)

Paris–Rouen, Le Petit Journal Horseless Carriages Contest (Concours du 'Petit Journal' Les Voitures sans Chevaux), was a pioneering city-to-city motoring competition in 1894 which is sometimes described as the world's first competitive motor race.

The contest was organised by the newspaper Le Petit Journal and ran from Paris to Rouen in France on 22 July 1894. It was preceded by four days of vehicle exhibition and qualifying events that created great crowds and excitement. The eight 50 km (31 mi) qualifying events started near the Bois de Boulogne and comprised interwoven routes around Paris to select the entrants for the main 126 km (78 mi) event.^[1]

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 kW; 3.0 PS) Peugeot driven by Albert Lemaître. The premier prize, the 5,000 franc Prix du Petit Journal, for "the competitor whose car comes closest to the ideal", was shared equally by manufacturers Panhard et Levassor and Les fils de Peugeot frères ('The sons of Peugeot brothers'), with vehicles that were "easy to use".^[2][3][4][5]

1894 – Paris to Rouen

Organisation

In 1894, Pierre Giffard, editor of Le Petit Journal, organised the world's first motoring competition from Paris to Rouen to publicise his newspaper, to stimulate interest in motoring and to develop French motor manufacturing. Sporting events were a tried and tested form of publicity stunt and circulation booster. The paper promoted it as "Le Petit Journal Competition for Horseless Carriages" (Le Petit Journal Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux) that were "not dangerous, easy to drive, and cheap during the journey", the main prize being for "the competitor whose car comes closest to the ideal". The "easy to drive" clause effectively precluded from the prizes (but not the event) any vehicles needing a travelling mechanic or technical assistant such as a stoker (i.e. steam powered vehicles).^[2][7]

Le Petit Journal announced prize money totalling 10,000 gold francs – 5,000 for first place, 2,000 for second, 1,500 for third, 1,000 for fourth, and 500 for fifth. The main prize was for the first eligible vehicle across the finish line in Rouen.^[7]

Entrants

See full list of 102 entrants

102 people paid the ten franc entrance fee. They ranged from practical manufacturers like Peugeot, Panhard, de Dion-Bouton, and Serpollet to amateur owners and 'over-ambitious concepts'. 78 entrants did not show up for qualifying on 18 July, which included some 25 powered by unfamiliar and improbable technologies such as "gravity" – nine; "compressed air" – five; "automatic" – three; electricity – three; gas – three; hydraulics – two; liquid, pedals, propellers, and levers. Additionally, 19 petrol-powered designs and 26 steam-powered cars, quadricycles, and tricycles did not show up at the qualifying event.^[2][3][8]

Qualifying

Qualifying was held from 19–21 July 1894, and was preceded by a public exhibition of 26 cars to Neuilly-sur-Seine on 18 July. Journalists reported great crowds and excitement throughout the routes, and at Précy-sur-Oise they finished through a triumphal arch. On 19 July, 26 cars lined the side of the Boulevard Maillot, stretching to the Bois de Boulogne, each parked 10 m (33 ft) apart until, at 8:00 am, the first car led off, followed at 15-second intervals by the others. The 50 km (31 mi) qualifying event had to be completed in under three hours to be eligible to start the main event, the 126 km (78 mi) race from Paris to Rouen; 21 were selected for the main event.^[2][8][9]

Qualifying was used as a major publicity tool for both the event and the newspaper: "for our readers who want to see the cars on the roads around Paris". The 22 vehicles were split into five groups who completed complex interwoven tours of Paris and its environs, including Mantes-la-Jolie, Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Flins-sur-Seine, Poissy, Triel-sur-Seine, Rambouillet, Versailles, Dampierre-en-Yvelines, Corbeil-Essonnes, Palaiseau, Précy-sur-Oise, Gennevilliers and L'Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise. The groups were carefully balanced to ensure each included petrol and steam, a Peugeot, a Panhard & Levassor, and different seating. Le Petit Journal, on the morning of the event, still officially expected Lemoigne and his gravity-powered vehicle to participate, although he was included as an additional member of group five.^[8]

The groups that set off from Porte Maillot on Thursday 19 July were:^[8]

• Itinerary one – Paris to Mantes-la-Jolie via Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Flins-sur-Seine:
  • No. 3 de Dion, Bouton et Cie, break, six seats, steam. – Did not qualify for Paris-Rouen.
  • No. 13 Panhard et Levassor, four seats, petrol – qualified
  • No. 21 Letar, four seats, steam – did not qualify
  • No. 30 Les fils de Peugeot frères, three seats, petrol – qualified
• Itinerary two – Paris to Mantes-la-Jolie via Poissy and Triel-sur-Seine:
  • No. 10 Scotte, 8–10 seats, steam – qualified
  • No. 15 Panhard et Levassor, two seats, petrol – qualified
  • No. 25 Coqatrix, four seats, steam – qualified
  • No. 28 Les fils de Peugeot frères, four seats, petrol – qualified
  • No. 44 de Prandieres, six seats, system Serpollet and petrol combined^[a] – qualified

(Note – Le Petit Journal does not show an itinerary three, presumably either a misprint or changed plan)

• Itinerary four – Paris to Rambouillet via Versailles and Dampierre-en-Yvelines:
  • No. 7 Gautier, four seats, steam – qualified
  • No. 18 Archdeacon, six or seven seats, steam – qualified
  • No. 19 Le Blant, eight to ten seats, steam – qualified
  • No. 42 Le Brun, four seats, petrol – qualified
• Itinerary five – Paris to Corbeil-Essonnes via Versailles and Palaiseau:
  • No. 4 de Dion, Victoria, four people, steam – qualified
  • No. 16 Quantin, six seats, petrol – did not qualify
  • No. 27 Les fils de Peugeot frères, two seats, petrol – qualified
  • No. 29 Les fils de Peugeot frères, four seats, petrol – did not qualify
  • No. 40 Lemoigne, four seats, 'gravity powered'. Note – did not show or was eliminated.

(Sources show three or five vehicles on this route and variance over qualification)

• Itinerary six – Paris to Précy-sur-Oise via Gennevilliers and L'Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise:
  • No. 12 Tenting, four seats, petrol. Note – did not qualify for Paris-Rouen.
  • No. 14 Panhard et Levassor, four seats, (new type) petrol – qualified
  • No. 24 Alfred Vacheron, two seats, petrol – did not qualify until Saturday 21st
  • No. 31 Les fils de Peugeot frères, break, five seats, petrol – qualified

On Friday 20 July a second qualifying event was run over two routes.^[10]

• Itinerary one – Paris to Mantes-la-Jolie via Bezons, Houilles and Maisons-Laffitte.
  • No. 44 de Prandieres, six seats, system Serpollet and petrol combined – qualified
  • No. 60 Le Blant, Serpollet, nine seats, steam – qualified
  • No. 64 Émile Mayade, Panhard et Levassor, four seats, petrol – qualified
  • No. 65 Albert Lemaître, Les fils de Peugeot frères, four seats, petrol – qualified
• Itinerary two – Paris to Corbeil-Essonnes
  • No. 61 Roger de Montais, De Montais, two seat tricycle, petrol – qualified
  • No. 85 Émile Roger, Benz, two seats, petrol – qualified

On Saturday 21 July a third qualifying event was run from Paris to Poissy.

• • No. 53 de Bourmont (de Bourmont, four seats, petrol) – qualified
  • No. 24 Alfred Vacheron, two seats, petrol – qualified

Race

At 8:00 am on Sunday 22 July, twenty-one qualifiers started from Porte Maillot and went via the Bois de Boulogne, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Courbevoie, Nanterre, Chatou, Le Pecq, Poissy, Triel-sur-Seine, Vaux-sur-Seine, and Meulan, to Mantes where they stopped for lunch from 12:00 pm until 1:30 pm, whence they set off to Vernon, Gaillon, Pont-de-l'Arche, and the 'Champ de Mars' at Rouen.

Count de Dion was the first to arrive in Rouen after 6 hours 48 minutes at an average speed of 19 km/h (12 mph). He finished 3 min 30 sec ahead of Albert Lemaître (Peugeot), Auguste Doriot (Peugeot) (16 min 30 sec back), Hippolyte Panhard (Panhard) (33 min 30 sec) and Émile Levassor (Panhard) (55 min 30 sec).^[2][4][9] The winner's average speed was 17 km/h (11 mph).^[11]

Prizes

On Tuesday 24 July Le Petit Journal announced the prizes :^[5]

• First prize, the Prix du Petit Journal for "the competitor whose car comes closest to the ideal" (5,000 francs) was shared equally between Panhard et Levassor and 'Les fils de Peugeot Frères'.
• Second prize, the Prix Marinoni (Owner of Le Petit Journal) (2,000 francs) was awarded to de Dion, Bouton et Cie for their "interesting steam tractor that works like a horse and gives both absolute speed and pulling power up hills".
• Third prize, the Prix Marinoni (1,500 francs) was awarded to Maurice Le Blant for his nine-seater vehicle powered by the 'systeme Serpollet'.
• Fourth prize, the Prix Marinoni (1,000 francs) was shared between two manufacturers, Alfred Vacheron (No. 24) and Le Brun (No. 42).
• Fifth prize, the Prix Marinoni (500 francs) was awarded to Roger (No. 85)

Results for Paris-Rouen

Position overall	Number	Driver / entrant	Make	Power	People	Time overall	Position at Mantes	Time Paris-Mantes circa 50 km	Time Mantes-Rouen circa 80 km
1	4	Jules-Albert, Count de Dion, Bouton	De Dion-Bouton	Steam	4	6 h 48 m 00 s or 5 h 40 m[12]	2	2 h 38 m	4 h 10 m
2	65	Albert Lemaître – 'Les fils de Peugeot Frères'	Peugeot	Petrol (Daimler)	4	6 h 51 m 30 s or 5 h 45 m[12]	1	2 h 36 m	4 h 15 m
3	28	Auguste Doriot – 'Les fils de Peugeot Frères'	Peugeot	Petrol (Daimler)	4	7 h 04 m 30 s or 5 h 50 m[12]	4	2 h 44 m	4 h 20 m
4	13	Hippolyte Panhard – Panhard et Levassor	Panhard et Levassor	Petrol (Daimler)	4	7 h 21 m 30 s or 6 h 3 m[12]	5	2 h 48 m	4 h 33 m
5 or 7[12]	15	Émile Levassor – Panhard et Levassor	Panhard et Levassor	Petrol (Daimler)	2	7 h 43 m 30 s or 6 h 30 m[12]	3	2 h 43 m	5 h 0 m
6 or 5[12]	31	Émile Kraeutler – 'Les fils de Peugeot Frères'	Peugeot	Petrol (Daimler)	4	7 h 46 m 30 s or 6 h 7 m[12]	10	3 h 9 m	4 h 37 m
7 or 8[12]	64	Émile Mayade	Panhard et Levassor	Petrol (Daimler)	4	8 h 09 m 00 s or 6 h 49 m[12]	6	2 h 50 m	5 h 19 m
8 or 6[12]	42	A. Le Brun	Le Brun	Petrol (Daimler)	4	8 h 12 m 00 s or 6 h 24 m[12]	13	3 h 18 m	4 h 54 m
9 or 10[12]	30	Gratien Michaux – 'Les fils de Peugeot Frères'	Peugeot	Petrol (Daimler)	3	8 h 25 m 00 s or 7 h 2 m[12]	7	2 h 53 m	5 h 32 m
10 or 13[12]	14	"Dubois" – Panhard et Levassor	Panhard et Levassor	Petrol (Daimler)	4	8 h 38 m 00 s or 7 h 10 m[12]	8	2 h 58	5 h 40 m
11 or 12[12]	27	Louis Rigoulot – 'Les fils de Peugeot Frères'	Peugeot Type 5	Petrol (Daimler)	2	8 h 41 m 00 s or 7 h 5 m[12]	12	3 h 16 m	5 h 35 m
12 or 11[12]	24	Alfred Vacheron	Vacheron / Panhard	Petrol (Daimler)	2	8 h 42 m 30 s or 7 h 3 m[12]	11	3 h 9 m	5 h 33 m
13 or 9[12]	53	"De Bourmont"	de Bourmont	Steam[13]	4	8 h 51 m 00 s or 7 h 1 m[12]	15	3 h 21 m	5 h 31 m
14	85	Émile Roger	Benz	Petrol (Benz)		10 h 01 m 00 s or 8 h 9 m[12]	16	3 h 22 m	6 h 39 m
15	60	Maurice Le Blant	Serpollet	Steam	8	10 h 43 m 00 s or 8 h 50 m[12]	17	3 h 23 m	7 h 20 m
16	7	Pierre Gautier	Gautier–Wehrlé	Steam	4	12 h 24 m 30 s	19	4 h 17 m	8 h 7 m
17	18	Ernest Archdeacon	Serpollet	Steam	6	13 h 00 m 00 s	14	3 h 20 m	9 h 40 m
Stopped	44	"De Prandiéres"	Serpollet	Steam	4	Nanterre – broken wheel[12]		retired	out
Stopped	19	Étienne le Blant	Serpollet	Steam	10	Motor	20	4 h 39 m	retired
Stopped	10	"J. Scotte"	Scotte	Steam	8	Motor	9	3 h 8 m	retired
Stopped	61	Roger de Montais	De Montais	Steam[5]	2	Motor	18	4 h 0 m	retired

Table sources.^{[4][12][13][5][14][15]}

List of entrants

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Result	No.	Entrant manufacturer	City	Seats	Engine type
No show	1	Rousselet	Paris	4	gravity
No show	2	Edouard Pellorce	Neuilly-sur-Seine		petrol
Did not qualify	3	De Dion-Bouton et Co	Puteaux	4	steam
Started	4	De Dion-Bouton et Co	Puteaux	6	steam
No show	5	Le Maitre	Paris	4	steam
No show	6	Roussat	Paris	4	hydraulic
Started	7	Gautier P	Paris	4	steam
No show	8	Hidien	Châteauroux	4	steam
No show	9	Victor Popp	Paris	4	air compressor
Started	10	Scott J	Épernay	8	steam
No show	11	Klaus Th	Lyon	4	petrol
Did not qualify	12	Tenting	Paris	4	petrol
Started	13	Panhard & Levassor	Paris	4	petrol
Started	14	Panhard & Levassor	Paris	4	petrol
Started	15	Panhard & Levassor	Paris	4	petrol
No show	16	Quantio	Roubaix	6	petrol
No show	17	Rodier, Roche et Sabatier	Bagnols-sur-Cèze		petrol
Started	18	Archdeacon M E (or Serpollet)	Paris	7	petrol (or steam)
Started	19	Le Blant	Paris	10	steam
No show	20	Paraire G	Château-Thierry		steam
No show	21	Letar Alexandre	Paris	4	steam
No show	22	Gaillardet	Petit Gennevilliers	4	steam
No show	23	Varennes	Paris	3	steam
Started	24	Vacheron Alfred	Monthermé	2	petrol
No show	25	Coquatrix	Paris	4	steam
No show	26	Leval	Paris	4	baricycle?
Started	27	Peugeot Fils et frères	Valentigney	4	petrol
Started	28	Peugeot Fils et frères	Valentigney	4	petrol
Did not qualify	29	Peugeot Fils et frères	Valentigney	4	petrol
Started	30	Peugeot Fils et frères	Valentigney	4	petrol
Started	31	Peugeot Fils et frères	Valentigney	4	petrol
No show	32	Darras L	Bruay	tricycle	steam
No show	33	Geoffroy M P			steam
No show	34	Geoffroy M P			steam
No show	35	Geoffroy M P			steam
No show	36	Gillot Jules	Maubeuge	4	petrol
No show	37	Loubiere Albert	La Ferté-sous-Jouarre	6	gravity
No show	38	Duchemin A	Paris	4
No show	39	Ponsot	Paris	4	Oil?
No show	40	Lemoigne Louis	Fougères	4	gravity
No show	41	Bargogli	Paris	4	petrol
Started	42	Le Brun A	Rouen	4	petrol
No show	43	Spanoghe	Antwerp, Belgium	6	steam
Started	44	de Prandieres M	Lyon	6	Serpollet steam
No show	45	Cornequet	Paris