Breguet Aviation - Automobile Production

Automobile Production

Before 1914, in addition to producing aircraft, the firm produced a few six cylinder engined cars.

During the Second World War the company produced an electric car powered by batteries and propelled by an "off-the shelf" motor from Paris-Rhône. The motor was capable of producing two different levels of output. "First gear" and "Reverse gear" were provided with 36 volts, while "Second gear" equated to 72 volts. An advertisement for the car in 1941 claimed a range of 100 km (62 mi) between charges without mentioning that this range was only available where adhering to steady cruising speed of 20 km/h (12 mph). Cruising at a steady 40 km/h (25 mph) would, on the same basis, have given a range of 65 km (40 mi).

The car had a modern looking all enveloping two seater body with a relatively long tapered tail which contained the motor and some of the batteries. It had four wheels but the rear axle, which delivered power to the road, was relatively narrow. The car was actively marketed during 1941 which was a period of price instability. In August 1941 the Breguet electric car was priced at 56,000 francs: during the same month the Citroën Light bodied 11 (still listed, despite production by now being down to a trickle or suspended) was priced at 35,630 francs.

The Breguet electric car was produced not at the firm's principal plant at Toulouse but at a smaller plant at Anglet (between Biarritz and Bayonne).

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