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PEUGEOT SPORT STORE
FOCUS ON HISTORY
Indianapolis 500-Mile Race (1913)
| The automobile world's three musketeers At the end of 1911, Robert Peugeot decided to mobilise his drawing office, engineers and drivers to prepare the best possible car. Concerned that his drivers would be tempted to leave for the opposition, he offered three-year contracts to Georges Boillot, Jules Goux and Paolo Zuccarelli, all aged 27. |
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| These contracts also promised results-based bonuses: 30,000 Francs for winning a Grand Prix, 10,000 Francs for second place and 5,000 Francs for third. Based in Suresnes, near Paris, these three outstanding drivers – who were nicknamed the 'Charlatans or Quacks' – began work on the 1912 car and engaged in a battle, at a distance, with the 'Wizards', the engineers who worked out of Automobiles Peugeot's headquarters in Beaulieu. |
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Peugeot's golden age in motor sport
| The resulting car was the L76, an exceptional machine thanks notably to the architecture of its engine which featured a single-piece block, light alloy pistons, overhead camshafts and rockerless valves that were inclined to enhance gas flow. The engineers of the day didn't hesitate to state that: "There would be a before and after the L76". In 1913, in a bid to demonstrate the speed of its car, Peugeot decided to cross the Atlantic to contest the Indianapolis 500. It was a race that Peugeot would go on to win three times in total, in 1913, 1916 and 1919. |
| * Jean-Louis Loubet is professor in contemporary history at Evry-Val d’Essonne University near Paris, France, and is director of its history department and history laboratory. He has also written a number of books on the subject of automobile history, including his most recent work, "La Maison Peugeot" which was published by Librairie Académique Perrin in 2009. |
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