Auguste Doriot and Ludovic Flandrin met while working for Peugeot in the 1890's and they then worked for a few years with Clement-Bayard before setting up their own company in 1906. They made a single cylinder voiturette with shaft drive and transverse rear suspension. These were sold as Doriot-Flandrins until 1908, when Alexandre and Jules-Rene Parant joined them. A new company was formed and this bought out the the former partners and their factory. Larger cars with 4 cylinder Chapuis-Dornier engines of 2.4 and 2.8 litres were introduced, and the singles were continued at least until 1910.
A smaller four, the 1592cc 10/12hp, was introduced in 1910. It had a side valve monobloc engine, also by Chapuis-Dornier, thermo-syphon cooling and a 3 speed gearbox. There was also a less successful 3617cc 25/30hp 6 cylinder car in 1911. In 1912 D.F.P. started making their own engines, the best known being the 2 litre 12/15 with pressure lubrication, 3 bearing crankshaft and a 4 speed gearbox. It was an ideal engine for tuning, and the best known firm to do this was the London partnership of the brothers H.M.and W.O.Bentley. W.O.fitted pistons made of an an alloy of 88 per cent aluminium and 12 per cent copper, and took several records at Brooklands. He persuaded the makers to fit aluminium pistons on a production car which appeared in 1914 as the 12/40hp, and was distinguished from the 12/15hp by a vee radiator. it also had electric lighting and starting. Few of these were sold because of the outbreak of World War 1.
D.F.P. never regained it's prewar success in the 1920's. It has been suggested that when W.O.Bentley became a car manufacturer in his own right D.F.P. lost their best export market, although they were represented in Britain by another company, B.S.Marshall Ltd. It is more likely that the cars were uncompetitive in the postwar market, which was not helped by the adoption of proprietary engines by Altos and Sergant. These were side valve units of 1994 and 1843cc, and the cars were strictly touring style, with rather heavy saloon or tourer bodies. In 1922 the Sergant engined 10/12 adopted an American style of central gearchange and coil ignition, although they reverted to a magneto for 1923. Front wheel brakes arrived in 1922, and in 1923d.F.P. started making their own engines again, on the 1994cc ohv 13/50. This had the same dimensions as the Altos engine, and was possibly a conversion by D.F.P. of the side valve Altos unit. Also in 1923 the comany entered the light car field with the D.F.Petite, an Amilcar sized car powered by a 1098cc C.I.M.E. engine, with 3 speed gearbox and differential-less back axle. This acquired front wheel brakes in 1925, but a year later all production ended. The factory was bought by the makers of the Lafitte light car.
