De Dietrich

De Dietrich 1897 - 1905
De Dietrich et Compagnie, Luneville, Lorraine, France.

Still in business today, De Dietrich was a French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer from 1896 until 1935, created when railway locomotive manufacturer Société Lorraine des Anciens Etablissments de Dietrich and Cie (known as De Dietrich et Cie, founded in 1684 by Jean de Dietrich)
branched into the manufacture of automobiles. The Franco-Prussian War divided the company's manufacturing capacity, one plant in Niederbronn-les-Bains, Alsace, the other in Lunéville, Lorraine.
In 1896, managing director of the Lunéville plant, Adrien, Baron de Turckheim, bought the rights to a design by Amédée Bollée. This used a front-mounted horizontal twin engine with sliding clutches and belt drive. It had a folding top, three acetylene headlights, and, very unusual for the period, plate glass windshield. While the company started out using engines from Bolée, de Dietrich eventually produced the entire vehicle themselves.

In 1898, de Dietrich debuted the Torpilleur (Torpedo) racer, which featured a four-cylinder engine and independent suspension in front, for the Paris-Amsterdam Trial; Gaudry wrecked en route, but still placed third. The response was substantial, exceeding one million gold francs. The 1899 torpilleur was less successful, despite underslung chassis, a rear-mounted monobloc four, and twin carburettors; poor preparation left none of the works teams able to complete the Tour de France.

The Bolée-inspired design was supplanted by a licence-built Belgian Vivinus voiturette at Niederbronn and a Marseilles-designed Turcat-Méry at Lunéville, following a 1901 deal with that cash-strapped company.

In 1902, de Dietrich hired 21 year old Ettore Bugatti, who produced prize-winning cars in 1899 and 1901, and he designed a overhead valve 24 hp (18 kW) four-cylinder with four-speed transmission to replace the Vivinus. He also created their 30/35 of 1903, before quitting to join Mathis in 1904.

During 1905 relations between Adrien de Turckheim and Eugene de Dietrich worsened. With financial backing from his father, his brother and Tucat-Mery chairman of Henri Estier, de Turckheim formed a new company for the manufacture of the cars built at Luneville. It was called the Society Lorraine des Anciens Etablissements de Dietrich et Compagnie. The cross of Lorraine featured on the badge and the cars werte henceforth called Lorraine-Dietrich.