1909 Bobrie Torpille

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 2024

Here’s a relative unknown. Leonce Bobrie was a mechanic who worked for Barre before building his “Torpille” between 1907 and 1909. The car is actually longer-looking than the photo above shows, and it has two left-side doors hinged in the middle. Seating is in tandem, and the car has one central headlight up front.

It’s a cyclecar in spirit, even if it predates the cyclecar craze. It’s thought that about a dozen were built prior to WWI, and this one has remained with the Bobrie family since new. Engines were sourced from Ballot and were four-cylinder units rated at either six or eight horsepower.

Even the Beaulieu encyclopedia doesn’t have an entry for this car. However, they do have an entry for Torpille, a French three-wheeled tandem-seater from 1920. This is the only Bobrie-built car left, and it has an estimate of $32,000-$54,000. Click here for more info.