The Alcyon was a French automobile, manufactured between 1906 and 1928. The company can trace its origins back to about 1890 when Edmond Gentil started the manufacture of bicycles in Neuilly, Seine. In 1902 this was complemented by motorcycle production and in 1906 the first cars were shown at the Paris Salon.

Voiturettes before the World War I

Two models were shown in 1906, one a two seat light car with single cylinder 950 cc engine and a larger four seat model with 1.4 litre four cylinder engine. Both engines were bought in from Gentil. The cars were advanced models with 3 speed gearboxes and shaft drive. The company moved to Courbevoie, Seine in 1912.

The single cylinder models were dropped in 1912 and larger models of up to 2120 cc were added to the range. Most of the engines were now obtained from Zurcher.

Cyclecars between wars

In 1914 the company's name was changed to Automobiles Alcyon. After the war the first model was a 1994 cc four cylinder model some examples of which were tuned and sold by the Lyons agent as Alycon-GLs and performed quite well in competition. However, the car was not a success and did not sell well and in 1923 Alcyon moved into the production of cyclecars, using 500 cc two-stroke flat-twin engines in a design bought from SIMA-Violet. Later the company manufactured another cyclecar of similar design, thought this one featured a single cylinder engine. This proved a complete flop, and the company failed in 1928.

Edmond Gentil owned a couple of bicycle and motorcycle companies and Alcyon mopeds were sold into the 1960s but he never made cars again.

If you have a Photo of a Alcyon and would like to see it displayed here.
Please send it to us and help contribute to Automotive History Online.

Contact Us      Home      France    Links    Site Updates

Copyright © 2005 - 2007 Randall Glover, All rights reserved.

Much of the material on this website is in the public domain and has no copyright attached to it. Original articles & Photo's appearing herein are subject to copyright. Please don't copy stuff from this site without asking; it may belong to someone! Material on this website is presented solely for historical research and educational purposes only. Any trademarks appearing on this site are the sole property of the registered owners. No endorsement by the trademark owners is to be construed, nor was any sought. The products, brand names, characters, related slogans and indicia are or may be claimed as trademarks of their respective owners. The use of such material falls under the Fair Use provisions of intellectual property laws.