Quadricycle

The Quadricycle was an early form of automobile. Earliest models were propelled by a small steam engine, then designers switched to early internal combustion engines as they became available. The word is derived from the fact that it had four wheels and used a lot of technology from the bicycles of the era.

• 1884 De Dion Bouton "La Marquise" Quadricycle^[1] (Steam runabout)
• 1884 De Dion Bouton Victoria Quadricycle^[1]
• 1889 Daimler Quadricycle^[2]
• 1901 Peugeot Type 2, a direct descendant of the Daimler Quadricycle, and the first automobile of the Peugeot company
• Peugeot Type 3 Quadricycle^[3]
• Le Rudge Quadricycle Tandem^[4]
• 1896 Ford Quadricycle, Henry Ford's first automobile design^[5]
• 1899 Orient Quadricycle (aka Orient Autogo)^[6]
• 1900 De Dion Bouton Quadricycle^[7]
• 1901 Truffault Quadricycle^[8]

This article is about small motorized four wheeled vehicles. For small four wheeled vehicles with pedals, see quadracycle.

Quadricycle, with an i, was a popular term for human or motorized four wheel bike-like vehicles around the turn of the 19th to 20th century

Additional motorized four-wheelers:

• Duryea Motor Wagon
• Benz Velo

Quadricycle, quadracycle, quadcycle, quadrocycle and quad all refer to vehicles with four wheels. More specifically these terms may refer to:

• All-terrain vehicle, also known as quad or quad bike
• Motorized quadcycle, a motorcycle with four wheels
• Automobile, the first experimental steam automobiles were termed steam quadricycles
• Low-speed vehicle, referred to in some countries as a quadricycle
• Quadricycle, European classifications for light four-wheeled motorized vehicles: light quadricycles, category L6e, and (heavy) quadricycles, category L7e

In 21st century France, a quadricycle is a 4-wheel car that cannot go faster than 45 km/h (28 mph), weighs less than 425 kg (937 lb), and has a maximum power of 4 kW (5.4 hp).^[9][10] (Comparable to the low-speed vehicle class in the United States.)

• Quadracycle, a four-wheeled style of cycle
• Velomobile, an enclosed human-powered vehicle

See also

• Cyclecar
• Horse and buggy
• Horseless carriage/Brass Era car
• List of motorized trikes
• Safety bicycle
• Steam locomotive
• Tricycle
• Unicycle
• Wagon
• List of land vehicles types by number of wheels

References

1. 1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trepardoux Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout Archived May 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
2. Page 56 on The Automotive Manufacturer, Volume 54 Trade News Publishing Co., 1912 at books.google.com, accessed 8 May 2018
3. Quadricycle Peugeot Type 3 at arts-et-metiers.net, accessed 8 May 2018
4. 1890s Tandem Quadricycle at oldbike.eu, accessed 8 May 2018
5. Brinkley, David, Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress, (New York: Penguin Group, 2003), p.22
6. 1899 Orient Autogo: Is it a bicycle? A motorcycle? An automobile? at thefinishingtouchinc.com, accessed 8 May 2018
7. De Dion Bouton 1900 at classicdriver.com, accessed 8 May 2018
8. The 1901 Buchet Powered Truffault Quadricycle April 13, 2013 at theoldmotor.com, accessed 8 May 2018
9. "Code de la route - Article R311-1" (in French). Government of France. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2019. Paragraph 4
10. WIRED – France Is Letting 14-Year-Olds Drive This Tiny Electric Car at wired.com, accessed 8 May 2018