[2] Jules-Albert de Dion, the engineer of Georges Bouton and his brother-in-law Charles-Armand Trépardoux, founded a workshop in 1882 near Paris.

The first project was the production of steam boilers, then a fairly successful steam-powered tricycle from 1887,[1] which should have already reached a speed of 65 km/h.

"[5] Before its public production in 1897, Jules-Albert de Dion had experimented with a vertical bar contraption that would allow for a greater seat flexibility.

[5] The tricycle with track width of 92 cm was chosen, because according to Dion and Bouton "a bike appeared too fragile for this purpose.

[8] On April 13, 1902, the French racer Georges Osmont set a speed record of 109.1 km/h in Nice with a De Dion-Bouton motor tricycle.