Vinot-Deguingand Type BP History

Announced for 1921 as the Type BP 12/25 HP, the car used a 1,847 cc overhead-valve four-cylinder engine producing approximately 30 bhp at 2,000 rpm in standard trim and up to 50 bhp in the tuned form raced at Le Mans. Like the BO before it, the BP combined updated engine technology with a conventional separate gearbox and straight-bevel final drive, and retained the cone clutch — a pragmatic choice that kept costs contained.

The Type BP achieved its greatest notoriety at the inaugural 24 Heures du Mans in May 1923, when brothers Léon and Lucien Molon drove a torpedo-bodied BP to 26th place overall from 33 classified finishers, covering 1,329 km at an average of 55.4 km/h. The entry finished 6th in the under-2.0-litre class — a creditable showing for a small manufacturer in an event dominated by larger-engined machines.

Production of the BP continued until Vinot-Deguingand closed in 1926, when declining sales forced the company to cease operations. The Nanterre factory was acquired by Donnet. Albert Deguingand briefly revived his name on a 961 cc two-stroke light car in 1928, priced at £135 in the UK, but this was an entirely separate venture unconnected to the original firm.