In 1873 Amédée Bollée, a bell founder by trade, built the first steam-powered mechanically propelled vehicle capable of transporting twelve passengers, a conductor and a driver. Baptised L’Obéissante (The Obedient) due to its very smooth steering, it was subsequently presented as the first high-speed automobile. With its tubular boiler, chain drive and two two-cylinder V-engines, it could maintain a speed of 30 km/h, reach 40 km/h and mount 12% gradients.
On October 9, 1875, at the wheel of his creation, Amédée Bollée covered the 230 kilometers from Le Mans to Paris in 18 hours, including stops for water and meals. When he arrived in the capital, despite his triumphal welcome, the Paris constabulary booked Bollée some seventy-five times, but he was never prosecuted.
With this first success, Léon created his own company in Le Mans and named it after himself. After Léon Bollée’s death in 1913, his widow Carlotta Bollée (née Messinisi) continued the production of automobiles and weapons.
The brand was finally bought out in 1922 by the English firm Morris. It became “Morris-Léon Bollée”, based in Le Mans. Production began in 1925 with vehicles equipped with Hotchkiss engines. The factory closed permanently in 1931.
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