Bédélia BD2 MG

The Bedelia came about completely by accident! In 1909, two young Parisian students, Robert Bourbeau and Henri Devaux, had a crash with their motorcycle. The bike was a total write off and, since they had no money for a new one, they decided to build one themselves using their wreck and some spare parts. The result was a cross between an aircraft fuselage and a motorcycle.

In the narrow body two people can sit one behind the other, the passenger in front and the driver behind. The vehicle was not designed for commercial reasons, but it quickly became very popular, so the decision was made to start series production of this remarkable car. This made these two engineers the pioneers of the lightweight and inexpensive cyclecar movement in France. The unconventional car was called Bedelia, after the initial letters of the surnames of the two gentlemen. The Bedelia was more successful than its competitors because the design was so simple and well thought out. Examples of the simple technology used include the steering mechanism, which works with cables wound around a central pulley, and the transmission, which uses chains and belts. To change gear on the first models, the driver had to manually move the drive belt to the other pulley while driving. Later, a grooved pulley was used, giving the car an early form of variable transmission. The engine is an in house designed V twin. The Bedelia also proved very successful in motorsport: many victories were achieved both in France and in England. Production ended shortly after the end of the First World War, but it restarted in 1920 under a new owner. Between 1909 and 1925, around 3000 examples of these very unconventional vehicles were built.