DARRACQ
Alexandre Darracq, born in Bordeaux in 1855, was more entrepreneur than engineer and is perhaps best known for having created a film star named Genevieve. He made a fortune from sewing machines and bicycles before launching cars designed by others. He was second only to de Dion Bouton in early petrol car sales and by 1905 was largely financed from Britain where he set up a factory which would eventually lead to the London Talbot. This and the French factory merged with Sunbeam and W & G du Cros commercial vehicles in 1919, by when Alexandre was retired, having allegedly never learnt to drive.
From 1906 Darracq made and operated steam buses under Serpollet licence (Leon Serpollet died early in 1907). These were run in London by the Darracq-controlled Metropolitan Steam Omnibus Co which had seven in 1907 and twenty in 1908. It is possible that Beyer, Peacock also had an interest as they had been involved with Serpollet steam trams since 1898. Also involved financially was Glasgow engine and pump manufacturer G&J Weir. The buses and a few lorries had paraffin or coke fired flash boilers with horizontally opposed four-cylinder engines.
