A Brief History of the Marque
Louis Lucien Lepoix (1918-1988) worked with many companies in Germany during the reconstruction, creating such marvels as the FTI BMW, along with projects for Horex (Rebell), Progress, Puch (M125 and SR150), Bastert (Einspurauto) and Walba. Others were the Triumph TWN Contessa, Victoria Nicky and Swing, Kreidler Florett and Steib LS200 sidecar.
The FTI was based on a 750cc air-cooled R12 twin and featured a very stylish full fairing incorporating hand-guards which became standard on many machines decades later.
Some 3000 projects were completed during his 50 years of activity, among them fine automobiles like the 1952 Bugatti Cabriolet.
The Bic cigarette lighter is familiar to most - Lepoix designed it. He is responsible for the design of domestic appliances, radios and television sets, tools, agricultural machinery including tractors, large trucks... the list is long.
Errata. MaicoMobil was not a Lepoix design. He was asked to design a new body for it but this did not enter production. The design of the MB200 has also been attributed to him, but this too appears to be an error.
Sources: lepoix-design.com, thevintagent.com, et al.
If you have a query or information about these vintage French machines please contact us
