Production chronology1899
Sourced production or model lifecycle range used by the main catalog timeline.
curated ↗1 year
← Dalifol & Thomas
Dalifol & Thomas / Model record
Dalifol & ThomasL'Abeille 3 CV
Production1899
Recorded originFrance
ClassPioneer voiturette and motor tricycle
Power3 hp
The best-documented Dalifol & Thomas automobile, named L'Abeille (The Bee). It was an open two-seater with a rear-mounted horizontal water-cooled 3-CV engine, electric ignition, friction clutch, two forward speeds and tiller steering. A surviving Jules Beau-era photograph records it at the Paris Salon du Cycle et de l'Automobile in December 1899. It is not backdated to the earlier twin-De Dion voiturette, and the similar Abeille name later used for a Dalifol motorboat is outside the automobile catalog.
Chronology ledger
Dates with their meaning intact
Record depth — Documented
How this is measured → This record contains useful sourced evidence, but it does not yet meet the reference-ready standard. Still needed: attributed imagery. Fields we cannot source stay empty rather than guessed.
Research notes
A period salon photograph proves the vehicle existed, but no exact production quantity, chassis ledger, delivery list or survivor census is known.