Ettore Bugatti, who had previously sold designs to Emile Mathis, Deutz and Isotta-Fraschini, was responsible for the design of the Bébé Peugeot at a time when production of Bugatti cars at the Molsheim works was slowly getting off the ground.

Only five Bugattis were built in 1910, 75 in 1911 and 175 in 1913, so the sale of the T-head, lateral-valve engine generated a useful injection of capital for Bugatti’s operation while providing Peugeot with a power unit that put them at the forefront of French light car design.

The 856cc engine was neat and efficient, and the chassis layout of the new horseshoe-radiatored Bébé featured the reversed, quarter-elliptic leaf spring rear suspension which was to be a feature of Ettore’s later models.

The innovative twin concentric propeller shafts of the early models, meshing with two rows of teeth on the crown wheel, was not a feature to receive universal acclaim or adoption.

This early Bébé was discovered in France in 1984 and brought to the UK f...