There are few more respected names amongst pioneers in the infant motor industry than that of Adolphe Clement.

Clement’s engineering and entrepreneurial skills had already been displayed before he grasped the opportunity to enter motor manufacture, establishing Clement et Cie at Levallois-Perret, Seine, in 1899.

The new business was financed by the massively successful cycle manufacturing business which had been the focus of Clement’s earlier attention and, shrewdly, he had also been fortunate to acquire the French patent rights to the new Dunlop pneumatic tyre.

The motor car excited Adolphe Clement and the great City-to-City races at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries constantly stole the headlines in the French newspapers – this was to be the focus of Clement’s future energy.

By 1899 the motor car was through its first faltering steps and reliability was becoming the norm, with such mighty establishments as De Dion Bouton and Panhard-Levassor spearheading its very rapid developm...