Paul Vallée's Rare French Scooter Legacy

Not Easy to Come By - Whether we realize it or not, in reality, that the presence of the scooter that begun in the early 20th century has given its own color and style to the automotive world. How not, a type of vehicle that initially only has a very simple construction, which is a board, two wheels, and a handlebar in such a way then can develop into a vehicle with various shapes (while maintaining its basic characteristics) and made by many manufacturers around the world. For example, look at how's unique the scooter below...

The 1954 Paul Vallée's SICRAF BO 54 175 cc 'Grand Luxe' scooter. (Picture from: CyberMotorcycle)

This unique scooter was made by a French company named SICRAF in 1954. The company founded by a Frenchmen named Paul Vallée in 1949. Paul Vallée was a wealthy industrialist with a complex and interesting personality. He could anticipate novel ideas before others, yet sometimes he did not carry them through in practical ways. Known, he ran a successful transport business, married into wealth, and opened a mechanical shop called SICRAF (Société Industrielle de Constructions et de Réparation des Automobiles Francaises). 

The 1949 Paul Vallée's SICRAF S 149 scooter. (Picture from: CyberMotorcycle)

Besides that, he founded and ran a successful Grand Prix team named the Écurie France, which fielded the magnificent Talbot-Lago T26 racing cars driven by legendary drivers like Louis Chiron. However, he regarded the Grand Prix team not as an end in itself, but as a way of promoting his other businesses, scooters included. That's proved shortly then he's left and abandoned his racing team and gets more seriously involved in his business.

The 1954 Paul Vallée's SICRAF BO 54 125 cc 'Grand Tourisme' scooter. (Picture from: Gramho)

The company produced commercial three-wheeled vehicles, light motorcycles, microcars, and two-stroke-engined scooters by using 125cc and 175cc engines from Aubier-Dunne and Ydral. And the company's early scooters have similarity styled with the early Lambretta, but there was apparently no contract related to the Italian company.

The 1954 Paul Vallée's SICRAF BO 54 125 cc 'Grand Tourisme' scooter. (Picture from: Gramho)

Sales brochure of Paul Vallée Triporteur.  
(Picture from:  PickClick.fr)

The company's first scooter was the P.Vallée S 149 appeared at the 1949 Paris Salon de l'Auto fitted with a 125cc Aubier-Dunne 3-speed engine and bore a resemblance to the first Lambretta 124M (A) scooter.

While the next version presented at the 1952 Salon de l'Auto had a 4-speed Ydral 125, and the following year the P.Vallée BO 54 model appeared in the 'Grand Tourisme' and 'Grand Luxe' versions with 125 or 175cc engines. Later the scooters were made in a different style with two-tone paint.

The company-made S 149 scooter then evolved into a three-wheeled utility vehicle and about 5,000 examples ever made at the time. At the 1952 Salon de l'Auto, besides shows off the S 149 scooter,  the company also showed off the Chantecler, a very cute microcar. Unfortunately, it did not enter production lines until 1956, and only around 200 units were ever produced.

The 1956 Paul Vallée Chantecler microcar. (Picture from: RMSothebys)

But his business journey did not go smoothly. The scooter's relative failure in the market was far from devastating loss to Monseigneur Vallée. He simply shrugged and moved on, buying into ownership of a large Rolls-Royce and Ferrari dealership. But who can avoid death? On April 3, 1957, Paul Vallée unexpectedly died. Left everything behind and once again sad-ending happened.😢

Kept spur your adrenaline on the power of the two-wheeled monster and stay alive with true safety riding. May God will forgive Your sins and so does the cops...... *** [EKA [24112019] | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CYBERMOTORCYCLE | GRAMHO | RM SOTHEBYS | GOOGLE SEARCH ]

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