This company was founded in 1898 to make bicycles, by Lucien-Marie Vinot-Préfontaine (1858-1915) and Albert Deguingand (1872-1943). The double-barrelled name Vinot-Deguingand was only used early in the company’s history; once the cars became established they were always known simply as Vinots. The first cars, which were sold in England under the name La Silencieuse, had vertical twin engines, with automatic inlet valves, front mounted and driving through belt primary and chain final drive. It had a vertical-gear gate change which was a feature of the marque for many years. By 1903 armoured wood frames and double-chain drive were adopted. In 1905 honeycomb radiators and pressed steel frames on the larger cars, which had grown to 5.8-litres and 30 HP, were introduced.
There was a considerable increase of capital in 1907 when the British Ducros family invested in Vinot as well as in Clément and Gladiator. Two years later Gladiators were made in the Vinot factory and for the next 11 years two identical ranges were sold, even the catalogue prices being the same. Only the 24 HP was peculiar to Vinot; this had shaft drive from 1909, but the largest Vinot/Gladiator retained chain drive until 1911. The year 1912 saw a more modern design, the 1992 cc monobloc four with pressure lubrication. In 1913, the last full year of production, the company made about 650 cars.
The Gladiator name did not survive 1920, and Vinots were made in a new factory at Nanterre, bought by Lucien-Marie Vinot-Préfontaine shortly before his death in 1915. The postwar cars resembled their predecessors of 1914, apart from electric lighting, but the full range was not made after 1920. Only the 15/20 survived, joined by a new 1847 cc 10 CV with pushrod ohv and aluminium pistons in 1921, which was made in declining numbers over the next few years. It received front-wheel brakes in 1924, but two years later the factory was sold to Donnet. Albert Deguingand made cars under his own name from 1927 to 1930.
