Louis Chevrolet
Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941) was born in the Swiss watchmaking town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, and raised in Beaune in Burgundy. He was destined to become one of the outstanding racing drivers and race car designers of the early 20th century. In 1911, he became co-founder and chief engineer of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in Detroit, but left the company in 1913. He would go on to tune and prep race cars, build luxury vehicles and design aircraft engines. In the course of his eventful life, Louis was also involved, in various capacities, with other automobile manufacturing ventures.
Louis Chevrolet watched the company bearing his name achieve amazing success. Focusing on affordable mobility, the Chevrolet brand would become a household name in the USA and beyond. By the late 1920s, annual sales figures were already overtaking those of arch-rival Ford. Nearly a century later, over 200 million Chevrolet cars and light trucks have been sold worldwide. On the racetracks and with the Corvette sports car, built since 1953, the make’s performance and speed capabilities in competition yet pay tribute to its namesake.
Biographical highlights
| 1878 | Louis Chevrolet is born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland |
| 1886 | The Chevrolet family moves to Beaune, France |
| 1898 | Apprenticeships in several car factories in Paris |
| 1900 | Emigration to North America |
| 1905 | Winning his first race in a Fiat, marriage with Suzanne Treyvoux |
| 1909 | Racing Buicks for GM-founder William Durant makes Louis famous |
| 1911 | Cofounder of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in Detroit |
| 1915-1922 | Finding success building and racing Frontenac race cars |
| 1920 | Gaston Chevrolet, Louis younger brother, wins the 500 miles of Indianapolis in a Monroe-Frontenac |
| 1920-27 | Indianapolis: With his brother Arthur, Louis runs the Chevrolet brothers Manufacturing Company, building cyclinder heads for Ford T-Models and prepping race cars |
| 1928 | Louis establishes the Chevrolet Aircraft Company, aims at designing and building aircraft engines |
| 1934 | Son Charles dies at age 27, leaving his wife Anne and his four and half year old daughter Renée behind |
| 1940 | Last public appearance in Flint, Michigan |
| 1941 | Louis dies at age 62 in his home in Detroit |