FRENCH V8 ENGINES

French V8 engines

Prototype V8 engine for the Peugeot 802

The French De Dion-Bouton motorcar firm was first to produce a V8 engine for sale in 1910. Later examples came from Citroën, with the never produced 1934 22CV Traction Avant, and Simca. The "PRV" (Peugeot, Renault, Volvo) V6 was actually supposed to be a V8, but two cylinders were "dropped" because of the oil crisis of the 1970s. Gordini also developed a 3 L V8 for the Alpine A310, but a Renault 4-cylinder block was mounted instead because of cost issues.