French automobile designers

André Lefèbvre (19 August 1894 – 4 May 1964) was a French automobile engineer.
André René Lefèbvre was born in Louvres, France (North of Paris, Val d'Oise). He began his career as an aviation engineer working for Voisin, then later for Renault and Citroën. He was also a racing driver and racing car designer.
After studying at Supaéro, he began to work for Gabriel Voisin in March 1916. Voisin placed Lefebvre in charge of his Laboratoire where he worked, until the end of World War I, on aviation projects and then automobiles. He is particularly noted for creating the Voisin C6 Laboratoire, which was a racing car prepared for the 1923 French Grand Prix.
When Voisin ran into business problems in 1931, Lefèbvre was recommended to Louis Renault. Renault was persuaded to recruit Lefèbvre by François Lehideux, himself a senior executive within the company (who was also married to the daughter of Renault's brother).
Lefèbvre remained with Renault only until 1933, when he was hired by André Citroën to work on the Traction Avant project. After the death of André Citroën in 1935, Lefèbvre continued his work at Citroën, now led by the innovative entrepreneur Pierre-Jules Boulanger, who came to the company from Michelin.

Working with Citroën designers Flaminio Bertoni and Paul Magès, Lefèbvre created four of the most dramatic, boldly designed vehicles of 20th century:

Citroën Traction Avant (1934–1957) – a large family sedan, a favourite of gangsters, the French resistance and the Gestapo, built for 23 years
Citroën 2CV (1948–1990) – a small, advanced, utility sedan, known as "the duck" or "Tin Snail", built for 42 years
Citroën DS (1955–1975) – a radically advanced, large family sedan, seen as shark like, built for 20 years
Citroën HY (1947–1981) – in corrugated steel sheet, practical delivery van, built for 34 yearsThe 1955 Citroën DS placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, behind the Ford Model T and BMC Mini.
Lefèbvre died of hemiplegia on 4 May 1964.

Georges Tradée Bouton (1847–1938) was a French toymaker and engineer who with fellow Frenchman Jules-Albert de Dion founded the De Dion-Bouton company in 1883. The pair first worked together in 1882 to produce a self-propelled steam vehicle. The result gave birth to the company which, at the time, went under the name de Dion.
Bouton was the nominal winner of the 'world's first motor race' on 28 April 1887, when he drove a de Dion-Bouton vehicle 2 kilometers from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne. He was also the only competitor.

Gabriel Voisin (5 February 1880 – 25 December 1973) was a French aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, which was made by Henry Farman on 13 January 1908 near Paris, France. During World War I the company founded by Voisin became a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III. Subsequently, he switched to the design and production of luxury automobiles under the name Avions Voisin.

André-Gustave Citroën (French: [ɑ̃dʁe ɡystav sitʁɔɛn]; 5 February 1878 – 3 July 1935) was a French industrialist and the founder of French automaker Citroën. He is also remembered for his application of double helical gears.