Antoinette was a short-live (1903-1912) French manufacturer of light gasoline engines which were quite advanced for that period. Antoinette also became a builder of distinctively graceful, record-breaking monoplane aircraft flown by Hubert Latham (1883-1911) and Rene Labouchere. The company, led by Leon Levavasseur (1863-1922) and based in Puteaux, also displayed a car with a 32hp V8 engine and hydraulic clutches, instead of a gearbox and differential, at the 1906 Paris Salon de l'Automobile. The following year, a 4 cylinder 16hp engine and then a 30hp V-8 engine were also made available to sportsmen by Antoinette. The last and most powerful Antoinette engine was a V-16 developing 100 horsepower. It was mounted on an Antoinette VII monoplane in 1910 in order to compete in the Gordon-Bennett Cup. Lastly, Antoinette engines were also installed in fast boats built for racing purposes.