{{Short description|Defunct Swiss automobile manufacturer}} {{For|the video game|Pic Pic}} {{More citations needed|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox company | name = Piccard-Pictet | logo = | logo_size = 125px | industry = Automotive | founder = Lucien Pictet (1864 -1928); Paul Piccard (1844–1929) | products = Cars , trucks | fate = | predecessor = Société d’Automobiles à Genève (SAG) | successor = Ateliers des Charmilles SA. | founded = {{Start date and age|1910}} | defunct = {{End date and age|1920}} | location = Geneva }}
thumb|1911 Piccard-Pictet Type 18 thumb|1919 Piccard-Pictet advertisement thumb|Share of the SA des Ateliers Piccard, Pictet & Cie, issued March 1917 thumb|Pic-Pic racing car (1914) '''Pic-Pic''' was a Swiss automobile manufactured in Geneva from 1906 to 1924. They were produced by the Piccard-Pictet Company (whence its name derives) until 1920, and by Gnome et Rhône from 1920 until the demise of the marque in 1924.
== History == Founded in 1906, Pic-Pic originated as the automotive branch of the Geneva engineering firm Ateliers Piccard-Pictet & Cie. The vehicles were designed by Léon Dufour and gained an early reputation for precision engineering, often being referred to as the "Rolls-Royce of Switzerland."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brühwiler |first1=Dominik |title=Pic-Pic: The Swiss Luxury Automobile |url=https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/030116/2011-10-18/ |website=Historical Dictionary of Switzerland |language=fr |access-date=December 28, 2025}}</ref> In 1913, the Geneva icon Pic-Pic, with 332 units, was the best-selling car of the year in Switzerland. <ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.journal21.ch/artikel/pic-pic-eine-genfer-auto-ikone |title= 332 Pic-Pic sold in 1913|date=2014-03-11|publisher= André Pfenninger |access-date=2026-02-13}}</ref> In 1917, 428 vehicles of the Pic-Pic brand were registered in Switzerland. <ref>{{cite web|url= https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=aaz&datum=19180728&query=%22Piccard-Pictet%22&ref=anno-search&seite=35 |title= 428 Pic-Pic in Switzerland|date=1918-07-28|publisher= Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung|access-date=2026-02-14}}</ref>
The brand's prominence peaked during World War I when the Swiss Army adopted Pic-Pic as its standard staff car. These vehicles were prized for their ability to navigate alpine terrain, with several units remaining in military service until the late 1930s.<ref name="PreWar">{{cite web |title=The survivors of Picard-Pictet |url=https://www.prewarcar.com/cars/picard-pictet |website=PreWarCar |access-date=December 28, 2025}}</ref> Although the Federal Council of Switzerland banned the production of weapons for foreign countries at the start of the war, the car manufacturer Piccard-Pictet & Cie. became a munitions manufacturer during the First World War. This resulted from the Swiss economy, which was paralyzed in the first months of the war. The borders were strictly guarded, and the economy lacked raw materials. With armaments production, Pic-Pic was also able to make profits again. Due to the shortage of labor, the Federal Council even relaxed the factory law: working hours could be extended to over eleven hours per day. <ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.landesmuseum.ch/landesmuseum/ihr-besuch/schulen/2015/arbeit.-fotografien-1860-2015.pdf|title= Pic-Pic at WWI p.15|date=2015-01-01|publisher= Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum |access-date=2026-02-13}}</ref> However, the post-war era brought financial instability. A combination of a sharp economic downturn in 1920 and a major labor strike at the Geneva plant led to the company's insolvency.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Georgano |first1=Nick |title=The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile |date=2000 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers |isbn=978-1579582937 |location=Chicago}}</ref> In 1925, 642 vehicles of the Pic-Pic brand were registered in Switzerland. <ref>{{cite web|url= https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=wst&datum=19260728&query=%22pic-pic%22&ref=anno-search&seite=6 |title= 642 Pic-Pic in 1925 in Switzerland|date=1926-07-28|publisher= (Wiener) Sporttagblatt |access-date=2026-02-14}}</ref>
Following bankruptcy in 1920, the brand was acquired by the Gnome et Rhône engine company. Production continued on a limited basis until 1924, when the final models were exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show.<ref>{{cite web |title=La Pic-Pic: Swiss elegance meets speed |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNrNNDcKfMY |website=YouTube |publisher=Pictet Group |access-date=December 28, 2025 |date=August 29, 2023}}</ref> In modern times, the Pic-Pic is a rare collector's item; as of 2025, only eight authentic examples are confirmed to exist worldwide.<ref name="PreWar" />
== Models == {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Model !cylinders !bore (mm) !stroke (mm) !displacement (cc) !horsepower !wheelbase (mm) !Body Style |- |1910 |14/16 |4 | | | | | | |- |1910 |20/24 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k98043305/f66.item.zoom |title= Pic-Pic 20/24|date=1910-01-01|publisher= Omnia : revue pratique de locomotion |access-date=2026-02-13}}</ref> |4 |100 |130 |5309 |36 | | |- |1910 |35/45 |4 | | | | | | |- |1911 |truck 4,65 t <ref>{{cite web|url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9803977b/f16.item.zoom |title= Pic-Pic truck|date=1912-03-10|publisher= La Revue commerciale automobile : revue hebdomadaire : organe de l'acheteur et du vendeur d'automobiles |access-date=2026-02-13}}</ref> |4 |105 |160 |8445 | | | |- |1912 |14 |4 |80 |120 |3619 | |2896 | |- |1912 |18 |4 |90 |130 |4778 | |2896 | |- |1912 |22/30 |4 |100 |140 |6158 | |3048 | |- |1912 |25 |4 |100 |150 |7069 | |3048 | |- |1912 |35/45 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433023000809&seq=29 |title= Pic-Pic 35/45|date=1912-01-01|publisher= The Autocars of 1912, with bonnets and radiators. An alphabetically arranged table of cars on the British market for 1912, with chassis and complete car prices, principal mechanical features, and leading dimensions |access-date=2026-02-13}}</ref> |4 |130 |150 |9189 | |3175 | |- |1913 |16/20 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.dorotheum.com/de/l/6941605/ |title= Pic-Pic 16/20|date=1913-01-01|publisher= Dorotheum|access-date=2026-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.ivvcc.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/IVVCC_AUTUMN_017.pdf |title= Pic-Pic 16/20 here called 15CV p.34 + 35|date=1919-05-01|publisher= ICCC News|access-date=2026-02-14}}</ref> |4 | | |2950 |50 |3124 |Sleeve valve engine design Baillie Peter Burt and James Harry Keighly McCollum |- |1913 |20/30 |4 | | | | | | |- |1913 |30/40 |4 | | | | | | |- |1914 |race car <ref>{{cite web|url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9605386c/f6.item.r=Piccard%20Pictet.zoom |title= Pic-Pic race car|date=1914-07-04|publisher= La Vie au grand air : revue illustrée de tous les sports |access-date=2026-02-14}}</ref> |4 |97 |150 |6857 |~ 130 |2650 | |- |1915 | | | | | | | | |- |1916 | | | | | | | | |- |1917 | | | | | | | | |- |1918 | <ref>{{cite web|url= https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=aaz&datum=19190622&query=%22pic-pic%22&ref=anno-search&seite=30 |title= Pic-Pic|date=1919-06-22|publisher= Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung |access-date=2026-02-14}}</ref> |4 |70 |140 |4310 | | | |- | | <ref>{{cite web|url= https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=aaz&datum=19200801&query=%22pic-pic%22&ref=anno-search&seite=22 |title= Pic-Pic|date=1920-08-01|publisher= Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung |access-date=2026-02-14}}</ref> |4 |90 |170 |8171 | | | |- |1919 |16 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4301305x/f3.item.r=Piccard%20Pictet.zoom |title= Pic-Pic 16|date=1919-12-23|publisher= L'Écho de la montagne : journal de l'arrondissement de Saint-Claude (Jura) |access-date=2026-02-14}}</ref> |4 |85 |130 |4513 | |3230 or 3430 | |- |1919 |28 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bd6t5333505k/f10.item.zoom |title= Pic-Pic 28|date=1919-01-15|publisher= La Pratique automobile vulgarisée / dir. Mortimer-Mégret |access-date=2026-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6632155d/f26.image.r=Piccard%20Pictet?rk=3905598;4 |title= Pic-Pic 28|date=1919-11-01|publisher= Le Moteur et le Chauffeur français : revue de vulgarisation illustrée de l'automobile : paraissant tous les mois / directeur Maurice Chérié |access-date=2026-02-14}}</ref> |8 |85 |130 |9026 | |3550 or 3809 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5322144d/f12.item.zoom |title= Pic-Pic 28 Wheelbase|date=1920-04-01|publisher= La Pratique automobile vulgarisée / dir. Mortimer-Mégret |access-date= 2026-02-13}}</ref> | |}
==Motorsport== Pic-Pics competed in a number of motorsports within their short existence. Two Pic-Pics with 4.5-litre engines and front-wheel brakes competed in the 1914 Grand Prix, but both cars were withdrawn. In hillclimbing events, Pic-Pics competed more successfully. Pic-Pic cars came first in Vosges in 1909, in Bern in 1911, and in Jaunpass in 1912, 1913, and 1914.
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Switzerland Category:Car manufacturers of Switzerland