The first engines used ignition by burners, which consisted in rubbing a platinum blade heated to red by a burner.
Levassor worked on the development of the first PANHARD automobile as early as 1890 and it was after tests that lasted about 18 months and the development of an incandescent ignition system for the PANHARD engine manufactured under license from Daimler that they decided to launch for the first time in the world a series of thirty real cars, the first six of which were delivered in 1891.
The spark plug takes its name from the ignition system of the old engines, where a glowing wick caused the mixture to burn, reminiscent of spark plugs.
Four-horsepower Panhard-Levassor car that won the Paris-Bordeaux race, driven by Mr. Levassor, 1895
Photo credit: Benoit Charette