Armand

Armand is French automobile company, known for their motorsport prowess and award-winning commercial vehicles. Since 2019, the company is part of the EuroNext Initiative.

History

The family business that preceded the current company was founded in 1810, with a focus on kitchen appliances and eventually bicycles. In 1858, the trademark for the three bars was granted to the company. Morel Armand Gaudin created the company’s first automobile using a steam engine in 1883 and in 1890, the company made their first vehicle with an internal combustion engine based on the work of Janik Weiss and Lasse Grüber.

Armand has done many firsts, such as the first manufacturer to fit rubber tires to a petrol-powered car. In 1896, Morel founded the Armand Société des Automobiles to focus just on automobiles, as well creating the first Armand-only engine, without any design from Weiss-Grüber. As time passed, Armand focused on motor racing, being the pioneers, with one of their cars winning the very first motor race.

During the First World War, Armand turned largely to arms production, becoming a major manufacturer of arms, military vehicles and others.

In 1926, the company introduced a 6-liter 25hp engine powered car called Model Q and while it was successful, the 1930’s Great Depression caused the company to have a major decrease in sales. The soon-to-happen World War II caused the company to almost go under, having only a few thousand sales in several years. Production came to halt during the war.

In 1946, 20 years after Model Q, Armand created three new models of cars, the sub-mini compact Sortie, the sedan Voyage and the luxury sedan Marcher. Several variants of these cars were sold over the years, making Armand return to profitability in record time.

In 1974, the company aimed high and acquired fellow french car maker Croisière, after the latter found itself in financial troubles. This created the ‘Armand-Croisière Groupe’ (or ACG) and both companies continued to operate independently.

After several new versions and revisions of their main cars, they introduced in 1983 the supermini Toujour, which was an instant hit, credited to make the company’s turnaround. Selling over sixty thousand units in France alone and at least one hundred thousand in Europe by the late 1980s, the Toujour continued its popularity with newer versions, and retired the Sortie line-up completely. The sequel for the sedan Voyage was called Solaire and it came in 1987, selling incredibly well.

In 2001, the company re-entered the medium car segment with the Criquet, as well its sedan and Shooting Brake variants with resounding success.

The pursuit of new markets led Armand to reestablish new factories in emerging countries, like China. After many dealings, a Chinese manufacturer decided to purchase 45% of Armand-Croisière Groupe’s share in 2013. In 2017, Embager sold Russell Chalton to the ACG.

Torino Automobili announced in 2019 the purchase of all the shares from the group and the ones owned by a Chinese manufacturer to integrate ACG into Torino, to create the EuroNext Initiative.

Armand was also no stranger to motorsports and during its best years, it also participated in several races and competitions, both as a team and just with vehicles. The company found its success, however, in rallying, winning six times the FIMV World Rally Competition, now known as the FIMV RallyTouring Championship, as well as having another six from its sister company, Croisière. Armand Sport was created to participate in these competitions and eventually took a life of its own.

Armand Sport

Founded in 1981, Armand Sport was originally a Rally only team. WIth exclusive cars, and drivers, the team was able to win the 1985 season of the FIMV World Rally Competition, now known as the FIMV RallyTouring Championship, and continued to snag victories in 1986,1987 and 1990 in several different Rally Groups and Categories.

After being successful with Rallying, the team moved over to Endurance Racing, then regular racing. After winning the 1992 Season of the FIMV 24H GrinVits and the FIMV World Championship, Armand Sport established itself as a brand name without any difficulty. In 1994, the company entered Formula A with engines for Woking and but soon left after internal pressures from several executives from the company, causing a lot of self-sabotaging to Woking and eventually other teams. Armand left Formula A in 2000 and has never supplied any other teams with engines since.

Naturally, the name Armand Sport meant a lot of motorsports so Armand capitalized on it by making exclusive factory-tuned versions of their cars to the general public.

Featured Vehicles In Project Redline

Regular

Criquet (2025)

Armand created the Criquet in 1985, for a more premium segment of hatchbacks and for many years, the vehicle was a symbol of said market. The sixth generation launched in 2021 and continues the tradition of being the premium hatchback of the company, for those that like a meaner and more sporty vehicle. In 2025, it received a refresh to fix some of visual design issues, as well making it sportier.

The Criquet is a medium hatchback, available in a 5 door configuration, coming with FF layout, with a 1.2L Inline-3 turbocharged engine.

Toujour Sport (2023)

The Toujour hatchback was an incredible new step for Armand. The car sold over one hundred thousand units by the late 1980s and was called “Vehicle of the Year” in 1983. Now in its sixth generation, Armand Sport customized it with a better look, making it unmistakable against the competition. This version also celebrates the Vehicle of the Year in 1983 and also the first Toujour Sport that launched in 1984.

Available in a 5 door hatchback configuration, the Toujour has a FF layout, sporting a 1.2L Inline-3 engine with a turbocharger.