A starting device for an internal combustion engine, especially that of a motor vehicle, comprises: a stator, or inductor, comprising an inductor coil (5), said inductor coil comprising at least first (43), second (41) and third (42) windings that are all electrically connected in parallel; a rotor associated with said stator and having a longitudinal axis; a starter element that can be rotated by the rotor; and a contractor designed to supply power, in a prerotation first phase, only to the first winding (43) of the inductor coil and, in a full-speed second phase, following the first phase, to the first, second and third windings (41, 42) of the inductor coil.