Alexandre Darracq

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Gladiator Double Phaeton from 1907, 2 cylinders, 2423 cm³, 12 HP, 45 km / h, Cité de l'Automobile - Musée National - Collection Schlumpf , Mulhouse , France
Darracq Coupé Chaffeur SS 20/28, 1907, 4 cylinder, 28.5 HP, 4728 cm³, 70 km / h, Cité de l'Automobile - Musée National - Collection Schlumpf, Mulhouse, France

Alexandre Darracq (born November 10, 1855 in Bordeaux , † 1931 in Monte Carlo ) was a French entrepreneur who was one of the pioneers of automobile construction .

Live and act

Darracq trained as a technical draftsman. In 1891 he founded the Société Gladiator, his first company with which he produced bicycles , from 1894 the Millet motorcycle . As part of this company, he was already busy building automobiles. After five years he sold the company for a profit to a consortium led by Adolphe Clément .

A little later he founded Automobiles Darracq SA . in Suresnes near Paris. In 1904 he was already producing around 10% of French automobile production.

In 1905 he converted Automobiles Darracq SA (French law) into a company under English law. The name was A. Darracq & Company (1905), Limited.

Darracq vehicles successfully participated in various racing events. The company expanded partly through license production in other European countries. Opel in Germany was one of the partners. In Italy he founded the Società Italiana Automobili Darracq together with Cavaliere Ugo Stella in 1906 , which first manufactured automobiles in Naples and then in Portello near Milan . This company is considered to be the predecessor of the Alfa Romeo company founded in 1910 .

In 1912 Alexandre Darracq sold his French company to a British group of investors. This resulted in the Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq company , which became part of the Rootes Group in 1935 after bankruptcy . He sold his last stake in Alfa Romeo in 1915. He then invested his fortune outside of the automotive industry. So Darracq was temporarily involved in the casino in Deauville . He also held substantial shares in the famous Hotel Negresco in Nice . He spent his twilight years on the French Riviera.

His grave is in Paris on the famous Cimetière du Père Lachaise (Division 2) in the family crypt next to his wife Louise (1850–1920).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Linz / Schrader: The great automobile encyclopedia , BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-405-12974-5 , p. 162.
  2. ↑ knerger.de: The grave of Alexandre Darracq
personal data
SURNAME Darracq, Alexandre
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH November 10, 1855
PLACE OF BIRTH Bordeaux
DATE OF DEATH 1931
Place of death Monte Carlo