Amilcar
Amilcar was a French brand for motor vehicles . The manufacturers were successively Société Nouvelle pour l'Automobile (SNPA), Société Anonyme Française de l'Automobile (SAFA) and Société Financière Automobile or Société Financière pour l'Automobile (SOFIA). The focus was on small sporty automobiles . The brand was also successful in motorsport .
The different manufacturers
1921: Société Nouvelle pour l'Automobile
Le Zèbre played an important role . This Puteaux company had been producing small cars in large quantities since 1909 . After the founder Jules Salomon switched to Citroën , Le Zèbre lost its importance. Joseph Lamy held a managerial position there. The businessman Émile Akar held shares in Le Zèbre. The racing driver André Morel sold Le Zèbre vehicles. Edmond Moyet worked from 1919 at Salomon for Citroen and was there in the development of the Citroën Type C involved. In his spare time he designed a small vehicle. Morel connected Moyet to Lamy and Akar. They agreed.
Lamy and Akar then founded the company in Saint-Denis in mid-1921 . Émiles brother Jean Akar, Michel Calman-Lévy and others were also involved. Morel as sales manager and Moyet as designer were also part of it. Car dealerships that previously offered Le Zèbre supported the young company. Automobile production began around October 1921. The brand name was Amilcar . This made-up word was put together from the letters of the names Lamy and Akar. The name was registered on July 19, 1921. In October 1921, three vehicles were presented at the Paris Motor Show. Morel in particular pushed participation in car races. On October 23, 1921, he took part in a one-kilometer speed race near Lyon with a flying start and achieved class victory. From November 1921 there was a British sales company with WL Stewart & Co. The first customer vehicles were delivered in late 1921 or early 1922.
The first model Amilcar Type CC was a cycle car at the beginning of the construction period . For vehicles of this special vehicle class, an annual vehicle tax of 100 francs has been in force in France since July 30, 1920 . For the next higher vehicle class Voiturette was due for 280 francs.
In October 1922 the four-seater Amilcar Type C 4 and the sports version Amilcar Type CV were added. The Amilcar Type CS quickly followed the Type CV . The coachbuilder Carrosserie Charles Duval manufactured many of the bodies. In addition, La Phocéenne and Georges Lemaitre have come down to us. In that year 1695 vehicles were built.
In 1923 the sports car Amilcar Type CGS and the Amilcar Type E appeared as mid-range cars. In that year 2529 vehicles were built.
In mid-1924, a larger plant in the same city was acquired and moved into in October. The capital was increased from 3 million to 10 million francs. 800 people were employed at the time. The Amilcar Type G was presented. In that year 3,647 vehicles were built.
In 1925 there were 1,100 employees. Around 1925 Margyl joined as a further coachbuilder under the direction of Marcel Sée and Gilbert Nataf. The Amilcar Type J released the Type E from. At the end of 1925 there were 150 sales outlets in France. Around 15 vehicles were built every day. 3764 vehicles were built that year.
Around 1926 Amilcar bought Margyl and thus had its own body shop. The Amilcar Type CGSS presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1926 replaced the Type CGS . The Amilcar Type C 6 sports car with a six-cylinder engine also appeared . The capital was increased to 13 million francs. 3970 vehicles were built that year.
In early 1927 financial problems began. The raw material prices rose sharply. Liquidation followed in March 1927 .
1927: Société Anonyme Française de l'Automobile
Marcel Sée had already been employed by Akar in 1921. He invested his own assets as well as those of investors, took over the remains of the old company and founded the new one in 1927. He directed it. Akar and Lamy were eliminated. Six million francs are named as capital. The Amilcar Type L was presented as the successor to the Type G at the Paris Motor Show.
In May 1928 the capital was increased to 10 million. The Amilcar Type M , which replaced the Type L , was presented at the Paris Motor Show . At the end of 1928 there were negotiations with Durant Motors . Amilcar was supposed to sell vehicles with eight-cylinder engines in the USA. The Amilcar Type C 8 was presented as a prototype in October.
Negotiations continued in 1929. Sée stayed in the USA for seven weeks. Ultimately, there was no deal. The global economic crisis had its part in the failure. Amilcar suffered from the investments that had already been made in the eight-cylinder engine. In October, the Amilcar Type M 2 was presented as the successor to the Type M at the Paris Motor Show. In addition, the Type C 8 and the more powerful Amilcar Type CS 8 went into production. At the end of 1929, Pierre Delage was hired as a director, but he returned to Delage a year later .
In 1930 the bad times continued. The type M 2 sold poorly. New models were not presented that year.
At the Paris Motor Show in October 1931, the Amilcar Type M 3 was presented as the successor to the Type M 2 .
In 1932 Moyet again developed a small car. The Amilcar Type C , also known as the 5 CV , was presented in Paris in October 1932. For this year 10 million capital are named, which corresponds to the level of 1928.
1933 sparked Amilcar Type C 3 to C print from. In October the Amilcar Type M 4 was presented as a supplement to the Type M 3 . At the end of the year the capital fell to 4 million.
In 1934 the Amilcar Type C 5 appeared as the successor to the Type C 3 . Many employees were laid off that year. Production ended in August 1934. Some existing parts were sold, the rest scrapped. The designers Moyet and Chinon switched to Citroën.
1934: Société Financière Automobile
Sée founded a new company at the beginning of 1934. The seat was now in Boulogne . Only a few employees were taken on. This included Maurice Mestivier as sales manager. The factory was smaller and poorly equipped in terms of machinery. That is why many parts were bought in or manufactured by external service providers. In October 1934, some Type M 3 and Type C 5 were presented at the Paris Motor Show, the production of which had already been discontinued, but existing vehicles were sold until 1935. The prototype of the Amilcar Pégase , which differed from the previous models, was also presented.
In the spring of 1935, the Pégase went into series production.
In 1936 a variant of the Pegáse was added.
In 1937 the capital had dropped to one million. Harry Ainsworth, the director of Hotchkiss et Cie's automotive division , and his sales manager Jacobsen became directors. In September 1937 Hotchkiss held the majority of the shares. The Pégase was discontinued because it was in competition with its own models. Hotchkiss, fearing for its good reputation, took over Amilcar in order to be able to market a smaller model with front-wheel drive without risk . In October 1937 the Amilcar Compound was presented at the Paris Motor Show. Jean-Albert Grégoire was the designer.
The production of passenger cars continued until 1939.
Sée left the company on April 10, 1940.
During the Second World War , a few compounds were used as panel vans and ambulances . At the time, Hotchkiss was part of the Générale Française Automobile .
In 1946 the company was dissolved. This resulted in the Société de Fabrication Industrielle Automobile , also abbreviated SOFIA, but which no longer manufactured vehicles. It existed until the late 1980s when it became part of the Thomson Group .
Licensing
Pluto Automobilfabrik from Germany , Grofri and Österreichische Amilcar-Automobil from Austria as well as Amilcar Italiana from Italy manufactured vehicles under license .
vehicles
class | Type | From | To | cylinder |
Bore (mm) |
Stroke (mm) |
Displacement (cm³) |
Power hp |
Wheelbase (mm) |
text | image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cyclecar | Type CC | 1921 | 1925 | 4th | 55 | 95 | 903 | 17th | 2310 | light enough for Cyclecar at first | |
Small car | Type CC | 1921 | 1925 | 4th | 55 | 95 | 903 | 17th | 2310 | later too difficult for Cyclecar | |
Type C 4 | 1922 | 1929 | 4th | 58 | 95 | 1004 | 22nd | 2450 | longer supplement to type CC | ||
Type C | 1932 | 1933 | 4th | 58 | 80 | 845 | 19th | 2150 | new small car | ||
Type C 3 | 1933 | 1934 | 4th | 59 | 80 | 875 | 21st | 2250 | Successor to the Type C | ||
Type C 5 | 1934 | 1934 | 4th | 59 | 85 | 930 | 22nd | 2370 | Successor to the Type C 3 | ||
Lower middle class | Type G | 1924 | 1927 | 4th | 60 | 95 | 1074 | 28 | 2600 | first model of this size | |
Type L | 1927 | 1928 | 4th | 60 | 105 | 1188 | 28 | 2650 | Successor to the Type G | ||
Type M | 1928 | 1929 | 4th | 60 | 110 | 1244 | 26th | 2650 | Successor to the Type L | ||
Type M 2 | 1929 | 1931 | 4th | 60 | 110 | 1244 | 25-30 | 2650 | Successor to the Type M | ||
Type M 3 | 1931 | 1934 | 4th | 60 | 110 | 1244 | 27 | 2675 | Successor to the Type M 2 | ||
Type M 4 | 1933 | 1934 | 4th | 72 | 100 | 1629 | 37 | 2675 | stronger addition to type M 3 | ||
Compound | 1937 | 1942 | 4 4 4 |
60 63 67 |
110 95 95 |
1244 1185 1340 |
27 33 45 |
2500-2650 2500-2650 2500-2650 |
Successor to Type M 3 | ||
Middle class | Type E | 1922 | 1925 | 4 4 |
65 67 |
112 112 |
1487 1579 |
42 46 |
2970 2970 |
first large model | |
Type J | 1925 | 1928 | 4th | 73 | 112 | 1875 | 46 | 3000 | Successor to the Type E | ||
Type C 8 | 1928 | 1930 | 8 8 |
62 63 |
75 80 |
1811 1995 |
? 63 |
2920-3000 3000 |
Successor to the Type J | ||
Type CS 8 | 1929 | 1933 | 8th | 66 | 85 | 2326 | 60-65 | 3000 | Successor to the Type J | ||
Pégase | 1934 | 1937 | 4 4 4 |
80 80 89 |
100 107 100 |
2011 2151 2488 |
50 58 75 |
3000 3000 3000 |
Successor to the Type CS 8 | ||
Sports car | Type CV | 1922 | 1923 | 4th | 57 | 95 | 970 | 18th | 2310 | Sports car based on the Type CC | |
Type CS | 1923 | 1925 | 4th | 58 | 95 | 1004 | 23-25 | 2310 | Successor to the Type CV | ||
Type CGS | 1923 | 1926 | 4th | 60 | 95 | 1074 | 33 | 2425 | even sportier than Type CS | ||
Type CGSS | 1926 | 1929 | 4 4 |
60 60 |
95 110 |
1074 1244 |
33 ? |
2323 2323 |
Successor to the Type CGS | ||
Type C 6 | 1926 | 1930 | 6th | 56 | 74 | 1094 | 62 | 2195 | Sports car based on the type CO, often used by customers for races | ||
race car | Type CO | 1925 | 1927 | 6 6 6 |
55 56 57 |
77 74 83 |
1098 1094 1271 |
90 105-107 ? |
2160-2235 2160-2235 2160-2235 |
Racing cars for factory drivers | |
Type MCO | 1928 | 1928 | 6 6 |
56 57 |
74 83 |
1094 1271 |
? ? |
2130 2130 |
Successor to the Type CO |
Motorsport
In 1922 Amilcar won the title in the cycle cars class ahead of Salmson . As a result, a rivalry arose between these two brands.
Maurice Boutmy and Jérôme Marcadanti took part in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1923 .
At the 1924 24 Hours of Le Mans , both the team Boutmy / Marcadanti participated as well as the factory drivers and Morel Marius Mestivier part.
The first time it took part in a race outside France was in the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race in 1925 . During 1925 24 Hours of Le Mans accident Marius Mestivier fatal. The Amilcar Type CO was the first pure racing car from Amilcar.
Marcel Lefebvre-Despeaux won the Monte Carlo Rally in a modified Type G in early 1927 .
In 1928 Morel and Charles Martin set several world records. That year the Amilcar Type MCO replaced the Type CO .
Jules Moriceau participated in the Indianapolis 500 in 1929 .
literature
- Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 (English, French).
Web links
- Automanie.net (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , chapter Amilcar.
- ↑ George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 1: A-F . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 54-55 (English).
- ^ Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 12 (English).
- ^ Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 13 (English).
- ^ Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 18 (English).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 21 (English).
- ^ Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 19 (English).
- ^ Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 20 (English).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 22 (English).
- ^ Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 23 (English).
- ^ A b Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 25 (English).
- ^ Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 26 (English).
- ↑ a b c d e f Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 27 (English).
- ^ Gilles Fournier, David Burgess-Wise: Amilcar . English edition. Dalton Watson, Deerfield 1994, ISBN 1-85443-218-4 , pp. 14 (English).