Blériot Whippet

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Blériot Whippet
Blériot-Whippet 8/9 hp (1921)
Blériot-Whippet 8/9 hp (1921)
Blériot Whippet
Production period: 1920-1927
Class : Cyclecar
Body versions : Roadster
Engines: Otto engine :
1.0 liter (10.3 kW)
Length: 2945 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 2057-2210 mm
Empty weight :

The Blériot Whippet was a four-wheeled British cycle car that was manufactured by Air Navigation & Engineering Company Ltd. from 1920 to 1927 . in Addlestone, Surrey .

The most striking detail of this car was the continuously variable belt transmission based on the Zenith-Gradua system . It was originally used on Zenith motorcycles . Was motorized vehicle with an air-cooled 1.0 liter V-2 engine of Black Burne , 14 bhp (10.3 kW) at 2000 min -1 made. The engine was installed transversely (with cylinders one behind the other). It was fitted with roller bearings on the crankshaft by Jones and Marchant. All the wheels were suspended from quarter-elliptical leaf springs.

In 1922 the belt drive was replaced by a three-speed spur gear and chain drive. In 1923, the chain-driven model was replaced by one with a cardan drive, in which the motor was rotated by 90 °.

The two-seater, open superstructures were made of plywood and covered with leather. There were also different sports versions. The cars cost £ 300 when they first appeared and by 1924 the price had dropped to £ 115.

A total of several hundred vehicles were built. One of them also belonged to Alec Issigonis . Today only one surviving specimen is known.

literature

  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .
  • George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 1: A – F. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 . (English)
  • David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975. Veloce Publishing PLC, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 . (English)

Web links

Commons : Blériot-Whippet  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Culshaw: The Complete Catalog of British Cars.
  2. Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .
  3. a b c d Georgano: The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.
  4. ^ A b Michael Worthington-Williams: The Blériot-Whippet . In: The Automobile , May 1996, ISSN  0955-1328
  5. ^ N. Baldwin: AZ of Cars of the 1920s . Bay View Books, Devon 1994, ISBN 1-870979-53-2