CGV

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Charron, Girardot and Voigt
legal form
founding 1901
resolution 1906
Seat Puteaux , France
management
Branch Automobiles

CGV 15 CV Tonneau; Four-cylinder from 1902
Advertisement by the US importer for CGV automobiles (1906)
Share over 100 francs in Automobiles Charron, Girardot & Voigt SA on February 25, 1902

CGV was the brand of the French manufacturer of automobiles Automobiles Charron, Girardot & Voigt SA from Puteaux , which operated between 1901 and 1906. In 1906 the Automobiles Charron was created.

Fernand Charron , Léonce Girardot and Émile Voigt , all three of whom could look back on a career as cyclist and car racing driver for the Panhard & Levassor brand , began their work as car designers in 1901 with a four-cylinder model with 3300 cc displacement and chain drive - a construction which was very similar to those of her previous employer.

run

Because all three company founders could look back on an active racing career, it made sense to build sporty vehicles and take part in races. In 1902 Girardot took part in the Coupe Gordon Bennett with a 9.9-liter CGV racing car , but had to give up prematurely. In the same year, CGV designed the first eight-cylinder in- line engine for an automobile. The race engine for the season 1903 had a displacement of 7.2 liters and T-head - valve control . The racing car was designed without a manual transmission. After an accident that Girardot suffered while preparing for the Coupe Gordon Bennett in 1905, the brand withdrew from automobile racing.

American CGV

The Smith & Mabley Company in New York was behind the general agency of the brand for the USA and Canada and sold models of various European brands in the USA. Smith & Mabley Manufacturing Company built vehicles from 1902 to 1903 under license as "American CGV" in order to avoid the high import duties .

Between 1903 and 1906, CGV also worked on an armored vehicle that carried a machine gun. It seems that the Imperial Russian Army acquired some copies.

CGV automobiles were equipped with chain drives until 1906. This year the company launched the 14/18 CV, the first, smaller model with a cardan drive . The largest model this year was the 75/90 CV with a large four-cylinder engine of 12.9 liters and chain drive.

British consortium takes over

In 1906 Girardot left the company and headed the small car manufacturer GEM Charron founded Alda in 1912 . A British group of investors took over CGV in 1906 and renamed the company Automobiles Charron Limited in 1907 . Automobiles were produced under this name until 1930.

Blade nose

Like many other vehicles of that time, for example Renault , Charron or Clément-Bayard , the CGV automobiles also had a hood sloping forward, popularly known as a shovel nose. In contrast to these, the water cooler was not installed behind the engine, but sat right at the front of the vehicle in the chassis. Therefore, the starter crank had to be passed through the radiator.

Production numbers

In 1902 76 vehicles were built. In the following year the number rose to 196 copies. In 1905 the company manufactured 265 vehicles.

literature

  • Beverly Rae Kimes (Editor) and Henry Austin Clark Jr.: The Standard Catalog of American Cars. 2nd Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI, USA 1985, ISBN 0-87341-111-0 , pp. 36 and 1311.
  • 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)
  • Hugh G. Conway: Les Grandes Marques: Bugatti. Gründ, Paris 1984, ISBN 2-7000-5175-8 . (French)
  • Griffith Borgeson: Bugatti by Borgeson - The dynamics of mythology. Osprey Publishing, London 1981, ISBN 0-85045-414-X (English)

Web links

Commons : CGV  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e VEA: CGV CHARRON (France) 1901–1930.
  2. ^ Borgeson: Bugatti by Borgeson - The dynamics of mythology. 1981, p. 137.
  3. ^ Borgeson: Bugatti by Borgeson - The dynamics of mythology. 1981, p. 131.
  4. ^ Kimes: The Standard Catalog of American Cars. 1985, p. 1311.
  5. ^ A b c Georgano: The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. 2001.