Chenard & Walcker

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Chenard, Walcker et Compagnie (1900–1906)
SA of the Anciens Établissements Chenard et Walcker (1906–1946)
legal form SA
founding 1900
resolution 1950
Seat Gennevilliers
management Ernest Chenard, Henry Walcker, Lucien Chenard
Branch Automobile manufacturer

Automobiles Chenard & Walcker issued an obligation of 500 francs on December 19, 1928
Chenard & Walcker, manufactured in 1913, 4-cylinder engine, 3014 cm³, 15 hp
Chenard & Walcker, manufactured in 1913, 4-cylinder engine, 3014 cm³, 15 hp

Chenard & Walcker , occasionally also written Chenard et Walcker or Chenard-Walcker , was a French automobile manufacturer between 1900 and 1946 .

Company history

Ernest Chenard and Henri Walcker founded the company in Asnières in 1900 . In March 1906 it was renamed Societé Anonyme des Anciens Établissements Chenard et Walcker and an additional factory was built in Gennevilliers . After serious financial difficulties, the company was taken over by the Société des Usines Chausson in 1936 . Car production ended in 1946. Delivery vans continued to be produced until 1950, when Peugeot took over the company.

vehicles

The first model was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1901 , with mechanically operated inlet valves instead of poppet valves and a DeDion rear axle with two cardan shafts to drive the rear wheels. The first models were three-wheelers and two- and four-cylinder cars.

In 1909 the model range consisted of five different vehicle types with one, two and four cylinder engines with outputs between 8/9  hp from 945 cm³ up to 30/40 hp from 5881 cm³ displacement.

In the 1920s, the company emphasized the sporty line of its models. The model with a 2-liter four-cylinder in- line engine , introduced in 1921, had an overhead camshaft and diagonal valves that were moved by rocker arms . The cylinder block was made of gray cast iron and was bolted to the light metal crankcase . He was considered solid and easy to turn. At the first Le Mans 24-hour race in 1923 , a 3-liter sports model from this brand from 1922 with drivers André Lagache and René Léonard won the race. They set a world record for 24 hours with an average speed of 92.064 km / h. The second team with Bachmann / Dauvergne also drove a Chenard & Walcker. Unlike the competition vehicles, the touring cars had an unusual braking system : the brake pedal acted on a large-sized transmission brake. The torque reaction was used according to the Hallot principle to act on the front wheel brakes.

As early as in the year of the Le Mans victory in 1923, the company used the advertising effect of the success and presented a 4-liter eight-cylinder sports car of the type X, whose overhead camshaft was driven by a vertical shaft. With this model, André Lagache was able to successfully stand up to the strongest competitors, the 3½-liter Lorraine-Dietrichs and the 3-liter Bentleys and set a new fastest lap time of 111.17 km / h. In 1924 Chenard & Walcker brought out the T3 model with a four-cylinder engine of 1974 cm³, which already produced 38 hp. At the 24-hour race in Spa, the brand won again with a 4-liter eight-cylinder model. Further victories strengthened the brand's reputation for reliability and solidity.

In the mid-1920s, Chenard & Walcker came out with a smaller 1.1-liter four-cylinder OHC engine. The inlet valves were unusually large compared to very small outlet valves. In the lower part of the cylinder wall there were exhaust ports controlled by rotary valves. Surprisingly, this unusual design turned out to be extremely reliable. In contrast, a crankshaft with only two bearings was an extremely economical design. The vehicle is said to have reached a top speed of 150 km / h, which could even be increased to 170 km / h by installing a Roots compressor . With class victories in Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps , San Sebastian and Boulogne, this car gained the reputation of the " invincible Chenard & Walcker ".

From 1928 onwards, Chenard & Walcker no longer took part in competitions at the factory. The technical development soon fell back to the level of the series models of major competitors. During this time, a 16-CV six-cylinder model with a displacement of 2.9 liters with four crankshaft bearings was launched. It was supported by a 14 CV six-cylinder model with a Delahaye engine with overhead valves. In 1927 the automobile manufacturers Delahaye, Unic and Donnet-Zedel founded a consortium together with Chenard & Walcker , which wanted to improve its development and research possibilities by using common units and components and to increase efficiency on the initiative of Charles Weiffenbach . But this initiative led to models that could not convince either technically or with exciting styling and which found little sale on the market. In 1932, the brand broke away from this cooperation, but during the Great Depression it barely survived despite high import duties. Four-cylinder sedans with the designation Aigle and Aiglon held their own against the competition from Citroën , Renault and Peugeot. In 1934 the new Aigle 8 model was presented with a 3.6 liter V8 engine that delivered 84 hp. In 1937, the end came for Chenard & Walcker as an independent brand. Later models were powered by Citroën or Ford V8 engines and supplied parts from large-scale production by other competitors were installed. Also the Vutotal - Cabriolet with a pillar-less windshield not change anything at the sad end of the once-proud brand. A wrong model policy drove the company to ruin.

In the post-war period, few smaller trucks were built before the company limited itself to the production of transmissions and components.

Production numbers

The following table gives some production figures:

year vehicles comment
1905 400
1910 1,200
1913 1,500 Ninth largest automobile manufacturer in France
1925 about 24,000 100 vehicles a day, making it the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in France

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)
  • George Nick Georgano: Cars. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours. Courtille, Paris 1975 (French)

Web links

Commons : Chenard-Walcker  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .
  2. a b c d e f Georgano: The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.
  3. ^ Georgano: Cars. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours.
  4. ^ Hans-Christian Herrmann: Chausson and the Saar . In: Yearbook Omnibusse 2017 , Verlag Podszun-Motorbücher, Brilon 2016, pp. 133–139, here p. 135
  5. a b c d Ferdinand Hediger, Hans-Heinrich von Fersen, Michael Sedgwick: Classic cars, Hallwag, Bern and Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8228-8944-X , p. 117
  6. Reinhard Lintelmann: 1000 Automobile, Naumann & Göbel Verlagsgesellschaft, Cologne, ISBN 3-625-10543-8 , p. 61
  7. a b c d Ferdinand Hediger, Hans-Heinrich von Fersen, Michael Sedgwick: Classic cars, Hallwag, Bern / Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8228-8944-X , p. 118
  8. ^ A b Ferdinand Hediger, Hans-Heinrich von Fersen, Michael Sedgwick: Classic cars, Hallwag, Bern / Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8228-8944-X , p. 119