FN automobiles

emblem

FN 1900-1903

FN type Baudouin 1934

FN 2700TA 1919-1921

FN 1300 Sport 1925

FN 11CV 1625 Cabriolet 1931

The Belgian company Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre (also Fabrique Nationale de Herstal ), better known under the name Fabrique Nationale (FN) , based in Herstal near Liège ( Liège ) was founded in 1889. In addition to weapons, automobiles and motorcycles were also manufactured in the past.

The first FN automobile was built in 1900 . It was a so-called spider that looked more like a carriage. It had a two-cylinder engine and chain drive on the rear wheels. In 1904 a vehicle with a 4000 cc four-cylinder and 14 hp followed. The steering column of this car was already at an angle. The next year the Type 30-40 appeared with a luxurious body. Customers at that time were the Belgian royal family and the Shah of Persia.

The model 6900 with a Rochet-Schneider engine manufactured under license was developed from the 30-40 . This had cylinders cast in pairs, and the drive was via a disc clutch and cardan shaft to the rear axle. The vehicle was very comfortably sprung with longitudinal and transverse leaf springs. With the type 2000 an elastic engine suspension was introduced.

The types 2700 and 2700A were the first larger vehicles with engines from our own production.

After the First World War, motorcycle and car production was resumed, and in 1920 the type 2700 TA appeared, which was equipped with an electric starter, speedometer and automatic chassis lubrication. The engine was largely made of aluminum. Other types were the FN-1950, an improved FN-1250A, and later the FN-1250T with full electrical system, four-cylinder engine with 15 hp and three-speed gearbox.

The successor to the 1250 was the FN-1300. This vehicle was available in three different versions as A, B and C. Technically, the vehicles were identical, only different in their wheelbase and equipment. A four-cylinder with 1327 cm³ displacement, side camshaft and hanging valves served as the drive. These cars were delivered with balloon tires and four-wheel brakes. From the later FN-1300D with four-speed gearbox, the models 1300E with a wider track and the 1300Sp for sports purposes were developed, which was very successful.

At the time, the FN-2150 was a mid-range vehicle with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and four-speed transmission. The largest vehicle was the FN-3800, which was only produced in small numbers. Trucks were built on the reinforced chassis of the 3800.

In 1927 the FN-10CV appeared, which was built for three years and from which in 1930 the anniversary model FN-11CV for thirty years of automobile manufacture emerged. It was a technically very well equipped vehicle with sporty driving characteristics. The sport version was called FN-1400Sp. A delivery van based on 11CV was also available. Another vehicle was a prestige car with an eight-cylinder in-line engine.

The successor to the 11CV came on the market in 1931 as the FN-11CV 1625 with a larger engine. In the meantime, FN built 16 different models, which led to economic difficulties. For this reason, only the new types FN-Prince Baudouin and Prince Albert were built from 1930. Both vehicles were equipped with the 11CV engine, but differed in the body.

From 1935 FN only manufactured commercial vehicles, including light delivery vans on the 11CV chassis and larger trucks on a 2.5-ton chassis with an eight-cylinder engine. A special version of this chassis was delivered to bus manufacturers. Since 1933, FN has also been building a 1.2-ton chassis for the trambuses in the city of Liège . From 1937 the 63C truck was built and delivered to the Belgian army in an all-wheel drive version.

In 1946, FN resumed the production of commercial vehicles with the 6.5-tonne 64C, later the 5.0-tonne 62C was added. This was also built in a military version as the 62C 4RM in cooperation with the Belgian commercial vehicle manufacturers Miesse and Brossel . In 1955 commercial vehicle production was stopped. Trolleybuses were still being built until the early 1960s . Then FN stopped building vehicles.

Web links

Commons : FN vehicles - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

Automobile and motorcycle chronicle, issue 11/1976
Yvette Kupélian, Jacques Kupélian and Jacques Sirtaine: Histoire de l'automobile belge. Paul Legrain, Brussels, ISBN 2-8705-7001-5 and epa, Paris, ISBN 2-8512-0090-9 (French)
George Nick Georgano : Cars. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours. Courtille, 1975 (French)