Hybrid (automobile)

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One of the first hybrids: Facel Vega HK 500

In the automotive sector from the early 1960s onwards, high-priced sports cars and luxury vehicles from the 1950s to 1970s that were designed and built in Europe , but in the field of drive technology and power transmission, used high-volume components from American manufacturers instead of branded motors, were referred to as hybrids . The term was and is mostly used with a derogatory connotation. Examples of hybrids were vehicles from Bristol , Jensen , Monteverdi , De Tomaso or Iso Rivolta .

term

The term hybrid, which goes back to the ancient Greek word ὕβρις hýbris , generally refers to something crossed or mixed. In the automotive sector he established himself in the early 1960s, especially in the English-speaking world, and later also in German. Here he draws attention to the fact that certain automobiles combine very different, sometimes contradicting features. The starting point is the origin of the drive technology of European luxury vehicles. While manufacturers such as Aston Martin , Ferrari , Lamborghini or Maserati developed the bodies, chassis and drive technology of their cars more or less completely in-house, European hybrids used American high-volume engines that were either not at all or only slightly redesigned. The value of these technically mostly simple constructions was often seen in the press and the public as lower compared to the Italian engines. In this respect, the term hybrid also denotes a contradiction between the exclusive exterior of the cars in question and the simple to simple drive technology. The term hybrid stands in contrast to the so-called full-blooded automobile (also: "Pur Sang").

Hybrids in the automotive sector

Hybrid: Chrysler engine in a British Jensen

Even before the Second World War , not all European manufacturers of luxury automobiles were producing their own engines. After the end of the war, it was no longer economical for many manufacturers to develop their own engines. The British body manufacturer Jensen in West Bromwich was one of the first companies to offer a high-quality sports coupé with a large-scale production engine. Jensen's "Early Interceptor" also used a six-cylinder engine from Austin . Facel Vega in France was the first European manufacturer to combine exclusive bodies with American engines from Chrysler , and half a decade later Bristol followed suit with the 407 and Jensen with the C-V8 . The fact that the companies saved development costs for their own engines appeared to be an advantage; On the other hand, the American engines were easy to repair and had long been tried and tested in large-scale production, so that unlike “thoroughbred” engines, reliability problems rarely occurred in practice.

Since 1960, more and more new manufacturers have established themselves across Europe who have implemented the hybrid concept right from the start. They included Gordon-Keeble in Great Britain , Intermeccanica , Iso Rivolta and De Tomaso in Italy , Monteverdi in Switzerland and the railroad car manufacturer CFPM in France, which offered a four-door hybrid sedan with the Monica 560 . In Germany, Erich Bitter pursued this concept with the Coupé CD . The cars were often sold in Europe, but also in the USA, where they were valued for the simplicity of their local drive technology and were often preferred to Ferrari or Maserati models.

The engines came from Chrysler, Ford and General Motors , with the Chrysler engines enjoying a certain advantage because of their high performance and the sophisticated TorqueFlite automatic. Trident Cars was the only manufacturer to use an American Motors engine . Usually they were large-volume eight-cylinder engines with more than five liters of displacement; sometimes engines with up to 7.4 liters were also used. Bristol used an 8.0 liter ten-cylinder engine for the sports car Fighter . Bristol was one of the few manufacturers who technically advanced Chrysler engines, including turbocharging ( Beaufighter ).

The commercial success of hybrid vehicles ended in the mid-1970s with the onset of the oil crisis . The consistently very high gasoline consumption of the high-displacement eight-cylinder engines quickly collapsed the market for these vehicles. All hybrid manufacturers ran into significant problems. Jensen and Iso were wound up after a bankruptcy, production of the Monica ceased before mass production even got going, and Monteverdi switched to the concept of smaller boutique cars and SUVs. As the last manufacturer of hybrids, Bristol stopped production in 2011.

Examples of hybrid models

country Manufacturer Models Engine supplier
Germany Bitter CD Chevrolet
France Facel Vega FV , FVS , HK 500 , Facel II , Excellence Chrysler
CFMF Monica 560 Chrysler
Great Britain
AC Cobra , 428 ford
Bristol 407 , 408 , 409 , 410 , 411 , 412 , 603 , Britannia , Brigand , Blenheim , Beaufighter , Fighter Chrysler
Gordon-Keeble Gordon-Keeble Chevrolet
Jensen C-V8 , Interceptor , FF , SP Chrysler
Trident Clipper American Motors , Chrysler , Ford
Italy
Bizzarrini GT 5300 , P 538 Chevrolet
De Tomaso Mangusta , Pantera , Longchamp , Deauville , Guarà , Bigua ford
Intermeccanica Torino , Italia , Indra Chevrolet , Ford
Iso Rivolta 300 , Grifo , Lele , Fidia Chevrolet , Ford
Momo Mirage Chevrolet
Switzerland Monteverdi High Speed ​​375 , Berlinetta , Palm Beach , Hai 450 Chevrolet

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mike Gulett: European Style With American Muscle . Lulu.com 2011. ISBN 978-1-257-90496-9 , p. 12.
  2. ^ History of the Jensen Interceptor as an example of a hybrid on the website http://ericpetersautos.com/ (accessed on May 22, 2015).
  3. ^ NN: International Splendor . Jensen Interceptor test, engine dated February 4, 1967.
  4. ↑ British Car Classic Cars 3/2010, p. 39 on the Jensen Interceptor. There it says: "In a word: Hybrid"
  5. ↑ Dean Bachelor, Chris Poole, Graham Robson: The Great Book of Sports Cars. Müller, Erlangen 1990 (no ISBN), p. 216 (on Iso Grifo).
  6. ↑ I did it my way . Portrait of Tony Crook on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Bristol Cars brand in 1996. In: Classic and Sportscar, issue 5/1996 Classic and Sportscar, issue 5/1996, p. 125.

literature