Loryc

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Loryc SA
two models built in 1921, ready to drive

The Loryc SA was a Majorcan automobile manufacturer based in Palma .

history

In 1919, the two Mallorcans Antoni Rivas and Rafael de Lacy began selling automobiles on Mallorca. At the time when the first five hundred automobiles from France, the USA and Germany were driving the streets of the Balearic Islands, Rivas and Lacy took over the sales of the French car manufacturer De Dion-Bouton and at the same time acquired a license to build vehicles themselves. Her first automobile workshop was set up in the rooms of her friend Ferran Alzamora , Talleres Hereter from Alzamora SA in Palma.

Loryc SA was founded on January 23, 1920 and entered in the commercial register. The name Loryc was made up of the first letters of the company's founder: L acy, O uvrard, R ivas and C ia, the Y is the Spanish word for “and”. The following were also involved as company founders: Alberto Agustin Reus, Antonio Darder Ripoll, Antonio Socias Morell, Pedro Montaner Gual and Fernando Alzamora Conrad.

Model replica Loryc

In the same year, the production of own vehicles began on Avenida Alejandro Rosellio in Palma. Alberto Ouvard , who had previously worked at Renault in France, was the technical director . At the end of 1920 the first Loryc was approved for road use. With the registration number PM 507, the first automobile built in Mallorca could now be seen on the streets of the island. This vehicle was a two-seater. A three-seater followed later, although this version had an uncovered bench that could be folded out from the rear.

The car quickly got the nickname “La Sardina” among the population, probably because the body was made of aluminum and was shaped like a sardine can. The first model had a Ruby engine with six horsepower. It was a monoblock engine, side-controlled with overhead valves. The gearbox was located directly in the engine block and had three forward gears and one reverse gear. The tire size corresponded to the dimension 710 × 90. The lighting consisted of gas lamps that were operated with acetylene gas.

At the end of 1921 there were already three models from the Loryc automobile company: a convertible , a closed sedan and the newly created three-seater convertible variant.

In 1922 the first three-seater with the registration PM 788 was delivered to the owner of the MUSA company, Pedro Roig Biquerra, and the sports and racing version were presented. With the license from EHP , an open racing car was built with a four-cylinder engine of 1000 cm³ displacement , 34 hp , overhead valves and flange-mounted gearbox. The vehicle reached top speeds of more than 140 km / h. Numerous competitions have been successfully contested with it.

Sport version, with external exhaust

The racing driver Particio Satrústegui finished in the III. Trofeo Armanque in Barcelona took third place, during the IV. Vuelta a Cataluña the Loryc took first place in its class. With driver Frick Armaque at the wheel, a third place was achieved in Le Mans at the French Grand Prix , the fastest lap also went to the Loryc team. The Loryc successfully won many other prizes at smaller events.

At the II International Motor Show in Barcelona Loryc presented his vehicles to the public. The demand was enormous, because Loryc had already made a name for itself with robust and reliable vehicles.

Due to the success of the trade fair, production moved to larger premises in 1923. Around 60 employees were meanwhile employed in the Loryc plant on the Balearic island. The selling price of a Loryc in 1923 was 5000 Pesetas , a Citroën 5CV was then for around 4000 Pesetas. Around 120 units left the S'Aigo Dolça plant in Palma. At the end of 1923, Loryc had difficulties with the procurement of materials. In addition to the body and chassis, which were completely built in Mallorca, Ouvard bought engines and parts from France from manufacturers EHP, SCAP and Ruby . Due to the trade routes and import restrictions, the parts were often stuck at the customs office for several months. The Spanish King Alfonso XIII. intervened personally and wrote a decree 22/4/23 to facilitate the import. However, due to the delays, Loryc SA ran into financial problems and finally had to close the plant in Palma at the end of 1925.

today

Of the little Loryc, which is still called "La Sardina" by classic car enthusiasts , there are still six road-ready and well-preserved specimens privately owned by collectors. Four of them are on Mallorca, two more on the island of Menorca . There is still no trace of another vehicle that is said to have belonged to Ernest Hemingway and operated in Paris in the 1920s.

After the abandonment of Loryc SA, parts of the Instituto Oceanografico were housed in the S'Aigo Dolça factory building .

Revitalizing the brand

Electric version LORYC

Charly Bosch, a German living in Mallorca, acquired the rights to the Loryc brand name in 2013. According to his own statements, he plans to produce Loryc vehicles in the design of the 1920s, but with an electric motor. As of the beginning of 2015, there was only one original vehicle acquired by Bosch in which he had replaced the original motor with an electric motor. In the meantime, some newly designed vehicles with electric drives have already been built and approved for traffic by TÜV Rheinland.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Spiegel-Online: The rebirth of a car brand
  2. ↑ Electric roller backwards. In: Tages-Anzeiger from February 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ The handcrafted Loryc Electric , accessed April 21, 2017.

Coordinates: 39 ° 33 '50.7 "  N , 2 ° 37' 37.4"  E