Marendaz

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DMK Marendaz Limited (1926–1931)
Marendaz Special Cars Limited (1932–1936)

logo
legal form Limited
founding 1926
resolution 1936
Seat London and Maidenhead , Berkshire , England
management Donald Marcus Kelway Marendaz
Branch Automobile manufacturing

Marendaz was a British manufacturer of automobiles .

DMK Marendaz Limited

Donald Marcus Kelway Marendaz founded Marseal Motors Limited in 1919 with Charles A. Seelhoff (1893–?) As a supplier to the automotive industry. The transmission manufacturer from Coventry produced light vehicles of the brands Marseel and Marseal from 1920 .

Shortly after the closure of this company in 1926, Marendaz set up another company in London . The DMK Marendaz Limited specialized in sports cars . The headquarters was at the Brixton Road (London SW9, district Camberwell in the Borough of Southwark ). Since the capacities with his Marendaz Special were far from being fully utilized, Marendaz also took over maintenance and tuning of third-party brands and successfully tried to find an agency for US-American Graham-Paige passenger cars which was housed in the same building. This also housed the Bugatti agency in London .

Although Marendaz had a lavish racing team and was therefore particularly successful in national competitions, only a few Marendaz Specials were sold. DMK Marendaz's notoriously bad relationship with the press is likely to have been of little help ; he had a reputation for being quick to appeal to the court against unpopular articles and comments.

Marendaz Special 13/70 2-Seater Sports from 1932

Total production from 1926 to 1932 is estimated at 20 to 50 vehicles; the Marendaz homepage is more precisely defined as "about 30". This small number is distributed over four models - six if the corresponding compressor variant is also counted as a model. The 9/90 had a four-cylinder engine with 1087 cc from Anzani and was available with a compressor . Thus, the car was probably created with a view to participating in the Coupes des Voiturettes . The model was abandoned in 1930 or 1931.

The "backbone" of the small production was the 11/55 with a 1.5 liter four-cylinder engine, also supplied by Anzani . This model was also the basis for racing cars .

A separate eight-cylinder in-line engine ( 14/55 ) based on the model of the Bugatti Type 35 was developed but hardly sold; it is questionable whether more than one copy was built. In the absence of contemporary sources, it is unclear whether a vehicle of the compressor version 14/120 offered in the catalog has ever been completed. The eight-cylinder seems to have been a project abandoned by Anzani , which Marendaz developed further. The crankshaft was supplied by Anzani , and the engine block was redesigned by Marendaz.

Marendaz Special Cars Limited

Marendaz Special 15-90 from 1935

From 1931 the development of a larger model began. A 1.8-liter six-cylinder from Continental was used ; this was revised by Marendaz. Before the company moved from London, at least five of these 13/70 vehicles were completed.

This move took place in 1932 and was accompanied by the renaming to Marendaz Special Cars Limited . Marendaz moved into the Cordwallis Works in Maidenhead , Berkshire , England . The repeatedly rumored statement that GWK or Burney automobiles had previously been manufactured here (e.g. Motorbase) is difficult to understand because the production times of the three manufacturers overlap: GWK existed from 1911 to 1931 and produced here from 1914, Burney from 1927 to 1934 resp. 1936. That doesn't match the production time of the Marendaz in Maidenhead. While it is conceivable that Marendaz was working in the vacated GWK facilities , this seems impossible for Burney if they were not produced jointly. This in turn cannot be proven. The Cordwallis Park complex still exists today as an industrial park . so that the conclusion is allowed that the three manufacturers were rented here, but not in the same rooms.

In 1935, Continental stopped delivering its engines. It is unclear whether the cause was a production changeover, the low number of items or open invoices at Marendaz Special Cars . Marendaz managed by first reproducing the engine block and later developing it further. Gearboxes were partly bought in from the Moss Gear Company in Birmingham and partly manufactured in-house.

In the course of 1935 another version was added with the 15/80 . She got the two-liter engine from Coventry Climax . So this model did not replace the versions with Coventry engines. Both were built until production ceased.

technology

The company produced attractive, sporty vehicles in small numbers. In some models, a compressor increased the engine output. There was a difficult manageable number of similar models that differed essentially only in their engine. Most of the cars built in London were fitted with 1087 or 1495 cc Anzani engines. The 1100 (model 9/90 ) could be the same engine that was used in the Collet-Anzani ; this elaborately designed engine was made entirely of light metal. It had an overhead camshaft ; The cylinder head and cylinder consisted of a single component and the valve control was carried out using gears. There was also a double ignition. It could spin very high (over 6500 rpm) and could take a compressor.

The 1500 was more conventionally constructed with upright valves and was considered to be very stable; he, too, had himself fitted with a compressor. Marendaz seems to have responded to customer requests; at least one 13/90 received a Zoller compressor.

The in -line eight-cylinder was an interesting design. The engine block was made by Marendaz, the crankshaft was supplied by Anzani, where a similar project had not been pursued. The compressor version 14/125 was offered, but it seems that at best a prototype has been built.

It was unnecessarily confusing that both the four-cylinder 11/55 and 11/120 (compressor version of the 11/55) as well as the eight-cylinder 14/55 and 14/125 were alternatively designated by the factory as 1½ liters .

Most of the Marendaz Specials , however, received a Marendaz more or less revised six-cylinder engine of the type 8F / 9F from Continental . The engine initially had a displacement of 1869 cm³. Marendaz's contribution to the base model 13/70 consisted of light alloy cylinder heads and exhaust manifolds of our own design. A compressor was available to increase performance, this version was called 13/85 . From 1932 onwards, Marendaz found it increasingly difficult to maintain these engines. The 13/70 now received an in-house engine block which was derived from the Continental engine. A variant increased to 2454 cm³ displacement was quickly added. This 17/80 was also available as a 17/97 or 17/100 compressor version. It is possible that these models also had compressors from different manufacturers. Occasionally a 17/115 is also mentioned , but this is not found on the Marendaz homepage.

The last Marendaz model received a Coventry Climax engine. The two-liter was used by several British manufacturers. In the Triumph Gloria Six 15.7 hp it achieved 55 bhp (40 kW) according to factory specifications and in the Vitesse version 65 bhp 55 bhp (48 kW); Marendaz stated 80 bhp (59.7 kW) without a compressor for the same engine. Either something was whispered in the advertising or Donald Marendaz also tuned this engine, for which, however, no information is available.

vehicles

The type designation in the list below refers to the tax horsepower in Great Britain at production time (before the slash) and the power in bhp (after the slash). The latter information is not always reliable for small manufacturers such as Marendaz and Captain Marendaz in particular seems to have exaggerated a little at times.

model construction time cylinder Cubic capacity cm³ Power kW comment
11/55 HP 1925-1932 4th 1496 41.0 Motor Anzani
11/120 HP 1925-1929 4th 1496 89.5 Anzani engine, compressor
9/90 HP 1926-1931 4th 1094 67.1 Compressor optional
14/55 HP 1929-1931 8th 1495 41.0 Motor Marendaz / Anzani
14/125 HP 1929-1931 8th 1495 93.2 Motor Marendaz / Anzani, compressor
13/70 HP 1931-1932 6th 1869 52.2 Motor Continental type 8F / 9F
17/80 HP 1932-1936 6th 2454 59.7 Motor Marendaz / Continental
13/85 HP 1934-1934 6th 1869 63.4 Compressor version of the 13/70
17/97 HP 1934-1934 6th 2454 72.3 Compressor version of the 17/80
13/90 HP 1935-1936 6th 1969 67.1 Compressor version of the 13/70
17/85 HP 1935-1936 6th 2500 63.4 Version of the 17/80; Production time unclear
17/100 HP 1935-1936 6th 2500 74.6 Compressor version of the 17/85
17/115 HP 1935-1936 6th 2454 85.8 Motor Marendaz / Continental (?); possibly identical to 17/100
15/80 HP 1936-1936 6th 1991 59.7 Coventry Climax engine
15/90 HP 1936-1936 6th 1991 67.1 Coventry Climax engine

Because the individual models only differed in terms of their engine, the bodies are likely to have been largely interchangeable. The front fenders were either "helmet-shaped" (that is, their profile resembled that of an ancient helmet) or straight; these ran out at about the level of the door. Later versions are sometimes also cut on the side. There were no running boards.

The literature does not name any manufacturer for the superstructures; so they were probably made in the factory. The usual procedure was to build a wooden frame and attach the hand-formed body panel over it. This is how the bodies for Morgan automobiles are still manufactured today .

The following were available:

Marendaz 9/90

No details.

Marendaz 11/55, 14/55 and 14/125

  • Roadster, 2-door, 2-seater
  • Roadster, 2-door, 3-seater
  • Coupé 2-door, 2-seater

Marendaz 13/70, 13/100

  • Roadster, 2-door, 2-seater
  • Coupé 2-door, 2-seater
  • "Sportsman" coupe

Further information on the "Sportsman" Coupé is missing.

Marendaz 15/90

  • Roadster, 2-door, 2-seater

Marendaz 17/97, ​​17/80, 17/100

  • Tourer , 2 + 2-seater
  • Cabriolet , 2-door, 2-seater
  • Coupé 2-door, 2-seater ("foursome")
  • Saloon 4 doors, 4 seats

Tourers have a light emergency roof and usually foldable windshields like the roadster. Cabriolets have a fixed A-pillar and a heavier hood. Further information on the "foursome" coupe is missing; Usually this means a four-seater.

production

Production ended in early 1936. A total of 45 examples (including five vehicles completed in London) with the Continental engine (or one of its derivatives) have been built. There are also 11 units with Coventry-Climax engines. Assuming 30 vehicles with Anzani four-cylinder or Marendaz eight-cylinder, this results in a total production of only 86 vehicles in ten years.

Marendaz stuck to racing until the end.

Racing

The first race that a Marendaz Special contested was the Brooklands Handicap on April 13, 1925, which he promptly won. The only thing known about this first vehicle from the brand, which had not yet been founded, is that it had a four-door tourer body. There was no resemblance to later Marendaz Special , but a great one with the Marseal .

Marendaz's secretary and later partner Dorothy Summers competed quite successfully in smaller races on Marendaz until 1936 . Among the customers who operated with Marendaz Special Motorsport were Albert E. Moss and wife Aileen , the parents of Sir Stirling Moss .

The low sales figures easily hide the fact that the Marendaz was a serious sports car with potential. Similar to the Atalanta , the constant underfunding prevented it from being exhausted.

At the 150 miles from Brooklands on September 3, 1927, a non-championship competition, a Marendaz Special finished fourth behind JP Dingle ( Austin Seven ), Sir Malcolm Campbell (Bugatti) and Woolf Barnato ( Bentley ). JN Forrest failed to finish here the following year.

Between 1928 and 1930 at least six 11/55 Specials were used by the manufacturer and various private drivers in smaller races. They were quite successful in national competitions ( speed trials ) with a number of second and third places.

Junior Car Club Race (JCC)

The Junior Car Club races over 200 miles (325,025 km) were designed for Voiturettes and Cyclecars and were very popular. At the 6th Junior Car Club "200" on September 25, 1926 in Brooklands , 73 laps had to be covered. DMK Marendaz started with an 11/55 (number 8) listed as "Marendaz Anzani" , but had to retire on lap 4 due to loss of oil.

A Marendaz Special also took part in 1927; In 1928 there were two. None achieved a countable result.

World record

With a vehicle owned by LL Hanks , DMK Marendaz , Forrest and Hanks presented on 5./6. November 1928 in Montlhéry a national and international 24-hour record. In the F (1.5 liter) class, the team covered 1425 miles (2293 km) with an average speed of 73 mph (117.5 km / h).

Tourist Trophy

The Marendaz / Forrest team (starting number 22) entered the RAC Tourist Trophy ("TT") on August 18, 1928 , but did not appear at the start. The next year (August 17, 1929) DMK Marendaz was registered alone (number 39); again he stayed away from the race.

For the TT 1935 in Ards ( Northern Ireland ) near Belfast , Marendaz had a 15/90 (with a Coventry-Climax engine) and a Marendaz gearbox built in a hurry . He started himself, won the class E (1500-2000 cm³) and set a lap record with 73.07 mph (117.59 km / h).

Grand Prix

Nürburgring 1927–1929

DMK Marendaz competed in the German Grand Prix on July 15, 1928 ; this was only the third running of the race (and the second on the Nürburgring ). The distance was 508.77 km (28.265 km, to be covered in 18 laps). At that time it was advertised for sports cars. The Marendaz Special 11/55 was canceled after an accident before it had completed the first lap.

In the Irish GP Saorstat Cup 1929 over 300 miles on the Phoenix Park race track, which was not part of the championship , DMK Marendaz took part with an unknown result; However, he was not among the first 15 (of 22 participants).

The 1936 French Grand Prix was also announced as a sports car race. It took place on June 23 in Montlhéry . It ran over 1000 km and was held in three displacement classes. There was the Le Mans start and the vehicles had to be painted in the national colors (red for Italy, blue for France, silver for Germany and green ("British Racing Green") for Great Britain). With Earl Howe / Tommy Wisdom , a well-known team took part in the two-liter class on Marendaz . Your 15/90 was the works racing car that won the Tourist Trophy class last year.

However, the car failed after an axle bolt broke. The overall winner was Wimille / Sommer in a Bugatti Type 57G ; the two-liter class was dominated by Riley who took all podium places.

Le Mans

Marendaz was twice entered for the Le Mans 24-hour races , but did not make it to the start on both occasions.

For the first time there is a Marendaz Special in the entry list for 1928 with the DMK Marendaz / PL Densham team without the vehicle appearing in Le Mans.

DMK Marendaz made the next attempt on the occasion of the 11th edition in 1933 . It got the starting number 18, the vehicle was a 13/70 .

statistics

The best result for Marendaz scored J. Andrews on August 31, 1935 at the National Donington race as he left the Bugatti of Peter Hampton drove ranked second

Marendaz vehicles were entered in nine major races and started in seven of them. DMK Marendaz played four, JN Forrest two and WT McCalla , J. Andrews and Howe / Wisdom one each; the only podium was Andrews' result at Donington.

Brand logo

The logo was adopted from the Marseal and adapted. A reclining oval is flanked by two wings, the emblem of the Royal Flying Corps in which Marendaz served as a fighter pilot during the First World War . Only the full name in the oval has been changed to Marendaz Special .

The end and later life of DMK Marendaz

The Marendaz Special Cars Limited had to give up early 1936 and went into liquidation . RH Colliers from Birmingham bought vehicles and inventory of the company. It is possible that some Marendaz Specials were created from existing components by the beginning of 1937 .

DMK Marendaz then tried to bring about an aircraft production and ran a flight school. Three prototypes were created, the first of which was destroyed in a hangar fire. After the Royal Air Force showed no interest, he gave up the project, worked artistically and wrote a book on flying. He was interned for a short time in 1940 because of his proximity to British fascism . After the war he married Dorothy Summers for the second time . The couple had two children and lived in South Africa for many years. In 1972 he settled in Lincolnshire. He died in 1988.

Whereabouts

Marendaz 13/70 from 1934 in the Haynes International Motor Museum
Front view

Only one of the Marendaz Specials built in London has survived. This 11/55 with the approval "UC3933" was built in 1926 and took off on the 6th and 1928 respectively. Participate in 8th Junior Car Club race over 200 miles. Above all, however, a total of six speed records were set in class G (1.5 liters). The restored racing car is privately owned.

According to the Marendaz register, there are still ten 13/70 and seven 15/90 , including the French GP car from Howe / Wisdom; one was converted to a 13/70 ., two 17/80 and one 17/90 using a Marendaz / Continental engine block

Not all vehicles still have their original engine, some third-party engines, such as those from Riley or Triumph, were used in the restoration and occasionally, subsequently modified or third-party bodies were used on Marendaz chassis.

Probably the "most prominent" Marendaz still in existence is the Tourist Trophy 1935 / GP of France 1936 factory racing car (Howe / Wisdom). It was registered to Alfred Moss in 1938 and can be seen today in the Southward Car Museum in Otaihanga / Paraparaumu ( New Zealand ).

A 13/70 (one of two still existing with a Marendaz / Continental engine block) can be seen at the Haynes International Motor Museum in Sparkford , Somerset .

All Marendaz still in existence have a more or less original 2 or 3-seater tourer ( roadster ) body.

A 1934 Marendaz Special in Condition 2 ("Good") was auctioned in 2001 for GB £ 15,815; it was possibly the vehicle in the Haynes Museum .

literature

  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: The great automobile encyclopedia. BLV, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-405-12974-5
  • GN Georgano: cars. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours. Courtille, 1975 (French).
  • David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975 , Veloce Publishing PLC, Dorchester (1997), ISBN 1-874105-93-6 (English).
  • William Boddy: Montlhery: The Story of the Paris Autodrome , Veloce Publishing PLC, Dorchester ( Classic Reprint series ) 2006; Original Montagu Motor Books (1961); ISBN 1-84584-052-6 (10 digits) and ISBN 978-1-84584-052-5 (13 digits), hardcover (English; book is not available).

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k motorbase.com: Manufacturers / Marendaz
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z marendazspecial.co.uk: Donald Marcus Kelway Marendaz
  3. ↑ gracesguide.co.uk: Donald Marcus Kelway_Marendaz
  4. ↑ a b c marendazspecial.co.uk: Marendaz Special Models
  5. ^ Culshaw / Horrobin: Complete Catalog of British Cars
  6. ^ The Sun: Directory; Entry 11152607; Cordwallis Park
  7. ↑ anzani.de: Anzani
  8. ↑ a b motorbase.com: Marendaz 11/55, 14/55 and 14/125
  9. ↑ motorbase.com: Marendaz 13/70 and 13/100
  10. ↑ motorbase.com: Marendaz 15/90
  11. ↑ a b motorbase.com: Marendaz 17/97, ​​17/80 and 17/100
  12. ↑ a b c d e marendazspecial.co.uk: Marendaz Racing Success
  13. ↑ marendazspecial.co.uk: Marendaz Special Cars; 1925
  14. ↑ racingsportscars.com: racingsportscars.com: 150 mile Brooklands (1927) .
  15. ↑ racingsportscars.com: JN Forrest
  16. ↑ teamdan.com: Marendaz Anzani at the JCC 1926 in Brooklands
  17. ↑ a b c marendazspecial.com.uk: Marendaz Special 11/55, Reg. UC3933
  18. ↑ marendazspecial.com.uk: Marendaz Special 11/55, Reg. YH6538
  19. ↑ marendazspecial.co.uk: Marendaz Special Cars; Reg. YW6480
  20. ↑ racingsportscars.com: Marendaz Special racing statistics 1928–1936
  21. ↑ a b c marendazspecial.co.uk: Marendaz Special 11/55, Reg. BJB629
  22. ↑ teamdan.com: Marendaz Special 11/55, Reg. BJB629
  23. ↑ racingsportscars.com: Phoenix Park Race 1929
  24. ↑ racingsportscars.com: Phoenix Park Race 1929 - Results
  25. ↑ formula2.net: 6èmes Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans 1928
  26. ↑ formula2.net: 11èmes Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans 1933
  27. ↑ a b racingsportscars.com: Marendaz brands statistics 1927-1936
  28. ↑ racingsportscars.com: Marendaz
  29. ↑ a b c d e f marendazspecial.co.uk: Marendaz Special Cars
  30. ↑ motorbase.com: British and Continental Touring cars; Coys (October 10, 2001), Olympia sales center, Kensington; Lot 055

Remarks

  1. ↑ First registration JB3702
  2. ↑ Ev. only a prototype built according to marendazspecial.co.uk: Marendaz Special Models .
  3. ↑ Actual production not proven.
  4. ↑ Also found notation Forest .
  5. ↑ According to Marendaz-HP; gracesguide ( Donald Marcus Kelway_Marendaz ) names - probably erroneously - Brooklands as the venue.
  6. ↑ including the prototype, currently approved for BGW770; First registrations JB753 (temporarily in Norway, Germany and Austria), JB1200, JB1094, JB1476, JB1477, JB1938 (not secured; currently AGU559. Temporarily in Switzerland), AMB631, JB4846 (currently DAS694; Haynes Museum; the only one with Marendaz- Engine block delivered 13/70) and FOF395
  7. ↑ First registrations BJB629 (GPF; Howe / Wisdom), DPG7, TL5172, CXM849, JB7776, CLE305, JB8877 (conversion to 13/70 with Marendaz block)
  8. ↑ First registrations JB1582 and CVO36
  9. ↑ First registration YY8383