Société d'Etude et de Fabrication d'Automobiles de Course
The Société d'Etude et de Fabrication d'Automobiles de Course (German: Society for the testing and fabrication of racing vehicles), SEFAC for short, was a state company founded in France in 1934 that developed a national racing car.
history
After the after the new 750-kg formula discharged 1934 Grand Prix season by the German Silver Arrows racing cars from Auto Union and Daimler-Benz was dominated, the French government establishing the SEFAC that produce a competitive, national race car decided should. SEFAC was financed by the newly established Comité de la souscription nationale pour le fonds de course (German: National Donation Committee for Racing Capital), which was supposed to raise funds for the construction of the racing car through the sale of badges and fundraising.
A small development team led by the former Salmson designer Emile Petit developed the monoposto racing car under enormous time pressure , which was supposed to be ready for the 1935 French Grand Prix . The concept that was presented in March 1934 was mainly due to the unusual engine design: two four-cylinder units standing next to each other formed a U8 engine that featured desmodromic valve control and compressor charging and was supposed to develop 240 hp from a displacement of 2.8 liters. At its premiere, however, the car proved to be too heavy, difficult to drive and had no competitive performance data compared to the Silver Arrows , which is why it was withdrawn before the race.
After disputes over the distribution of donations to the French manufacturer, where the SEFAC received in subsequent years only small amounts of the car with revised design should to again 1938 Grand Prix season start, but took only the French Grand Prix in 1938 in part where Eugène Chaboud from 8th place on the grid was unable to finish the race due to a mechanical defect.
After the car remained unsuccessful at the Grand Prix de Pau in 1939 under Jean Trémoulet , which was not part of the European championship , it was acquired after the war by the Alsatian industrialist Jean de Dommartin, who had it reworked by Petite and also without noteworthy under the name Dommartin EP 88 Successes started in several Grand Prix races.
literature
- Blight, Anthony: The French Sports Car Revolution - Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye and Talbot in Competition 1934-1939 . Sparkford, 1996.