Spyker 60 HP
The Spyker 60 HP was the first vehicle with a six-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive via cardan shafts . The Spijker brothers were coach builders in Amsterdam and began designing this racing car in 1901.
history
The French Emile Drourd, who at that time worked for Industriele Maatschappij Trompenburg NV in Amsterdam, probably developed the basic concept for this vehicle. The Belgian Josephe Laviolette, who had previously dealt with the construction of these engines, was decisive for the construction of a six-cylinder engine. It is believed that Spijker wanted to take part in the Paris-Madrid race in 1903 because his name was on the starting list but did not start.
The Spyker 60 HP was shown for the first time in December 1903 at the Paris Salon de l'Automobile as a chassis without a body. In 1904 the vehicle was presented with a racing car body in London's Crystal Palace .
technology
The engine consists of an aluminum crankcase with six individual cylinders, the valves are operated by two camshafts driven by gear wheels . The cylinders had a bore of 120 mm, the stroke was 128 mm, the total displacement was 8676 cm³, the crankshaft is supported by seven bearings. The engine also had a supporting function in the chassis. The three-speed gearbox with built-in differential distributes the power evenly via cardan shafts to the rigid rear and front axles with differentials. A kind of constant velocity joints are built into the front axle. The clutch was a leather cone clutch common at the time . The brake system consisted of a cardan brake that acted on all four wheels, as well as drum brakes on the rear axle. The brakes were actuated mechanically. The Spyker did not reach the planned speed of 110 km / h, but only 75 km / h.
In 1907, test driver Emile Hautekeet won a hill climb near Birmingham . Further racing successes of the Spyker 60 HP are not known.
Whereabouts
After the Spyker company went bankrupt in 1925, the car was in the possession of a former Spyker employee for decades, who loaned it to the Driebergen Automobile Museum . In 1964 the car was bought by Max Lips for the Museum Rosmalen. The vehicle has been owned by Evert Louwman since 1990 , who restored the vehicle to its original condition in an extensive restoration.
swell
- Oldtimer Markt, magazine for classic cars and motorcycles, issue 7/2012
