Sultan Motor Company

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Sultan Motor & Car Company
Sultan Motor Company
legal form Corporation
founding 1904
resolution 1912
Seat New York City , New York , USA
management Henri de Buren
Branch Automobile manufacturer , commercial vehicle manufacturer

The Sultan Motor Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer that mainly supplied the taxi market. Before starting its own production, the company temporarily had automobiles manufactured by the Otis Elevator Company .

Company history

Little is known about the company. The company was originally called Sultan Motor & Car Company . There must have been a strong connection to the manufacturer of the French Sultans , whose patents were used at least for the Sultan 12 HP and 12/15 HP . Two generally very reliable sources represent the origins of the company differently: According to the Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 (1996), the Sultan Motor Company was founded in 1904 by Henri de Buren under the laws of the state of New York and was based in Springfield (Massachusetts) ; the latter is undisputed from 1910 onwards. According to this source, Sultan had the vehicles manufactured by the Elektron Manufacturing Company in Springfield until 1907 . The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present (1973) names 1906 as the founding date and New York City as the company headquarters; at least the latter is confirmed by the Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Trucks and Commercial Vehicles from 1996. There was at least one address in New York (121 West 89th Street), but that need not have been the headquarters. According to the Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars , Elektron Manufacturing would have produced the Sultan on its own account from 1904 to 1906 .

Sultan display for 12 HP and 24/32 HP. There are no references to either of these models or a larger four-cylinder after 1907. The 98½-inch wheelbase indicates a year of manufacture before 1909. It is therefore possible to date the advertisement between 1904 and 1907.

The Hexter Taximeter Cab Company in New York, founded in 1908 by Percy K. Hexter , operated a fleet of 50 Sultan taxis. Hexter later made a name for himself as a designer of a hybrid bus that appeared on the market in 1913 as Gas-Electric . In the same year a new and unusual contractor for automobile production was found with the Otis Elevator Company in Springfield. Otis manufactured prototypes and the series models of the Sultan 12/15 HP for the model years 1908 and 1909 for Sultan. Whether the truck with 2 sh. tn. originated, is not clear from the sources, on the other hand it is clear that Sultan also served the market for passenger cars from 1908. In 1910 the Sultan Motor Company moved into its own facilities in Springfield and now produced the vehicles itself. Nelson Bliss was hired as chief engineer . The Otis intermezzo suggests that the separation from Elektron Manufacturing was not free of friction.

The manufacture of the sultan ended in 1912, that of the French sultans either around 1910 or 1912.

commercial vehicles

A truck with the key data of the 24/32 HP Touring is occupied: four-cylinder engine, 32 bhp (23.9 kW) power, ALAM rating 24 HP, three-speed gearbox, 116  in (2,946.4  mm ) wheelbase (the display says 116.25  in (2,952.75  mm )), payload of 4,000  lb (1,814.369  kg ) and a list price of US $ 3,000. The model fits into the period before 1908, but it could also have been made afterwards. The matching Touring is then no longer occupied.

A delivery van version of the 12/15 HP with the same technical data is proven for 1910 to 1912.

technology

The literature consistently assumes that all Sultan vehicles were manufactured under license. A display casts doubt on this , which does not represent the 24/32 HP under this license. The following overview results (for details see table "Model overview"):

  • Chassis 98.5  in (2,502  mm ); 1904-1909; Series 12 HP and 12/15 HP .
  • Chassis 98  in (2,489  mm ); 1910-1912; Series 12/15 HP and Series 800 (delivery vans)
  • Chassis 116.25  in (2,953  mm ); 1904-1907; 24/32 HP series and possibly 2 ton trucks .

Sultan vehicles contained many components imported from France, which made repair and maintenance very difficult because of their European (metric) standard; imperial tools were common in the United States.

A 12/15 HP sedan (open driver's compartment, but a roof from the windscreen to the rear) weighed 2,400  lb (1,088.622  kg ), a landaulet 2,450  lb (1,111.301  kg ). The passenger cars available after 1908 were largely identical to the Taxis; The basic equipment of the latter included a removable power source that was not available for cars.

engine

All Sultan automobiles had four-cylinder engines; a six-cylinder announced for 1912 has never appeared. By far the most built seems to have been the Lethimonnier motor used in the 12 HP and 12/15 HP . There is no information on the valve control or on the engine block, which at that time probably consisted of cylinders cast individually or in pairs that were bolted to the crankcase. In the absence of suitable seals, internal combustion engines were usually designed without a removable cylinder head. While only rudimentary data are available on the French sultans , there are more precise but contradicting information on the data on the sultan 12 HP resp. 12/15 HP . This is what one source calls 3 × 4⅜ inch bore and stroke , from which a cubic capacity of 123.7 ci is calculated. (converted 76.2 × 111.125 mm, displacement 2956 cm³). Another source mentions 75 x 110 mm, which is 2851 cm³. Both are significantly more than the 2.4 liters that a source indicates for the first of the French sultans . The engine was water-cooled according to the thermosiphon principle (without a water pump ).

The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers (ALAM ) performance figures are calculated , not measured . They refer to a standard of this manufacturer association, which for the first time guaranteed comparability between different models despite all the inaccuracy. In the UK it was the same as the applicable tax PS approach.

Power transmission

The power was transmitted to the rear axle via a mechanical three-speed gearbox and a cone clutch via a cardan shaft , which was a modern solution based on the state of the art at the time.

Chassis and suspension

There is hardly any information about the actual chassis. A ladder frame , which could already be cranked, and rigid axles were common . The existing illustrations for the 12 HP and 12/15 HP show the usual, longitudinally arranged semi-elliptic leaf spring packages . The wheelbase of the 12/15 HP is given by most sources prior to 1909 to be 98  in (2,489  mm ). If the aforementioned display is used, then this wheelbase can also be assumed for the 12 HP built before 1908 .

From 1910 a wheelbase of 98.5  in (2,502  mm ) is mentioned; a single source mentions 97  in (2,464  mm ), which cannot be found anywhere else. It also gives a track of 55.875  in (1,419  mm ) front and rear. For the 12 HP and the 12/15 HP up to 1910, wheels measuring 32 × 4 inches were used, the latter was given wheels measuring 34 × 4 inches from 1911. The right-hand drive, which was not uncommon in the USA at the time, is documented for these vehicles. The above pictures show the usual artillery wheels .

Model overview

Passenger car and taxi

model construction time engine
Cubic capacity c.i./cm³		 Power
bhp / kW
(ALAM rating)		 Wheelbase inch (mm) body List prices
US $		 Remarks
12 HP approx. 1904-1907 R4 2200
(12 HP)		 98.5  in (2,502  mm ) Landaulet 3000.- Built by Elektron. incomplete data; only taxi, no private sale until 1908.
12 HP approx. 1904-1907 R4 2200
(12 HP)		 98.5  in (2,502  mm ) Town Car 3000.- Built by Elektron. incomplete data; only taxi, no private sale until 1908.
24/32 HP approx. 1904-1907 R4 32 / 23.9
(24 HP)		 116.25  in (2,953  mm ) Touring 5 pl. 4000.- Built by Elektron. incomplete data; possibly no license Lethimonnier.
12/15 HP 1908 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98.5  in (2,502  mm ) Touring Only fig .; Data accepted
12/15 HP 1908-1909 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98.5  in (2,502  mm ) Touring 3000.- Shortly after introduction, price reduced by US $ 4000; built at Otis.
12/15 HP 1908-1909 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98.5  in (2,502  mm ) Landaulet 3000.- Shortly after introduction, price reduced by US $ 4000; built at Otis.
12/15 HP 1910 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98  in (2,489  mm ) Touring 3000.- Built by Sultan.
12/15 HP 1910 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98  in (2,489  mm ) Landaulet 3000.- Built by Sultan.
12/15 HP 1910 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98  in (2,489  mm ) Roadster 2800.- Built by Sultan.
12/15 HP 1911 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98  in (2,489  mm ) Town Car 2850.- Built by Sultan.
12/15 HP 1911 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98  in (2,489  mm ) Runabout 2250.- Built by Sultan.
12/15 HP 1912 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98  in (2,489  mm ) limousine 2550.- Built by Sultan.
12/15 HP 1912 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98  in (2,489  mm ) Landaulet 2400.- Built by Sultan.
Six 1912 R6 3700 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98  in (2,489  mm ) Landaulet 2400.- Project, incomplete data

commercial vehicles

model construction time engine
Cubic capacity c.i./cm³		 Power
bhp / kW
(ALAM rating)		 Wheelbase inch (mm) construction List prices
US $		 Remarks
Truck 2 tn 1904–? R4 32 / 23.9
(24 HP)		 116.25  in (2,953  mm ) Truck 4,000  lb (1,814.369  kg ) 3000.- Built by Elektron and possibly Otis / Sultan; incomplete data; possibly no license Lethimonnier.
Series 800 approx. 1910-1912 R4 123.7 / 2027 12 / 8.9
(14.4 HP)		 98  in (2,489  mm ) delivery trucks 2000.- Built by Sultan .; likely 800  lb (362.874  kg ) payload.

Remarks

  1. ↑ The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers represented the interests of manufacturers of Selden-licensed vehicles. He developed the first US American standard for engine performance, which provides reasonably exact values ​​for 1904–1911. The power is calculated: cylinder bore ² × number of cylinders; the result is 2.5 divided . The successor organization NACC ( National Automobile Chamber of Commerce ) used the same formula, which became increasingly imprecise with higher-revving engines. The standard is the forerunner of the more practical formula of the Society of Automobile Engineers ( SAE-PS ).

literature

Web links

Commons : Sultan Motor Company  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Mroz: Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Trucks and Commercial Vehicles. 1996, p. 371 (Sultan).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805–1942. 1996, p. 1448 (Sultan).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. 1973, p. 658 (Sultans / Sultan).
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Early American Automobiles: Sultan before 1908, advertisement
  5. ↑ coachbuilt.com: Gas Electric Motor Bus Co .; American Motor Bus Co., Part I.
  6. ↑ a b Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 1996, p. 1449 (Sultan).
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era. 2013, p. 123 (Sultan).
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 1996, pp. 1448-1449 (Sultan).
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Classic Car Database: Sultan 1910