Amilcar

It appears almost all motoring journalists agree the Austin 7 was "the" groundbreaking idea in little car layout, nevertheless the first extremely popular small car was French, and was called Le Zebre.

The Zebre had a singlecylinder 634 cc engine until 1913, when the Zebre's designer, M. Salomon, released his first tiny fourcylinder motor-car, and it was this layout which foreshadowed each of the successful small cars ahead.

Soon following the First-world War, the Le Zebre Company was creating M. Salomon's 4-cylinder, 55 mm x 105 mm (999 cc) trendsetter, but somehow the business had lost its impetus and also the car sold just in little numbers.

However, destiny - along with some divine business judgment and economic importance - was to permit the free rein to Salomon his engineering knowledge demanded. About now, Andre Citroen discovered his munitions factory lacking work and determined to make automobiles.

Originally, he intended to enter the stadium with a highperformance luxurious device, and preliminary work was undertaken, but his business acumen ultimately convinced him that success would likely be better assured at the budget of the marketplace.

He offered Salomon much more compared to the little Le Zebre Company could spend, and also the primary consequence of the blend of Citroen's cash and Salomon's brilliance was the 5CV Citroen, a car which had the same bore as his earlier style, however a fashionably short stroke of 90 mm plus a capacity of 855 cc.

The Growth In Bike Vehicles

Meanwhile, two financiers, Joseph Lamy and Emil Akar, had also realised that there were fortunes to be produced in supply extremely affordable transportation to auto-eager France, particularly as there was at that time a generally French legislation which allowed bike autos - a cross between a motor bike plus a auto - to pay a yearly tax of just a number of francs, so long as they weighed less-than 770 lb.

Even then the people were prejudiced against petroleum belt or chaindriven cyclecars, and it was apparent that if a business could assemble a real auto in miniature, in a favorite price, profitability could be guaranteed. Lamy and Akar were Le Zebre investors, nevertheless they determined to construct an entirely new version, that has been christened the Amilcar, from a blend of the two names.

Appropriately, they investigated the doubly unlucky Le Zebre factory and seduced away two amazing young students of the famed Salomon, Edmond Moyet and Andre Morel. Moyet created a standard Salomon engine for your new Amilcar which, together with equal 55 mm bore while the Zebre and the Citroen and a 95 mm stroke, had a capacity of 903 cc. All three of the engines featured sidevalves and 2-bearing crankshafts, but the Amilcar featured a mixed castiron cylinder and crankcase block instead of the different aluminium crankcase of the Citroen.

Within this regard, the first Amilcar adopted the Model T Ford, and another likeness was to be present in the socalled continuous-level splash lubrication. There is certainly no oil pump suited to the early engine; the flywheel dipped in into a sump and lifted the lube up into a cup, where it ran by gravitation towards the large - end troughs and main bearings. The clutch ran in oil and was of the design, coupled to a device gearbox of slipping - pinion type, giving three rates.

The drive was normal but the back axle absolutely had no differential. Cooling was by thermosyphon without the assistance of any water impeller or fan. It was not the sole benefit to be acquired in the solid axle, although the economy of weight was critical. An extremely light car with bike - thin tyres bounced a great deal to the streets of France, and both braking and roadholding were discovered to be better when the rear wheels were refused independent motion. An individual axle shaft went in one hub for the other, together with the crown wheel keyed in the center. Initially, straighttoothed bevels were used, but after a change was made to spiral bevels, where the clearances for silent running weren't so crucial.

Weight needed to be saved within the chassis, that was slim and carried quarterelliptic 'grasshopper' springs projecting from each end. They were mounted on the axles, leading axle to the very first couple of vehicles being of wood, for some bizarre reason. The handbrake worked on the footbrake and one back drum on the other - another benefit of having no differential - and the center - locking wirespoked wheels took beadededge tyres of 700 mm x 80 mm dimension.

Although just one door might be gotten in the less athletic models, such luxuries as doors being considered unnecessary, to maintain within the weight limitation and consequently benefit from lower tax, quite straightforward bodies of the minimal feasible dimension were fitted. The majority of the bodies had staggered seats, to lessen the area occupied by the driver and passenger. This strategy was found in racing vehicles for decades, the passenger (or mechanic) sitting farther back than the motorist and passing his right arm behind the driver's seat.

The Petit Activity or Bordino

However, the arrangement also had an important commercial edge because it considerably enhanced the appearance of quite a small-car. It was in look because it actually was a pretty small car, the Amilcar scored most. Among the early body styles was known as the Petit Activity or Bordino - the latter being a renowned Fiat driver who was likely to have originated the pointed tail with a vertical knife-edge. Probably the most appealing of all was the Bateau, a skiff-kind body planked in mahogany. These bodies, despite the little dimensions and simplicity, were so superbly proportioned the Amilcar couldn't fail to offer.

The very first Bol d'Or in St Germain

In 1922, the very first Bol d'Or race was organised within the Forest of St Germain. This is an event for vehicles and bikes up-to 1100 cc, which demanded just one driver to be in the wheel for 24-hours. Run from the former Club of Military Motor-cyclists, it happened on a circuit, less-than three miles round, and was going becoming a traditional. The race was won by Andre Morel in the tiny Amilcar, covering 1450 km per day plus a nighttime. During exactly the same year, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest held a 'Grand Prix' for 1100 cc voiturettes more than 247 miles at Le Mans. Despite these little sidevalve engines, Amilcars came third and, fourth behind several twinoverhead-camshaft Salmsons, that was an amazing accomplishment plus a magnificent advertisement for the brand new marque.

The Amilcar Kind CC

The sidevalve Arnilcars were never quick, even from the standards in their day, however, these results revealed their outstanding dependability. It was found that when they might get a bit more relaxation clients would choose to settle the ordinary small auto imposition, although the initial objective of Lamy and Akar were to construct automobiles eligible for the decreased cyclecar tax. The type CC of type CS and 903 cc of 985 cc, the latter having a more athletic engine building 23 bhp at 3200 rpm, could only be kept to the limitation if inadequately outfitted. The C4, which had a hood, a 1004 cc engine, as well as a hole within the tail for an unlucky third passenger, was appreciably heavier, and soon fourseater bodies started to be accessible.

The initial Amilcars had average valanced mudguards and wood running boards, but early sports versions were fitted with delightful flared guards, that might not have been really efficient at their main work but were, and still are, unbeatable for looks when kept clean inside and out. Then came the wings which will shortly remain connected with Amilcars and which, though they weren't unique to the make, were very much an Amilcar attribute. They were just long gutters, running on the front and rear wheels each side. These gutters weren't entirely straight but were curved down behind the front wheels slowly - only enough to give the impression of wings sweeping into quite large running boards - passed horizontally around the rear wheels and they rose pretty suddenly. The depth and breadth of the channel was continuous through the entire span.

Now the weight barrier was damaged, the way lay open for a more completely equipped Amilcar having an entire electrical system and, most importantly, fourwheel brakes. The chassis frame was extended in the kind of dense irons, since the quarterelliptic front springs, which were without radius arms, couldn't consume the torsion of brakes, and semielliptic springs were adopted. The brakes were controlled by pushrods and cords passing through the king pins, as on Alfa Romeo and Lea Francis amongst others. The dense irons swept outwards in the front, although the bonnet and radiator were really slim and also the springs were shackled beyond the chassis at their back anchorages, giving as a front spring to broad - base as potential.

The Amilcar Grand Sport

Consequently, about 1924, was created the kind CGS or Grand Sport, that is the bestknown of the Amilcars. This along with the decreased or surbaisse variation of 1926, generally called CGSs, were quite famous England in pre-MG days. They handled superbly, together with the highgeared, direct steering which every sports-car must have. Certainly, they may be slid under control on wet or free-surfaced roads in ways that, decades following the layout, few cars could emulate. Unfortunately, it should be confessed the fat had increased to 11.5 cwt approximately and also the car had necessarily lost some of its own liveliness, even though an even better engine of 1074 cc was adopted, developing something within the area of 30 bhp and a bit more for your Ss.

Full pressure lubrication was standardised early in the lite of the show. A supercharged engine providing about 40 bhp was likewise accessible and the 1927 Monte Carlo Rally was won by one of these, in a long-chassis Amilcar with a Weymann fabric saloon body,. All these Amilcars had sidevalve engines and several specific components were available, which were nearly essential if reliability was going to be preserved in form. These included such simple things as rollerbearing crankshafts and water pumps, however, the conventional models, like the majority of sidevalves, are not amenable to tuning in trimming.

Unfortunately, dishonest advertisements was considered ordinary in the 20's and a number of the British agents for Amilcar actually excelled themselves. It was customary in England in those times to spell out an automobile by the Treasury evaluation, two hp figures and also the brake horsepower to the test bench, including the 14 / 40 Vauxhall or the 20 / 60 Sunbeam. Because the 9 / 50, which was some 20 bhp an excessive amount the CGS was marketed in England! It was also 'guaranteed' to do 75 miles per hour. These speed claims were foolish at this time around, vehicles like the 1500 cc Frazer Nash being timed at a maximum of 67 mph and also the Type 40 Bugatti at 65 mph - therefore once you read such amounts on different websites consider yourself warned in the correctness.

Amilcar, assembled from 1921 through 1937, was clearly one of the very successful and renowned sports racer in France just before World War I. A year once they started producing automobiles, they won the world's first 24Hour race. From there, their place in history was secured. They continued to develop their standing in the 1100 cc Category of motor-racing. Appearances in the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia continued to demonstrate their speed and agility.

The engine created around 30 hp. Their power was in their light-weight construction which led to around a 1250 pound complete weight. Functionality was further improved with the brakes, when a lot of the contest favored brakes on two wheels. Amilcar made a sliding pole within the kingpin which helped achieve this effort, to maintain continuous braking pressure to the front wheels during cornering.

In 1926 a CGSs was launched, with all the added 'S' representing 'Surbaisse'. Horsepower increased marginally to 35. Other developments included a bigger sump, firewall, and a rise in brake size.

The Amilcar CGS was created from 1924 through 1926. The Amilcar CGSs was created from 1926 through 1929. As a whole there were approximately 4700 examples produced.