The Amilcar was a French automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1939. The first offering was a small cyclecar; designed by Jules Salomon and Edmond Moyet , it bore a striking resemblance to the pre-war Le Zèbre . Next was the 903cc CC, which was available in two further versions; the CS was a sport version, while the C4 was a family car. The sv engine had splash lubrication , and came with a three speed gearbox. The most famous model of all was the CGS "Grand Sport" of 1924; this featured a 1074cc sv engine and four-wheel brakes. This in turn evolved into the more sporty CGSS "Grand Sport Surbaissé". These models were built under license in Germany (as the Pluto ) and in Austria (as the Grofri)and in Italy (as Amilcar Italiana). The marque entered automobile racing in the mid-1920s with a batch of supercharged dohc 1100cc six cylinder cars that used a roller bearing crankshaft in the full racing version; these vehicles were also available with plain bearings. The company also offered a light touring car; called the "M-Type", it featured a sv 1200cc engine and was launched in 1928. It was followed by the M2, M3, and M4 versions. 1928 also saw the manufacture of a straight eight, which was built with an ohc 2-liter engine. This, the C8, proved unreliable, and soon disappeared. In the late 1930s Amilcar introduced two new models; one was the 14cv, which used a four cylinder Delahaye engine. In 1937 the company merged with Hotchkiss. The next model was the front wheel drive Amilcar Compound, quite advanced in design for its era, featuring a monocoque frame made of a light alloy and independent suspension all around. For an engine it had an ohv four-cylinder of 1185cc. Production of the Amilcar was not resumed after World War II.
List of important Amilcar models
- 1922 Amilcar CC
- 1922 Amilcar C4
- 1923 Amilcar E
- 1924 Amilcar CGS
- 1925 Amilcar CS
- 1926 Amilcar CGSS
- 1927 Amilcar C6
- 1928 Amilcar M
- 1928 Amilcar C8
- 1930 Amilcar C8 bis
- 1930 Amilcar CS8
- 1934 Amilcar Pégase
- 1938 Amilcar Compound aka B38
External links
