June 26th, 2009 by admin

A.L.F.A. 12 HP
Alfa Romeo P2
Alfa Romeo arose indirectly from the French firm Darracq. Darracq had set up a factory in Italy to assemble their products, especially a kind of car that would be suitable as a taxi. The car was not a success and a group of Italian financiers stepped in to take over these interests. In 1910 the firm took on a new name : Anomina Lombarda Fabbrica Automobile (A.L.F.A.). The now wholly Italian design of the cars was carried out by Giuseppe Merosi who had been previously employed by Orio Marchand, Fiat and Bianchi.

The 24 HP was the first car in the new line. It appeared in 1911 and had a 1084 cc monobloc engine and enclosed shaft drive. The 12 HP, though less complex, was inspired by the 24 HP and it was with the 12 HP that A.L.F.A. began its racing career at the end of 1911. A car was entered in the first road race at Modena which was restricted to touring cars traveling 940 miles in five stages. The 12 HP was classed among the six equal, unpenalized entrants. The 12 HP’s engine developed 22 bhp at 2,100 revs and this was later raised to 25 bhp at 2,400 revs (series B), and to 28 bhp at 2,400 revs (series C). The maximum speed of the first series was 56 mph rising to 63 mph for series C. It was available in two versions: a torpedo and a limousine (the thorpedo’s dry weight being 2,030 pounds (920 kg)). The 12 HP remained in production from 1910 to 1915 and 330 were built.

June 26th, 2009 by admin

Alfa Romeo RL Super Sport
Car : Alfa Romeos RL Super Sport
Year : 1925
Engine : 6 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :76?110 mm
Cylinder capacity : 2916 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 83
Maximum speed : 85 mph
Wheelbase : 10 ft 3? ins (3.13 m)
Suspension : front and rear: semi-elliptic leaf- springs
In 1915 A.L.F.A. underwent an important change when the majority shareholder, the Banca di Sconto appointed an engineer, Nicola Romeo to run the firm. In 1918 Romeo’s various companies were merged under a single name and in 1920 Romeo’s name was added to Alfa.

The RL was considered to be Giuseppe Merosi’s masterpiece. Displayed for the first time at Alfa Romeo’s showroom in the via Dante, Milan in 1921, it immediately entered production in both standard and sports versions. Its manufacture continued until 1927. The RL was raced between 1929 and 1927 and it won 90 victories in the touring class. It competed mainly in hill-climbs and endurance races. Neither the first nor the second series had front brakes, but by September 1923, the third series had front and rear drum brakes.

June 26th, 2009 by admin

Car : Mercedes 770
Year : 1930
Engine : 8 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :95?135 mm
Cylinder capacity : 7655 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 150
Maximum speed : 107 mph
Wheelbase : 12 ft 4 ins (3.75 m)
Suspension : front and rear : semi-elliptic leaf- springs
The 170 V of 1936 was typical of the medium class. It had a tubular chassis, independent suspension and the engine had side valves. It was with the car that Mercedes restarted its business after the war even though the bombing had destroyed its factories. The 170 V gave rise to the 170 D which used a diesel engine. This replaced the 260 D of the 1930s which was the first diesel-engined car in the world. As the 170 V was rather heavy it needed a long straight in order to reach its maximum speed of 69 mph.

70,700 170 Vs were produced before the war, 17,000 were supplied to the German Army during the war and 49,000 were produced when activity resumed. A further 94,000 were built in the 170 D and the 170 S versions. The latter differed in its bodywork and in its engine. This was an enlarged 1767 cc engine, the maximum power increasing to 52 bhp and the maximum speed to 52 bhp and maximum speed to 76 mph. There were two other versions, the cabriolet which remained in production until 1957 and the 170 DS which had the same enlarged 1767 cc engine, a maximum power of 40 bhp and a maximum speed of 66 mph. In 1955 a 170 with a monocoque body was named the 180.

June 26th, 2009 by admin

Opel 6/16 PS
Opel P4
Car : Opel 6/16 PS
Year : 1911
Engine : 4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :70?100 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1540 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 16
Maximum speed : 41 mph
Wheelbase : 11 ft 0 ins (3.35 m)
Suspension : front and rear : semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Opel started by manufacturing sewing machines in 1862. The first factory was at Russelsheim near Frankfurt and it remained there when Adam Opel considered changing it over first in 1866 to the production of bicycles, (because of the passion that his five sons had for two wheeled vehicles), and then to cars.

Car production started in 1898 following an agreement between Opel’s heirs and Freidrich Lutzmann, who had designed a motorized carriage. The Opels were far from satisfied with their first vehicle and it was not a commercial success. At this point an agreement was drawn up with Darracq by which Opel bought the manufacturing rights to the Darracq models. The first of these appeared in 1902. Then the Opels broke away from Darracq and produced a car which was entirely their own and which brought them much acclaim on the race circuit. The 6/16 was one of their most popular cars and it remained in production until 1914. The engine had a monobloc L 1,750 revs.It was one of Opel’s first products to have a 4-speed of gearbox, it had magneto ignition, a cone clutch and a maximum speed of 41 mph. In 1908 Opel achieved a record that excited much envy at the time: it had produced 10,000 cars. In 1912 the firm , which was already known for producing particularly sturdy cars, brought out the P?ppchen (doll) which had four cylinders and four speeds.

June 26th, 2009 by admin

Car : Opel P4
Year : 1935
Engine : 4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :67.5?75 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1074 cc
Gears : 3 forward
Brake horse power : 23
Maximum speed : 57 mph
Wheelbase : 7 ft 6 ins (2.3 m)
Suspension : front and rear : semi-elliptic leaf- springs
The P4 dates from 1935 and its production was based on American methods. Opels had been sold to General Motors in 1929. The particularly attractive price of DM 1,450 made the P4 highly successful but it only remained in production for two years.

The reason was probably because it overshadowed the Hitler r?gime’s ‘people’s car’ or Volkswagen. Technically there was nothing outstanding about the P4, indeed it was rather behind its time. However, Opel and its new owners had an entirely practical objective; this was a sturdy car which lacked frills and was cheap. In this they were imitating the approach of Ford in England. The P4 derived from cars that were already in production by 1929 and 1932; it differed only in having a shorter piston stroke than its stable mates. It developed 23 bhp at 3,600 revs. It had pumped water cooling, a 6 volt electrical system , mechanical brakes, a 3-speed gearbox (a 4-speed gearbox was an extra) and a 2- or 4-door body. Aside from these features, which admittedly do not place the P4 in the forefront of progress, the P4 occupies a place of great importance in the history of Opel. The P4 was the inspiration for the Kadett manufactured by General Motors which has sold around the world.

June 26th, 2009 by admin

Stoewer
Car : Stoewer
Year : 1912
Engine : 4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :78?118 mm
Cylinder capacity : 2247 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 22
Maximum speed : 50 mph
Wheelbase : 9 ft 8 ins (2.9 m)
Suspension : front: semi-elliptic leaf- springs ;rear : ? elliptic leaf- springs
Stoewer began to produce motorized vehicles in 1899 which makes it one of the earliest German car firms. From tricycles with single cylinder De Dion engines, the Stoewer brothers, Emil and Mernhard, moved on to cars with 4 and 6-cylinder engines (they were amongst the first in Germany to use the latter layout). The 4 cylinders of the 1912 machine illustrated here had a L cylinder head, side valves and a multi-plate clutch. The brake pedal acted on the transmission and the hand brake on rear wheel drum brakes.

After concentrating on airplane engine production during the First World War, Stoewer resumed car construction with a range of new models. However, they now had to produce smaller machines, though the company continued to sound out the luxury car market with 8-cylinder models. In 1930 Bernard Stoewer designed the highly successful V5. This was the first cheap German car with front-wheel drive and independent suspension. In 1931 and 1932 more than 2,000 were produced. From then on Stoewer restricted itself almost entirely to front-wheel drive cars. It ceased car production at the out =break of the Second World War and concentrated on supplying components to other manufacturers.

June 26th, 2009 by admin

Wanderer 5/12 PS
Car : Wanderer 5/12 PS
Year : 1914
Engine : 4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :62?95 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1145 cc
Gears : 3 forward
Brake horse power : 12
Maximum speed : 44 mph
Wheelbase : 7 ft 2? ins (2.9 m)
Suspension : front: semi-elliptic leaf- springs ;rear : ? elliptic leaf- springs
Wanderer began by manufacturing bicycles near Chemnitz in Saxony, under the name of Wanderer Werke of Schonau. In 1911 it started car production after having tried to produce motorcycles. The firm’s first car was the 5/12. It ha a unit construction engine and 3-speed transmission. The engine had overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves, and developed 12 bhp at 1,800 revs. The tandem arrangement of the seats explains the vehicle’s narrowness of 3 feet 6? inches (2.20 m).

It also had a low overall weight of 1,545 pounds (700 kg) but its maximum speed of 44 mph was quite fast for its time. Wanderer called this original mini car P?ppchen the name which Opel also gave to one of its models. In its early years Wanderer confined itself almost exclusively to small engined cars, but in 1929 it put a 2600 cc 6-cylinder model into production and in 1931 it commissioned 6- and 8-cylinder engines from Ferdinand Porsche. In 1932 Wanderer merged with Audi, DKW and Horch to form Auto-Union. The new models with Porsche-designed engines were in the 1933 Berlin Motor Show.
Wanderer concentrated on producing military vehicles for the army during the war, and car production was never resumed when it was over.

June 26th, 2009 by admin

Bernardi-Miari & Giusti, who between 1896 and 1901 built and sold 100 cars (in 1899 the company took the name of Motori Bernardi-Miari , Giusti & Compagnia) represented the start of the Italian motor car industry.
As in the United States, Great Britain and France , the advent of the car in Italy was accompanied by numerous ventures and dozens of models appeared and disappeared within a few years. The major figures in this initial phase were the Ceirano brothers. They were responsible for the founding of a number of companies including Welleyes, Spa, Rapid , Itala and Scat.
In 1899, Fiat, which was to become the principal Italian car manufacturer, was founded in Turin. Fiat started with a vehicle bought from Welleyes, which had been a design of Aristide Faccioli and patented by Matteo Ceirano. The man who worked hardest at launching the Welleyes cars was Cesare Goria-Gatti who, in 1898, had entered the partnership founded by Giovanni Battista Ceirano.
One of the Turin Automobile publications, Marche Italiane Scomparse (defunct Italian manufacturers), lists about 300 manufacturers who survived from the early twentieth century through to the outbreak of the First World War. Apart from Fiat, Lancia in 1906 and later Alfa Romeo, also established themselves as strong and successful companies.

June 26th, 2009 by admin

The public’s interest in motor cars was aroused from racing. Only later did they move into production of light, economical and cheap vehicle. The firt popular car manufactured by Fiat was the 509, introduced in 1925 and sold for L18,500. Ninety thousand of these were built before 1929. The first true 4-seater,however, was the 508, or Balilla, which appeared in 1932, followed in 1936 by the 500 or Topolino.
Lancia, whilst not producing great numbers, was renowned for its refinement of some of its cars’ advanced mechanics. For instance the monocoque body was used on the Lambda in 1923 with a narrow V engine.
The golden era of the car in Italy was the 1930s. The car was represented by such manufacturers as Isotta-Franschini whose cars were considered to be the equals of Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza and Duesenberg. Production ceased at beginning of the Second World War.
The fist reliable figures on the progress of car production in Italy date from 1925, when 45,800 cars and 4,600 industrial vehicles were produced. Production then fell again and it was not until 1950 that production exceeded 100,000 units. Manufacture has risen continuously since this period and this has enabled Italian industry to meet the competition from other major European car manufacturers.