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Chenard & Walcker T3 - driving like 90 years ago at Le Mans

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Created on October 24, 2015

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

43

Michael Alschner

1

Archiv

4

Bruno von Rotz

43

Michael Alschner

1

Archiv

4

Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - simple lines

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - looks nostalgic at first sight

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - how the cars roared along the Hunaudiéres straight

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - 90 km/h should still be possible today

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - requires strong arms

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - warm weather is preferred

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the two-liter should produce around 60 hp today

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - shifting with intermediate clutch and intermediate throttle

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - is still no traffic obstacle today

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - this is what Le Mans racing cars looked like 90 years ago

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the starting number 11 has remained on the car

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the drivers had less to laugh about in the rain at Le Mans back then

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the cars in 1923/1924 probably did not yet have a damper

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - rigid axles guide the wheels at the front and rear

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the oval radiator was typical of the Chenards of the time

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - of course the car is right-hand drive

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the elegant bodywork was designed by Lagache Glaszmann

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - no doors for the rear seats

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - four seats were a prerequisite for Le Mans at the time

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - ready for the Le Mans race

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the spare wheel is fitted at the rear

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - attractive sounds escape from the exhaust

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - relatively thin tires for the heavy car

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - Torpedo stern

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the workplace for Le Mans winners

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - Five-spoke steering wheel

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - some of the fittings were probably added later

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - solid switches

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the watch apparently runs for four days without winding

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - rev counter with red area from 3000 rpm

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - an ampere meter from the manufacturer

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the pedals - everything is where you expect it to be

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - solid steering wheel

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - cleanly designed two-liter engine

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the small auxiliary fuel tank at the back

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the four-cylinder in-line engine with a king-shaft drive for the overhead camshaft

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - Windshield with additional ventilation options

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - hood fastened with straps

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - thin tires

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - Water thermometer on the radiator

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - the water thermometer on the radiator

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1924) - found as a barn find

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Chenard & Walcker T3 (1923) - with Lagache Glaszmann bodywork

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Chenard & Walcker Tourisme (1923) - The faster version of the Tourisme, namely the Sport, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1923 (pictured is number 11, 7th place)

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Chenard et Walcker Sport (1923) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - The first winner of Le Mans was a Chenard et Walcker Sport 1923 driven by André Lagache and René Léonard

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Chenard & Walcker Sport (1923) - in the special Le Mans show at the Geneva Motor Show 2014

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Chenard & Walcker Sport (1923) - in the exhibition of Le Mans racing cars - in the special Le Mans show at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show

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Chenard & Walcker Tank (1929) - in the category of pre-war vehicles at the Grossglockner Grand Prix 2013

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Summary

In 1923, a Chenard & Walcker sports model won the first 24 Hours of Le Mans, with 2nd and 7th place also going to the fourth-largest French manufacturer at the time. The blue cars also took part in the 24 Hours in 1924 and 1925, but were no longer able to achieve overall victory. However, the Chenard & Walcker cars did win class victories and the valuable "Rudge-Whitworth Triennial Cup". Almost 90 years later, a Chenard & Walcker T3 with a two-liter engine shows what it meant to cover over 2000 km in 24 hours in the 1920s.

This article contains the following chapters

Victory in the first 24 Hours of Le Mans
The triple
Successful brand
The cars of the twenties
The Climax in the form of the Type X
A T3 from 1924
Open-top tourer

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

On May 26, 1923, 33 cars competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a newly created endurance cup for production touring cars, for the first time. The winner was a French brand that is almost only known to historians today: Chenard-Walcker. In the 1920s, this company was the fourth-largest car manufacturer in France! Only production cars were allowed to take part in the first 24 Hours of Le Mans, i.e. those that corresponded to the descriptions in the manufacturer's sales catalog. Various engine capacity classes with corresponding minimum distance values were stipulated. Each seat had to be loaded with 60 kg, and only cars with a displacement of less than 1100 cm3 were allowed to have two seats. Touring car bodies and accessories were prescribed, as was the case for normal road traffic, i.e. mudguards, horn, lighting system, windshield, rear-view mirror and folding roof, etc.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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