Amilcar 1921-1939 - small but mighty and successful in racing
Summary
There have been around 10,000 car brands and designers - most of which have disappeared. One of these vanished brands is Amilcar, which owed its early fame to its successes in motorsport and the cycle car segment. Over the years, the vehicles became bigger and more powerful. In 1937, the brand was taken over by Hotchkiss.
Estimated reading time: 3min
Preview (beginning of the article)
Cyclecars, a mixture of motorcycle and automobile, were officially introduced in 1913. After the First World War, France triggered an additional wave of motorization with special cyclecar laws: For two-seaters with a maximum unladen weight of 350 kg and an engine capacity of less than 1100 cm3, an annual tax of just 100 francs was collected. This gave rise to a new branch of the automotive industry - mostly small companies that sourced engines from abroad. The most successful cycle car constructor was Amilcar, founded in Paris in 1921 by Emile Akar and Joseph Lamy. The first type CC (with its own 901 cm3 four-cylinder engine, no differential) designed by engineer Edmond Moyet was followed by the CS (985 cm3) in 1922, then the C4 (1004 cm3) and the CGS (= Grand Sport, 1074 cm3, plus four-wheel brakes) in 1924. When Peugeot with the Quadrilette and Citroën with the 5 CV claimed the small car market for themselves, only Amilcar and Salmson were able to hold their own in the long term.
Continue reading this article for free?
