Hispano-Suiza 1904-1943 - Luxury, prestige and elegance
Summary
There were around 10,000 car brands and designers - most of them have disappeared. One of these vanished brands is Hispano-Suiza, which existed from 1904 to 1943 and combined luxury, prestige and elegance with technical sophistication like no other.
Estimated reading time: 3min
Preview (beginning of the article)
In terms of automotive history, Hispano-Suiza comes closest to Rolls-Royce in terms of prestige. Brand founder Marc Birkigt (1878-1953) was admitted to the Legion of Honor by France and awarded an honorary doctorate by ETH Zurich. In Barcelona, he came into contact with the construction of electric vehicles, became involved in the development of petrol engines, became chief designer and founded the company La Hispano-Suiza de Automóviles in 1904. The company specialized in the production of sophisticated luxury vehicles. In 1912, the Hispano-Suiza Alfonso XIII, a particularly powerful and lightweight model, was dedicated to Spain's car-loving King Alfonso, who had become a loyal customer; it is regarded as a forerunner of modern sports cars. A V8 engine with overhead camshafts developed by Birkigt became the ultimate aircraft engine, installed in almost 50,000 Allied aircraft.
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