Automobiles Darracq France
Company type | Automobiles |
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Automobiles Darracq France was a manufacturer of motor vehicles and aero engines in Suresnes, near Paris. The enterprise, known at first as A Darracq et Cie, was founded in 1896 by successful businessman Alexandre Darracq.
In 1902 he sold his new business to a privately held English company named A Darracq and Company Limited, taking a substantial shareholding and a directorship himself. He continued to run the business from Paris but was obliged to retire to the Côte d'Azur in 1913 following years of difficulties that brought his business into very hazardous financial circumstances. He had introduced an unproven unorthodox engine in 1911 which proved a complete failure yet he neglected Suresnes' popular conventional products. France then entered the first World War.
in 1916 ownership of the Suresnes business was transferred to Darracq S.A. In 1922 Darracq's name was dropped from its products and this business was renamed Talbot S.A. Initially its products were branded Darracq-Talbot and then just Talbot. The London parent company suffered a financial collapse during
History of the business
A Darracq et Cie
Alexandre Darracq, using part of the substantial profit he had made from selling his Gladiator bicycle factory to Adolpe Clément,[2] formed a société en commanditie in February 1897 and named it A Darracq et Cie. He built a new plant, the Perfecta works, in the Paris suburb of Suresnes just south of Puteaux.[1]
Production began in January 1898 with bicycle parts, tricycles and quadricycles and a
Darracq et Cie produced its first four-wheeled car with an internal combustion engine in 1900. Designed by Paul Ribeyrolles, gear change.[3]
AcceleratorThough larger it was remarkably similar to a current Renault design. Its notable innovation was the provision of a system to vary engine speed between 100 rpm and 2,000 rpm. This was accomplished by regulating the engine's ignition and its inlet valves. By the end of September 1901 they had sold more than 1,000 of these cars but with only 300 employees Suresnes must have been essentially an assembly business.[1] |
A. Darracq et Cie was sold as of 30 September 1902 to A. Darracq and Company Limited, an English company a substantial part owned by Alexandre Darracq but majority controlled by a small group of English investors. J S Smith-Winby was appointed chairman. Further capital was raised and large sums were spent on factory expansion, the Suresnes site was expanded to some four acres in extent, and in England extensive premises were bought.[5]
Opel Darracq
In 1902, A. Darracq et Cie signed a contract with Adam Opel to jointly produce vehicles in the German Empire under licence, with the brand name "Opel Darracq".[6]
Darracq holder of six world speed records
A. Darracq et Cie prospered. By 1903, four models were offered: a 1.1-litre single, a 1.3 L and 1.9 L
In late 1904 the chairman reported sales were up by 20 per cent though increased costs meant the profit had risen more slowly. But what was more important was they had many more orders than they could fill and the only solution was to enlarge the factory by as much as 50 per cent.[8] Twelve months later, the chairman was able to tell shareholders all the six speed records of the automobile world were held by Darracq cars and they had all been held more than twelve months and yet another had recently been added by K Lee Guinness.[9]
Italy and Spain
Alexandre Darracq established Società Italiana Automobili Darracq (SIAD) in
Cabs
An order was accepted from a M. Charley for several thousand cabs to sell to franchised operators in major European and American cities. Darracq ordered 4,000 chassis frames and built a new factory beside the existing one but except in New York the cabs were not as popular as the Renault and Unic competition. In 1907 one-third of New York's 1,800 cabs were Darracqs. It was useful business during the recession of 1908 but Darracq turned his attention to heavy motor vehicles.[1]
Steam buses
A joint venture into steam buses designed by
Aviation
In 1907 Alexandre Darracq became interested in aviation and by 1909 Darracq S.A. were building light aero engines, used by Louis Blériot and Alberto Santos-Dumont.[10] They were clearly based on their racing engines. There may have been just the two built.[7]
Competition
After 1907 it became harder to sell Darracq's cars, prices had to be cut, new models did not attract the expected custom.[7] Returning to Alexandre Darracq's 1898 idea to build low-cost, good-quality cars, much as Henry Ford was doing with the Model T, Darracq S.A. introduced a £260 14–16 hp (10–12 kW; 14–16 PS) model at the very end of 1911.[10][12] These, at the founder's insistence, would all be cursed with the Henriod[note 2] rotary valve engine, which was underpowered and prone to seizing.[10] The new engine's failure was reported by Darracq & Company London to its shareholders to be no more than the difficulty of achieving quantity production. It proved disastrous to the marque, and Alexandre Darracq would be obliged to resign.[10]
In late 1911 Alexandre Darracq was replaced by new manager, his former chief engineer, Paul Ribeyrolles[12] former head of Gladiator inventor and motor racing enthusiast. In June 1912 Darracq resigned, he had already sold all his shares.[7] A main board director, Hopkins, was sent to Paris to take charge of general administration and former Rover Company chief engineer, Owen Clegg, was retrieved from USA where he was studying production methods at Darracq's expense and appointed works manager.[13] At the end of 1912 the chairman reassured shareholders a return on their investment in the valveless motor would arrive in 1913.[14]
By February 1913 shareholders had set up their own inquiry into the unsatisfactory position of their business and it reported poor co-operation between London and Suresnes, they had been pulling against each other, furthermore there had been considerable loss through "recent changes in personnel".[15] The committee then went on record saying:
- "M. Darracq, as a typical Frenchman, probably possessed far more originality and initiative than any Englishman of corresponding situation, but, if he displayed a failing, it was that he, like most of his brilliant race, lacked the Englishman's pertinacity, and, after a time, seemed to lose interest, as it were, in his original conceptions without making any serious effort to strike out a fresh line."[16]
The chairman of the investigating committee, Norman Craig, was appointed chairman of A Darracq and Company (1905).[7]
New works manager Owen Clegg, appointed in October 1912, designer of the proven Rover Twelve, sensibly copied the Twelve for Darracq & Co's new model.[10] Before his appointment as works manager Clegg had spent 12 months in USA at Darracq's expense studying automobile production.[7] The factory at Suresnes was retooled for mass production,[10] making it one of the first in the industry to do so. The 16HP Clegg-Darracq was joined by an equally reliable 2.1-litre 12HP car, and soon the factory was turning out sixty cars a week; by 1914, 12,000 men rolled out fourteen cars a day.[10]
First World War
During the First World War, Darracq S.A. switched to the production of various war materials.
During 1916 these Suresnes assets were transferred to Société Anonyme Darracq, a new company incorporated in France for the purpose, British assets were transferred to a company named Darracq Motor Engineering Company Limited. A. Darracq and Company (1905) Limited was now no more than a holder of shares in these two businesses.[17]
After the War automobile production resumed as soon as the Suresnes factory had ceased making munitions, arms and planes.
The French franc had suffered a sustained crisis of its own during the war years, and in May 1920 the "Type V" was listed at 35,000 francs in bare chassis form: a torpedo bodied car was priced at 40,000 francs.[18] Even the "Type V", with its 3,150 mm (124 in) wheelbase, was substantial car, but for customers wanting more, a "Type A" appeared on the same list at 39,500 francs in bare chassis form, and 44,500 francs for a torpedo bodied car.[18]
After the war the prewar 16HP V14 was the manufacturer's top-selling car in Britain.[10]
Automobiles Talbot
Following the inclusion of Clément-Talbot in the S T D Motors group Suresnes products were branded Talbot-Darracq though the word Darracq was dropped in 1922 and this company was renamed Automobiles Talbot S.A.
Cars made by Automobiles Talbot imported from France to England were renamed Darracq to avoid confusion with the English Clément-Talbot products.[19]
Motor sport
Like other automobile makers in this era, such as
Darracqs won the 1905 and 1906
Genevieve
In 1953, a British film directed by Henry Cornelius, Genevieve, featured a 1904 Darracq as its centrepiece. The film sparked an increase in collecting and restoring vintage automobiles.
In the 100th episode of
References
- ^ ISBN 9780853232131
- ^ Wise, David Burgess. "Darracq: A Motor Enthusiast who Hated Driving", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 5, p.484.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wise, p.493.
- ^ Wise, David Burgess. "Davis: The Grand Old Man of Motor Racing", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 5, p.499.
- ^ A. Darracq & Company Limited. The Times, Monday, Nov 20, 1905; pg. 13; Issue 37869
- ^ Wise, p.493. Wise does not mention the year or marque name. Setright, does not mention the year, either, and p.1586 says it was an 8 hp (6.0 kW; 8.1 PS) four-seater.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ian Nickols and Kent Karslake, Motoring Entente, Cassell, London 1956
- ^ A Darracq and Co. Limited. The Times, Saturday, Nov 26, 1904; pg. 16; Issue 37562
- ^ A Darracq and Co Limited, The Times, Saturday, Nov 18, 1905; pg. 17; Issue 37868
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wise, p.494.
- ^ Darracq-Serpollet Omnibus Company, The Times, Tuesday, Dec 24, 1907; pg. 10; Issue 38524.
- ^ a b Company Meetings, The New Darracq Valveless Model. The Times, Thursday, Dec 14, 1911; pg. 18; Issue 39768
- ^ Darracq Meeting Adjourned. The Times, Tuesday, Dec 17, 1912; pg. 16; Issue 40084
- ^ Company Results. A Darracq. The Times, Tuesday, Dec 10, 1912; pg. 19; Issue 40078
- ^ The Darracq Inquiry. The Times, Thursday, Feb 20, 1913; pg. 15; Issue 40140
- ^ The Darracq Board And The Committee's Report. The Times, Friday, Feb 28, 1913; pg. 14; Issue 40147
- ^ The Motor Transport Year Book and Directory Electrical Press, London, 1918
- ^ a b c d e f "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1920 (Salon [Oct] 1919). 31. Paris: Histoire & collections: 79. 2004.
- ^ S.T.D. Motors. The Times, Wednesday, Feb 18, 1925; pg. 21; Issue 43889
- ^ Northey, Tom, "Land-speed record: The Fastest Men on Earth", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 10, p.1163.
- ^ a b c Northey, p.1163.
- ^ Darracq "200" fires up for first time in 97 years. YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
- ^ Wise, p.494; Wise, "Vanderbilt Cup", p.2460.
- ^ Wise, "Darracq", p.494.
- ^ The British Competition Car, Cyril Posthumus, 1959 P.53
Notes
Other sources
- Northey, Tom, "Land-speed record: The Fastest Men on Earth", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 10, pp. 1161–1166. London: Orbis, 1974.
- Setright, L.J.K. "Opel: Simple Engineering and Commercial Courage", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles, Volume 14, pp. 1583–1592. London: Orbis, 1974.
- Wise, David Burgess."Darracq: A Motor Enthusiast who Hated Driving", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles, Volume 5, pp. 493–494. London: Orbis, 1974.
- Wise, David Burgess."Vanderbilt Cup: The American Marathon", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles, Volume 21, pp. 2458–60-4. London: Orbis, 1974.