Ballot

France, 1919 – 1932

Etablissement Ballot, Paris

One of the most interesting of the new makes that sprang up in such numbers in France after World War 1 was the Ballot. Previously, Ernest Ballot had made well-known proprietary engines for other car manufacturers, including Delage and Mass. The first of his own cars were the 4.9-litre 8-cylinder Ballot racing machines built for the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race of 1919. The Ballots were designed by Henry, famous for his racing Peugeots of 1912 to 1914, and had twin overhead camshaft engines with four valves per cylinder, like that designer’s earlier productions. The regulations of the 1921 French Grand Prix demanded 3-litre engines, so a smaller Ballot version followed. It was fitted with Hallot front wheel brakes. At the same time, Ballot made a 2-litre 4-cylinder racing car.
Ballot’s first production car was based on this machine. Introduced in 1921, it was of the same design as the 2-litre Ballot racing car. Its performance was something extraordinary, but only about 50 Ballot cars were made. During the same year, a more practical fast Ballot tourer, of what was to become a characteristic French type, was offered. This 2LT Ballot for sale was also a four, of the same bore and stroke, but with a single overhead camshaft. Even so, there were few cars like the Ballot 2-litre in France in 1921, with its advanced engine design, high performance and front wheel brakes combined with touring car characteristics. The Ballot 2LT was developed into the Ballot 2LTS, a tuned version in 1924; and in 1927 they were joined by a six of the same engine design and size. This was followed by the 2.6-litre Ballot RH for sale, which was Ballot’s first straight-8 since the 1921 Grand Prix cars, and was developed in 1930 into the 3-litre Ballot RH3. By now Ballot had been taken over by Hispano-Suiza, and the 1931 Hispano ‘Junior’ was built in the Ballot works.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN 

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