Rolland-Pilain

France, 1906 – 1931

SA des Etablissements Rolland-Pilain, Tours

Unusual among French marques of its period, Rolland Pilain cars made their greatest impact after World War 1. Their first product was a 20hp 4-cylinder model Rolland Pilain cars with a monobloc engine, though smaller 2.2-litre shaft-driven Rolland Pilain cars were available in 1909 and a 3-speed 1½-litre Rolland Pilain 8/10CV in 1910, in which year the Rolland Pilain car company was also experimenting with ‘valveless’ engines and 4-wheel brakes. Though racing was in the doldrums, the Rolland Pilain car company went to the trouble of building a big chain-driven Rolland Pilain car for the 1911 Grand Prix de France, and a complex 1912 range started with a Rolland Pilain 9CV of 1.7-litres and went up to a chain-driven 4-cylinder 60 Rolland Pilain car of 130x270mm. The 6-cylinder Rolland Pilain 18CV had a ‘valveless’ engine, and even in 1913 chain drive was still optional on the biggest fours of 20CV and 24CV Rolland Pilain cars. Only 1.9-litre and 4-litre 4-cylinder Rolland Pilain cars with sv monobloc engines and unit gearboxes were listed in 1914.

These basic types of Rolland Pilain cars, still with pedal-operated transmission brakes, were available again after World War 1, but far more advanced was the 2.2-litre Rolland Pilain 14/16 of 1921, which boasted not only overhead valves and a detachable head, but also front-wheel brakes (hydraulic at the front and mechanical at the rear). This Rolland Pilain car was still catalogued in 1926. Even more ambitious was the 2-litre twin ohc straight-8 GP Rolland Pilain car of 1922, with desmodromic valves, ball-bearing crankshafts and 4-wheel hydraulic brakes. A victory of a Rolland Pilain car at San Sebastian in 1923 was the limit of the success of Rolland Pilain cars on the circuits, but the type found its way into the catalogue as the Type A22 Rolland Pilain car at 90.000fr, and one of the racers also ran with a 2-litre, 6-cylinder cuff-valve Schmid engine. In 1925 came a 2-litre ohv 4-cylinder Rolland Pilain car with 4-wheel mechanical brakes, selling for £725 in England, while a 1½-litre development, the Rolland Pilain D26, was introduced for 1927. In 1929 Rolland-Pilain car, along with several other French firms, tried a Franco-American theme by introducing a range of big luxury chassis with sv Continental engines. Both the 6-cylinder, 3-litre, and the 4-litre straight-8 Rolland Pilain cars had centralized chassis lubrication, though the elegant bodywork of the Rolland Pilain car was marred by the use of artillery wheels. At the 1930 Paris Salon the Rolland Pilain car company shared a stand with the BNC (also going through a Franco-American phase), but this was the end, though the Rolland Pilain car firm’s Paris depot was still advertising spare parts for Bignan as well as Rolland Pilain cars in 1934.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

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Detroit Electric

US, 1907 – 1938

(1) Anderson Carriage Co, Detroit, Mich., 1907 – 1910

(2) Anderson Electric Car Co, Detroit, Mich., 1911 – 1918

(3) Detroit Electric Car Co, Detroit, Mich., 1919 – 1938

One of the best-known electric automobiles built in the United States as well as one of the most long-lived, the Detroit Electric car reached its peak in production and sales between 1912 and 1920. The Detroit-Electric success was largely due to the demand by women for a simple car for urban use. More than 1000 Detroit Electric cars per year were sold up to World War 1, but production tapered off in the 1920s. A few Detroit Electrics with Renault-type bonnets were made under licence by Arrol-Johnston in 1913/ 1914. In 1920, the old-fashioned appearance of the Detroit Electric cars was modified by the introduction of false front which made the Detroit look more like a conventional car. In the early 1930s, production of Detroit Electric cars was cut to individual orders, and bodies for the more conventional-looking cars were obtained from Willys-Overland, complete with the horizontal bonnet louvres. The earlier design of the Detroit Electric, however, with rounded battery covers, fore and aft, was also available. Only a handful of Detroit Electric cars were produced annually after 1935. Some of the last Detroit Electric cars used the Dodge bonnet and grille.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; KM

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com