Gladiator

France, 1896 – 1920

(1) Societé Gladiator, Pré-St. Gervais, 1896 – 1909

(2) Societé Gladiator, Puteaux, Seine, 1910 – 1920

The original Gladiator firm was founded by Aucoc and Darracq in 1891 to make cycles, but Gladiator was bought out in 1896 by a British group with which Harvey Du Cros was concerned. This new group proceeded to amalgamate with Clément, from which concern Adolphe Clément himself subsequently resigned in order to launch the Clément-Bayard business; to complicate matters, the Clément-Gladiator combine also made Clément cars which were of very similar design to their Gladiator cars. Gladiator’s first car was a simple little voiturette of 4hp with a single-cylinder horizontal engine mounted in a tubular frame, cycle-type wire wheels, and handlebar steering, but by 1899 the Gladiator car firm were making 2½hp and 3½hp Aster-engined Gladiator machines with transversely-mounted power units at the front, wheel steering, and pedal control for the 2-speed gear. Final drive was by chain, and the Gladiator make was introduced to England by S.F. Edge’s Motor Power Co, who marketed the Gladiator at £118,15s in 1900. Edge continued to sponsor the Gladiator until his preoccupation with Napier affairs caused him to discard both the Gladiator make and the Regent. A more conventional Gladiator 6½hp single, still Aster-powered, was available in 1901, in which year an 18hp 4-cylinder Gladiator racing voiturette contested the Paris-Berlin: almost the last serious competition attempt by Gladiator, though a single-cylinder chain-driven Gladiator voiturette ran in L’Auto’s first light-car race in 1905, and Gladiator cars also started in the early Tourist Trophies. Late in 1901 came a conventional Gladiator 12hp car with armoured wood frame, side-chain drive, and a vertical-twin aiv Aster engine, selling for £395. A wide range of Gladiator cars, from a 3½hp quad to 4-cylinder types, was available in 1902, and a Mercédès style of bonnet was found on the 2.2-litre twin in 1903, though it still housed a tubular cooler. The little Gladiator 6hp was rather expensive at £300 in England. 4-cylinder Gladiator models were available both in 2.1-litre and 2.7-litre forms, with engines said to be made by Gladiator themselves: the bigger 16hp had mechanically-operated side valves and only a single camshaft. Mechanically-operated valves were found on all Gladiator models save the 12hp twin in 1904, and it was hard to sort out the Cléments from the Gladiator cars, though the former were turning to bevel drive while Gladiator adhered to chains. A 4-litre Gladiator 28hp 4-cylinder with high tension magneto was listed in 1905, but smaller cars, including another four of 3-litres’ capacity, continued to use Aster units, and at the bottom of the Gladiator range was a very archaic 9hp 1.7-litre, still with automatic inlet valve, rear-mounted water tank, and sprag.

All the Gladiator models of a very complicated 1906 range now had mechanically-operated valves, the 12/14hp 4-cylinder Gladiator had shaft drive in conjunction with a 4-speed gearbox, and frames could be of either armoured wood or pressed steel, though the latter variant was found in the English Gladiator catalogue, but not the French one. The largest Gladiator four was of 4.8-litres, but during the year a chain-driven 5.5-litre 38bhp Gladiator six made its appearance. Magneto ignition was standard in 1907 on Gladiator car for sale, and for 1908 it was announced that certain Gladiator models were to be built in England by Austin. How many were actually made is problematic, but the 1908 and 1909 Gladiator catalogues showed three nominally British type, the Gladiator 18/24hp and 40hp 4-cylinder, and the 60hp 6-cylinder, which were uncommonly like their Austin counterparts. (Swift, in which Harvey du Cros had an interest as well, were making Cléments at the same time in Coventry). On top of these variants, Pré-St. Gervais offered 4-cylinder Gladiator cars of 2.2, 3.7, 4.8, 5.8 and 6.3-litres. The smallest of these, rated at 12/14hp, marked a reversion to the L-head configuration and had shaft drive, but all the other Gladiator cars were chain-driven T-headers on traditional lines like Gladiator had in the past. In 1909 Vinot et Deguingand acquired Gladiator, and production of Gladiator cars was transferred to Puteaux. All that in fact happened was that Gladiator now had another alter ego: the Gladiator cars looked like Vinots, shared the Vinot’s technical specification, and even their prices, though there were no 6-cylinder ‘Vinot’ Gladiators, chain drive was not offered after 1910 except on cars bearing the Vinot name, and it was announced in 1911 that Gladiator cars for sale were not to share the vertical gate change. However, as a result of the new association the 1912 Type-AL Gladiator (a designation shared with Vinot) came out with a monobloc engine and pressure lubrication. 1914 Gladiator models were, understandably, 4-cylinder machines with capacities of 1.7 litres, 2.2 litres, 2.7 litres and 4.1 litres, and both the 12hp and the long-stroke 15/20hp were once again offered in 1919-1920, the former costing £785 in England. After this, however, Vinot could no longer afford the luxury of a dual personality and Gladiator disappeared.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

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