Hotchkiss

France, 1903 – 1955

(1) Hotchkiss et Cie, St. Denis, Seine, 1903 – 1936

(2) Automobiles Hotchkiss, St. Denis, Seine, 1936 – 1955

The American Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss set up his ordnance Horchkiss car factory at St. Denis in 1867; the Hotchkiss cars were the result of an arm slump. The work of Terrasse, these first Hotchkiss cars were T-headed fours with pair-cast cylinders, 5-ball-bearing crankshafts, low-tension magneto ignition, round honeycomb radiators, 4-speed gearboxes, and the famous Hotchkiss drive by live axle and open propeller shaft. Initially cylinder capacities of Hotchkiss cars were 4.6-litres and 7.4-litres, but the Hotchkiss car company’s first racers of 1904 were 17.8-litre monsters notable for their aiv and chain drive. Though their 1905 successors conformed once more to touring-car practice, they were even bigger Hotchkiss cars, with 18.815cc and an alleged 130bhp. Hotchkiss’s last racing season was 1906 with their Grand Prix Hotchkiss cars had 16.3-litre L-head units and quick-detachable wire wheels. Though these Hotchkiss cars were unsuccessful, Hotchkiss sold 167 cars that year, with gate change standardized, and a choice of five Hotchkiss car models: a short-lived 4.2-litre petrol brougham, fours of 18, 30 and 42hp, and their first six. The last-mentioned Hotckiss car was the large V-type that evolved into a 9½-litre machine and was still being offered in 1912 as a Hotckiss car. Chassis price was £1.000 and it was capable of 60mph.

The slump following the Agadir crisis led to the abandonment of ball-bearing crankshafts on Hotchkiss cars; at the same time there was a move towards smaller Hotchkiss cars with the 3.1-litre T-type, with side valves in an L-head and high-tension magneto ignition. Two years later came something even smaller and more modern, the 12/16hp Hotchkiss X-type with 2-bearing crankshaft and three forward speeds at £390. Soon monobloc engines spread up the range to the 3.7-litre Hotckiss AB of 1912. From 1911 there were some smaller L-head sixes, the 4.678cc Hotchkiss X6 and the 5½-litre Hotchkiss AC6; 1912 sales were a record 598 Hotchkiss cars. Electric lighting was available from 1913, and all the 1914 Hotchkiss car models – the 2.6-litre Hotchkiss AG, the 4-litre Hotchkiss AF, the 5.7-litre Hotchkiss AC, and the 6-cylinder Hotchkiss AC6 – had semi-elliptic suspension all round.

The wartime demand for Hotchkiss machine guns led to the establishment of a branch factory under the Englishman Harry Ainsworth, this subsequently making engines for W.R. Morris until it was absorbed by him in 1923. At home Hotchkiss sold off their surplus works capacity at Lyons and concentrated on a revised Hotchkiss car again, the AF with full electrics and a horseshoe-shaped radiator in place of the traditional round one. Its successor, the Hotchkiss AH of 1921, had cantilever rear springs and torque tube drive, and a year later came the Hotchkiss AL with ohv, and a detachable head; front-wheel brakes were added for 1923. There was also a prototype luxury Hotchkiss car at the 1921 Paris Salon; this Hotchkiss AK had a 6.6-litre 6-cylinder ohc engine, dual ignition, 4-speed unit gearbox, servo-assisted 4-wheel brakes, and a cruciform-braced frame, but it never went into production.

The return of Ainsworth to St. Denis in 1923, coincided with the construction of a new Hotchkiss car factory and a more realistic type of car, the 2.4-litre 12CV Hotchkiss AM, with 4-cylinder sv engine, 4-speed unit box, four-wheel brakes, wire hwwls, and Hotchkiss drive once more. Between 1924 and 1928 it was the Hotchkiss car company’s staple product, selling at the rate of over a thousand a year and offering a 70mph performance at a modest outlay. It persisted until 1932, acquiring ohv in 1926 and rod-operated brakes in 1928, and its engine was used in some Morris-Léon Bollées. Even better was the Hotchkiss AM80 of 1929, largely the work of Bertarione. This was a short-stroke (80x100mm), 7-bearing ohv 3-litre six that owed a good deal to the AM2, though early cars featured torque tube drive; it was to be the basis from which all subsequent Hotchkisses were evolved. A silent 3rd gearbox featured on 1931 Hotchkiss car models, Hotchkiss drive reappeared in 1932, and 1933 improvements included Bendix brakes, cruciform-braked frames, down-draught carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps. Hotchkiss AM80 engines were also fitted to Sizaire Frères and Tracta cars.

The 1933 Hotchkiss car range was expanded both up and down, with new Hotchkiss 12CV (2-litre) and 13CV (1.3-litre) fours for the economy market, and an 85mph fast tourer, the 100bhp 3½-litre Hotckiss AM80S, for the enthusiast. This Hotchkiss car was based on the car with which Vasselle won the 1932 Monte Carlo Rally. Hotchkiss cars repeated this success in 1933 and 1934: in the latter year the Hotchkiss cars collected two Glazier Cups in the Alpine Trial. There were further wins in the Monte Carlo in 1938 and 1939; on the latter occasion a Grand Sport Hotchkiss car tied with a 3½-litre Delahaye. Radiators were moved forward on the 1934 Hotchkiss cars, and the 3-litre gave way to a 2.650cc 15CV that was not a success and lasted only one season. The 1935 Hotchkiss cars had synchromesh and integral boots, and at the top of the 3½-litre 20CV range was the twin-carburettor Hotckiss Paris-Nice, a 115bhp sports car capable of 95mph. Hydraulic brakes appeared in 1936 on Hotchkiss cars (to be quietly dropped halfway through 1937). The sports 20CV engine was now giving 125-130bhp and when allied to a short 9ft 2in wheelbase resulted in the Hotchkiss Grand Sport, a true 100mph saloon.

By 1938 the horseshoe radiator on the Hotchkiss car was now a wire-mesh grille, but despite the exigencies of French rearmament programmes the Hotchkiss car company managed to deliver 2.751 Hotchkiss cars that year, made up of the two fours, the reinstated 3-litre Hotchkiss 680, and the 3½-litre Hotchkiss 686 in various forms, including seven-seater limousines with the single-carburettor 100bhp engine. Hotchkiss also came to the rescue of the ailing Amilcar concern, helping to make the Grégoire-inspired 1.185cc Compound, a small fwd saloon with unitary construction in Alpax; this was sold in England, though not in France, as a Hotchkiss car. A 1.3-litre ohv development, the Hotchkiss B67, was ready for production when France collapsed in the summer of 1940.

Hotchkiss never really recovered from World War 2, though Peugeot were briefly interested in the Hotchkiss car company and Hotchkiss 686 cars won the first two post-war Monte Carlo Rallies of 1949 and 1950. The Hotchkiss 12CV and Hotchkiss 20CV were back in production, unchanged, by 1946, but the first year’s output was a miserable 117 Hotchkiss cars. Hydraulic brakes and independent front suspension did not appear until 1949 on Hotchkiss cars (though Hotchkiss had experimented with the latter in 1937), and a Cotal electric gearbox became a factory option. The 1951 Hotchkiss car models were ‘facelifted’ with V-screens, recessed headlamps and auxiliary coil rear suspension, but in the meantime there had been an expensive mistake: the acquisition by Hotchkiss of the rights to the Grégoire flat-4. This ingenious device was a development of the 1938 Amilcar theme featuring all-round independent suspension and a 4-speed overdrive gearbox, as well as front wheel drive. Production Hotchkiss car models with 2.2-litre engines were said to achieve 95mph and 30mpg, but the teething troubles were endless, and Hotchkiss only managed to make 250 Hotchkiss cars in the end. There was a shutdown in 1952 and the price of recovery was a merger with Delahaye that led inevitably to concentration on commercial vehicles. The old Hotchkiss cars 13CV and 20CV received another facelift in time for the 1954 Paris Salon, but his was their swansong, though medium-powered trucks continued to be made until 1970, along with a version of the American Jeep built under licence.

GB, 1920

Hotchkiss et Cie, Coventry, Warwickshire

Hotchkiss of Coventry, a British offshoot of the famous French Hotchkiss car firm, was set up during World War 1 to make engines in Britain. Their units became best known as the motive power for Morris and BSA light cars, but before they were taken over by William Morris, Hotchkiss experimented with a small car of their own. The Hotchkiss car consisted of their 1.080cc air-cooled V-twin ohv engine installed with a 3-speed gearbox in a pre-war Morris Oxford chassis. It never went into production.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS, TRN

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

Simca

France, 1935 to date

(1) Sté Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile, Nanterre, Seine, 1935 – 1961; Poissy, Seine-et-Oise, 1954 – 1970

(2) Chrysler France SA, Poissy, Seine-et-Oise, 1970 to date

H.T. Pigozzi’s Simca car company was formed in November 1934, to manufacture Fiat cars under licence for the French market in the former Donnet factory. Pre-1940 production Simca car models were virtually identical to their Italian counterparts, the types offered being the Simca Tipo 508 Balilla, the 2-litre Simca Tipo 518 Ardita, and the later 500 (Simca 5) and 1.100 (Simca 8). Outside France, however, the Simca car make’s reputation stemmed from the competition successes of Amdédée Gordini’s specially tuned versions, mainly based on the 508 family, though he also extracted 28bhp from the Topolino engine. Most successful of these Simca cars were the aerodynamic 508C two-seaters which won the Bol d’Or, the small sports-car race at Reims, and the Paris-Nice Rally, as well as the Index of Performance with a Simca car at le Mans in 1939. A 1.2-litre Simca car version of the basic Fiat unit developed 65bhp. After World War 2, Gordini continued to develop competition Simca cars under Simca sponsorship until 1951, and evolved an 1.100cc single-seater Simca car with twin-tube frame and all-round independent suspension, which Simca car furnished keen competition for the Cisitalia and did very well in 1947, with wins by the Simca car in the Bol d’Or and at Nimes, not to mention a 1-2-3 victory in the Coupe des Petites Cylindrées at Reims. The Simca cars acquired hemispherical heads and 5-bearing crankshafts in 1948, winning their class in the Belgian 24 Hour Race, as well as being victorious once again in the Bol d’Or. Later Simca-Gordinis used Wade-blown 1½-litre power units, and the breed’s career culminated in Trintignant’s win in the 1951 Albi Grand Prix. Thereafter the Simca car company withdrew its support from Gordini, who set up on his own as a manufacturer.

In 1942 Simca cars joined Baron Petiet’s Groupe Française Automobile selling organization along with Delahaye/ Delage, but withdrew from the GFA after the war, when production of the Simca 5, and Simca 8 resumed in basically 1939 form. An ohv Simca 6 (the equivalent of Fiat’s later 500C) was introduced for 1948, and in 1929 a 50bhp sports Simca car version of the 8CV with handsome coupé bodywork by Facel Metallon was marketed; a Simca car of this type won its class in the 1949 Alpine Rally, while standard Simca 8 cars scored two class wins in the 1950 Monte Carlo event. This year the Simca 8 was restyled, and this Simca car emerged with a 40bhp 1.2-litre engine and steering-column change. In the summer of 1951, however, an entirely new Simca car, the Simca Aronde, made its appearance; the enginee of this Simca car was a 45bhp derivative of the old 8CV, but the rest of the Simca car was entirely new, with unitary construction, coil-and-wishbone independent front suspension, and hypoid final drive. Production jumped to 50.000 Simca cars in 1952 and the Simca Aronde made numerous attacks on long-distance records held for many years by the Citroën ‘Petite Rosalie’, achieving 100.000 kilometres at 100 km/h in 1953. The Simca Aronde had a production run of over 12 years. The half-millionth Simca car was delivered in January 1957, and the millionth Simca car in February 1869. The Simca car company also participated in several takeover bids, buying Unic (now only making trucks) in 1951, Ford in 1954, Saurer’s French branch in 1956, and Talbot in 1959. A 50bhp sports version of the Simca Aronde was announced in 1953, and Gemmer cam steering was adopted on Simca cars in 1954, in which year the Simca car model was introduced to the British market at a list price of £896. With the acquisition of the French Ford company, their 2.3-litre sv V8 Vedette reappeared under the Simca car name, the Ford factory at Poissy first supplementing and then supplanting the original Simca car works at Nanterre, which was turned over to Citroën in 1961. The V8 Simca car sold fairly well, and was given a more powerful 84bhp engine in 1958. Production of Simca cars ceased in France in 1961, though as late as 1967 the Chambord and Présidence Simca car version, now with 112bhp and ohv, were still being made under licence in Brazil.

1956 Simca Arondes had 48bhp 1.3-litre engines as standard, though 57bhp Special units were found in the sports coupés and convertibles Simca cars and the Simca Montlhéry saloon; station wagon Simca cars had the 45bhp Service type. 1957 saw a family derivative, the Simca Ariane, using the hull of the V8 Vedette and the regular Simca Aronde engine – this Simca car was made until 1963. In 1958 Chrysler acquired a minority interest in Simca cars, and it was announced that the American company’s Adelaide factory would built Simca Arondes for the Australian market; this small holding had become a controlling interest by 1963, and the Chrysler ‘pentastar’ emblem was to be seen on all Simcas in 1967. Aronde development continued: a cheap 6CV 1.100cc Simca car model was listed in 1960, and the 1961 Simca car range used 5-bearing engines in various ratings up to 62bhp, later increased to 70bhp. A new departure for 1962 was the 1000 Simca car, a 944cc rear-engined 4-door saloon with radiator mounted alongside the power-unit, 5-bearing crankshaft, all-round independent suspension, and 4-speed synchromesh gearbox: at 6.490NFr this Simca car was cheaper than Citroën’s Ami 6, and production rose over a quarter of a million Simca cars. Within a year this Simca car had evolved into a Bertone-bodied coupé with all-round disc brakes, while the first of the Simca-Abarths was available in the shape of a twin ohc 1.300cc model. In 1963 all-synchromesh boxes were also found on the conventional 4-cylinder 1300 and 1500 Simca cars; outputs were 61bhp and 83bhp, and the bigger Simca car had front disc brakes, which were added to the 1300’s specification in 1966. 1964 was the last year of the Simca Aronde, which Simca car had been continued as a very inexpensive item at 6.950NFr for an 1.100cc saloon. In 1966 the 1000 became available with a 3-speed semi-automatic gearbox, full automatic (by Borg-Warner) being an option on the 1500-series Simca cars; during the year the millionth Simca 1000 left the Simca car factory.

1968 brought two new versions of the 1000 Simca car, the high-performance GLS and the austerity 777cc Sim’4 Simca car for the home market; at the same time Simca cars switched to front wheel drive with their transverse-engined 53bhp 1100. On this Simca car the gearbox was mounted left of the engine, rear suspension was independent, by wishbones and torsion bars, and front disc brakes were fitted. An interesting hybrid Simca car evolved in England was the Radbourne-Abarth 1200, basically a 1200 coupé Simca car fitted with a Fiat 124 engine. In 1970, the Simca car company changed its name and the Chrysler was added as a prestige line. Also Simca cars took Matra, and their racing team, under their wing. A 76bhp 1.2-litre version Simca car of the 1100 appeared in 1971, helping the front wheel drive Simca car to become France’s best-selling car early in 1972. The principal novelty for 1972 was yet another 1000 derivative Simca car, the 1.294cc Rallye saloon. The conventional rear-driven 1301 and 1501 were continued into 1973, along with the 1000 and 1100 families.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

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