Regal

France, 1903

O.C. Selbach, Paris

Regal cars was one of the names under which Lacoste et Battmann cars were sold. Originally the Regal car was a light two-seater with a 6hp De Dion engine, later Régal cars were powered by 2- and 4-cylinder engines by Aster and Mutel.

US, 1907 – 1920

Regal Motor Car Co, Detroit, Mich.

In 1907 Regal made 50 of their 20hp 4-cylinder Regal cars, but the following year the Regal car company took them all back, and gave the owners a new 1908 model Regal cars free. Apparently this generosity by the Regal car company was not repeated in following years, and they settled down to making a range of conventional 4-cylinder Regal cars. The best-known Regal car was the 3.2-litre 18/20hp ‘underslung’ model, which, like the American Underslung, had frame members which passed underneath the axles. The Underslung Regal car was made in open two-seater, and closed coupé form. Other Regal car models were the 20/30hp and 40hp which had normal chassis design. Regal cars were imported into England by Seabrook of Great Eastern Street, and from 1911 to 1915 the Regal cars sold in England were known as RMCs or Seabrook-RMCs. In 1915 a 10/15hp four of 2.1-litres with unit construction of engine and gearbox was introduced on a Regal car, together with a short-lived V8. At the 1919 Olympia Show Seabrooks showed a large RMC tourer powered by a 3.8-litre 6-cylinder engine, but shortly afterwards American production of Regal cars ceased, and Seabrooks began to make their own light cars.

CDN, 1910

This Regal car was a 30hp car made as a touring car or runabout at Walkerville, Ont. The Regal car had no connection with the better known Regal cars.

CDN, 1914 – 1917

Canadian Regal Motor Car Co, Berlin, Ont.

The Regal car was a light-weight touring car which resembled the Detroit model Regal car bearing the same name. The Regal car was available with a Lycoming 4-cylinder engine at $875 or a V8 at $1.350, it had a radiator filler concealed under the bonnet. The Regal car company was under the direction of Henry Nyberg, who had built the US Nyberg car before going to Canada. In 1917 the Regal car company moved to a new plant and started producing Dominion trucks. About 200 Canadian Regal cars were built.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; GNG, GB

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

Léon Bollee

France, 1895 – 1933

(1) Automobiles Léon Bollée, Le Mans, 1895 – 1924

(2) Morris Motors Ltd, Usines Léon Bollée, Le Mans, 1925 – 1931

(3) Sté Nouvelle Léon Bollée, Le Mans, 1931 – 1933

Leon Bollee was a son of Amédée Bolllée père, the most important pioneer of steam road vehicles in France. Leon Bollee, however, turned to really small petrol Leon Bollee cars. He was the first to do so, and therefore had to invent a new name for his Leon Bollee car of 1895 – he called it a Leon Bollee voiturette. This Leon Bollee car was a tandem two-seater 3-wheeler that was faster than any other petrol-engined vehicle on the road when the Leon Bollee car was working, thanks to a powerful 3hp engine and light weight, but the power unit was unreliable on the Leon Bollee car. The Leon Bollee car had a single air-cooled cylinder of 650cc and used hot-tube ignition. There were 3 forward speeds on the Leon Bollee car, with belt final drive. The frame was tubular. Four years after the Leon Bollee voiturette appeared, Leon Bollee superseded it with a 4-wheeler with independent front suspension by double transverse leaf springs. This Leon Bollee car had a single-cylinder, water-cooled engine. Unlike the Leon Bollee voiturette, this Leon Bollee car made no mark. The design rights were sold to Darracq, and around 1901 the name of Leon Bollee cars vanished. Meanwhile, the term voiturette had been taken up by the trade and public in general as the name for a small light car.

The Leon Bollee car reappeared in 1903 as an entirely normal, full-sized car in the more expensive class, backed by Vanderbilt money and designed for the American market. This Leon Bollee car was made in 28hp (4.6-litres) and 45hp (8-litres) versions, with four cylinders and chain drive, and led on to a 11.9-litre six Leon Bollee car in 1907, in which year the first shaft driven Leon Bollee car appeared. From 1909 there was also a small modern four, the Leon Bollee 10/14hp. The 1910 range embraced 9 Leon Bollee cars, including 2 of over 10-litres capacity. Electric lighting became available on Leon Bollee cars in 1913, but the Leon Bollee grew increasingly old-fashioned after World War 1 despite the introduction of ohv in 1922 on Leon Bollee cars and front wheel brakes in 1923. Late in 1924 Sir William Morris bought the Le Mans Leon Bollee car factory. From making a wide range of conservative French Leon Bollee fours, it turned to thinly-disguised products of Cowley, Oxford, the idea being to breach the French tariff walls from the inside. The first Morris- Leon Bollee had a 12CV 2½-litre 4-cylinder unit-construction engine made by Hotchkiss, the engine manufacturers controlled by Morris, but it had push-rod overhead valves and bore little evidence of its parentage. Not so the 18CV Morris- Leon Bollee car of 1928. This was a 3-litre straight-8 with single overhead camshaft that reflected Morris’ takeover of Wolseley two years earlier. Morris’ own new six of 1928 was mirrored in the 15CV 2.6-litre Le Mans product of 1929. The bodies for the Morris- Leon Bollee car were all made in France and were usually considerably more dashing and attractive than their British counterparts. Chassis of this Morris- Leon Bollee car were made in France, and all cars had a 4-speed gearbox. At one time, 50 12CV Morris- Leon Bollee cars were being turned out each week. However, Morris’ enterprise was not a success, and he discontinued it in the hard times of the Depression. A new syndicate was formed in September 1931 to sell the same range of cars under the name of Leon Bollee cars. This lasted for less than two years and few Leon Bollee cars were made.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN

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