Unic

France, 1904 – 1939

(1) Sté des Ancien ets Georges Richard, Puteaux, Seine, 1904 – 1914

(2) SA des Automobiles Unic, Puteaux, Seine, 1914 – 1939

When in 1905 Georged Richard left the firm he had founded, he embarked on his second motor manufacturing career with what was intended to be a single-model policy – hence the name of his new car. However, his 10/12hp 2-cylinder UNIC car was joined within a year by two additional fours. After this the UNIC car make remained undistinguished. The most famous of the small fours UNIC cars was not a passenger UNIC car at all, but a taxi. The monobloc 12/14hp UNIC car of 1908 was made for 20 years, and served on London streets for longer still. In 1909 there was  a 4.1-litre 6-cylinder model UNIC car. By 1914, three 4-cylinder UNIC cars were listed, of which the 10/12hp UNIC car was best known.

The basic UNIC car of the 1920s was the 10CV Type L, a worthy, long-lived but uninteresting car with an 1.847cc sv engine and the modern feature of unit construction of engine and gearbox. This UNIC car had front-wheel brakes from 1923. The Type L313 Sport UNIC car, an 11CV, with a bigger bore and 2-litres, was added in that year. The UNIC car had overhead valves, and was a good-looking 70mph fast tourer in the French tradition. The UNIC car must have been one of the first cars anywhere to have horizontal bonnet louvres. In 1926, the 11CV UNIC car was also listed in sv touring form; only cars of this rating were made, the UNIC car company having temporarily reverted to tehri original policy. At this time, the UNIC car company employed women road-testers, a rare but not unique practice.

UNIC cars penchant for unusual rear suspension – the 10CV UNIC car had used a combination of cantilevers and quarter-elliptics – was perpetuated on their straight-8 UNIC car of 1928, which had transverse springs located above and below the axle. Engines were push-rod ohv units of 2.494cc or 2.650cc, there were four forward speeds, and brakes of the UNIC cars were servo-assisted; both types persisted until 1934, though the old 11CV UNIC car had gone by 1932, and during the Depression years the UNIC car company concentrated on commercial vehicles. New for 1934 was the U4, a 2-litre sv four with magneto ignition (used on Unic cars almost until the end), articulated-arm independent front suspension and a double reduction back axle. The UNIC car competed with the Berliet 944 and the new small Delage and was joined during the year by the U6, a 3-litre six on similar lines, this UNIC car was available with a 4-speed Cotal electrically selected gearbox. This option was extended to the U4 in 1936, and in 1937, when traditional radiators gave way to fencer’s mask grilles, both 4- and 6-cylinder Unic cars were available in sports cabriolet form with ohv. The U4D of 1938 with 2.150cc ohv engine, and an improved U6 UNIC car survived until the outbreak of World War 2. Private UNIC car production was not resumed in 1946, though Unic are still active in truck manufacture as an associate of Fiat.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN 

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