AUTOMOTIVE - VINTAGE: 1912 Hispano Suiza Sports Car

VINTAGE: 1912 Hispano Suiza Sports Car

Based on a winning racer, the Alfonso XIII Jaquot Torpedo was driven in the Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance and shown at the Concours.

One of the early vintage highlights of the Pebble Beach Concours d?Elegance in August was this Hispano Suiza Alfonso XIII, built in 1912. Named after the Spanish King and based on the 1910 Coupe de l'Auto winning racer, the small Hispano is generally considered to be the world's first sports car.

The custom body includes a bullet-shaped nose most commonly found on the Hispano race cars. (Photo: Wouter Melissen) Only slightly more civilized than the competition car it was based on, most were fitted with simple touring bodies on par with the lightweight design of the chassis. The example shown at Pebble is unusual in that it sports a slightly more luxurious body complete with a bullet-shaped nose that was more commonly used on the Hispano racing cars.

The Jaquot Torpedo was one of the oldest participants of this year's Tour d'Elegance that traditionally precedes the Concours.

Under the inspired leadership of the talented Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt, Hispano Suiza launched a full range of luxury models in quick succession. Birkigt also recognized the marketing benefits of competing in races. When he learned that Spain's King Alfonso XIII would present one of the trophies during the nearby 1909 Catalan Cup, Birkigt quickly readied Hispano Suiza's first racing cars.

Instead of turning one of the existing models into a competition car, Birkigt opted to start from scratch. The four-cylinder engine differed from any of his earlier designs in that it was constructed from a single block as opposed to two blocks of two cylinders. Displacing just over 1.8 liters, the straight-four featured a ?T-head? with twin lateral camshafts actuating the side valves through push-rods. The engine was mounted relatively far back in the chassis for better weight balance.

The Jaquot Torpedo body includes a single third seat in the rear. (Photo: Wouter Melissen) Despite having relatively little time to prepare and test the company's first racing car, Hispano Suiza entered three cars in the Catalan Cup. The Spanish King saw one of the Hispanos get an early lead but eventually all succumbed to reliability issues and were forced to drop out.

Birkigt continued the development of the cars, increasing the displacement and fitting stronger wheels. The work paid off and in 1910, Hispano Suizas placed first, third and sixth in the prestigious Coupe de l'Auto race.

While continuing the development of new competition cars, Birkigt also used the Coupe de l'Auto-winning machine as the basis for a new production model launched in 1911. Officially dubbed the Type 15T or 15/45hp depending on the market, this high-performance Hispano Suiza is better known as the Alfonso XIII. It received this nickname after the prototype was gifted to the Spanish monarch by his wife. While keeping the ties with the royal family warm, Hispano Suiza also opened a factory in Paris, France.

Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/vintage-1912-hispano-suiza-sports-car/

zynga ipo joe arpaio sam hurd arrested roddy white roddy white howard stern howard stern