Stand	44
Scale/Gauge	12″ to the Foot
Region/Era	1903
Owner	Steve Nixon (MMRG)

1903 Darracq 8hp Rear Entrance TonneauDarracq

History:

Pierre-Alexandre Darracq (1855-1931), was an engineer born in Bordeaux. He first worked on sewing machines and typewriters, then set up his company, Gladiator, to make bicycles in 1891. In 1897 he set up a plant in the Paris suburb of Suresnes just to the west of the Bois de Boulogne to produce vehicles. Production began with a Millet motorcycle powered by a five-cylinder rotary engine, followed by an electric Brougham. Electric vehicles were very popular in the 1880-1900 era. In 1897 Alexandre Darracq produced an electric tricycle, the Darracq-Gladiator triplet capable of covering 10 km in 9min 45sec at the already remarkable speed of more than 60 km/h (38mph).By the end of the 19th century the Hauts-de-Seine region around Paris was a centre of car production, with the main brands of the time: Renault, De Dion Bouton, Darracq, Chenard and Walker. Darracq and De Dion-Bouton are the first French manufacturers to produce more than 1,000 vehicles per year.Darracq produced its first vehicle with an internal combustion engine in 1900, a 6.5 hp “voiture legére” (light car) powered by a single-cylinder engine of 785cc. It featured a shaft drive and three speed column gear change. While not as successful as hoped, 100 were sold.Darracq’s success continued, such that, by 1903, four models were offered: a 1.1 L single, a 1.3 L and 1.9 L twin, and a 3.8 L four cylinder. In late 1904 sales were up by 20 per cent and the only solution was to enlarge the factory by 50 per cent. By 1904 almost three quarters of the production was exported. In 1905, Alexandre Darracq built a car to beat the world speed record. They put together two racing car engines built on a common crankcase and camshaft. The result was a monstrous V8 engine of 25,422 cc, good for 200 bhp. Victor Hemery broke the record on 30th of December in 1905 with a speed of 109.65 mph (176.46 km/h).

Our car:

Our Car was built in 1903 and is a 1.1L single cylinder 8HP, with what is called a Rear Entrance Tonneau body. It has 3 forward gears and a reverse, operated by the large lever on the steering column. The two smaller levers operate the throttle and the ignition timing (advance and retard). Throttle can also be operated by the pedal and the pedal layout of accelerator, brake and clutch are as modern cars, which was very unusual for this era of car. The clutch is a conical ring of leather, which needs regular lubricating to stop it snatching. The foot brake tightens a leather band around a drum on the transmission and it also opens the clutch. The handbrake operates leather bands on the wheels, which can be seen. The small brass pump in front of the steering column must be used every few miles to pump more oil into the engine. This oil then drops into the sump and requires draining about every 30-40 miles. It runs on normal petrol and achieves about 12-16mpg. Top speed is only about 14-16mph, but this feels fast for a car with very little brakes.