HISPANO SUIZA H6B 1921

Lot 53
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Estimation :
700000 EUR
HISPANO SUIZA H6B 1921
Chassis: 10184 Engine: 300534 Skiff bodywork in wood with copper rivets by DUQUESNE in Tourcoing. Mascot radiator Cigogne n° 1587 In the same family for 60 years An exceptional car It was the Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt and the Catalan financier Damian Mateù who founded the famous Hispano Suiza brand in 1904 in Barcelona. The money was Spanish, but the design and construction were of Swiss quality. Shortly afterwards, Marc Birkigt settled permanently in France. The Hispano-Suiza H6 is a luxury limousine, the car of the stars and princes of the time. It was the car of kings: the King of Spain, the King of Sweden, the Maharajahs, members of the French and European nobility, bankers and industrialists including the Rothschild family, the Vanderbilts, André Citroën, Edsel Ford... The engine, designed by the Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt, is a six-cylinder, overhead camshaft, 7-bearing engine of 6,597 cm3. Its aluminium alloy pistons slide in steel liners bolted to the alloy block. It is built with an integrated three-speed gearbox. Maximum power is 135 bhp at 2400 rpm and it is so smooth that you can stay in last gear up to 140 km/h. It was the first car to be equipped with brake assistance, which was necessary to stop the 1600 kg launched at such speeds, Rolls Royce adopted Hispano-Suiza brakes. The Hispano Suiza was the best car of the twenties and without question the queen of the road. Chassis 10184 is recorded in the workshop records as purchase order number 209 dated 10/8/21. The bodywork is not specified in the register at that time, but the engine number is, it is 300 220. The car was bought by the Société des Grands Garages Parisiens (garage St Didier), 2 rue des Sablons in Paris (Voisin dealer). It is in the name of Mr GRANET, 9 rue d'Arcueil in Gentilly. Married to Geneviève Salles (1891-1978), one of Gustave Eiffel's granddaughters, Mr Granet was chief architect of civil buildings and national palaces. He was passionate about aviation, a field that was in its infancy at the beginning of the 20th century, and co-founded with Robert Esnault-Pelterie (1881-1957) the Association des Industriels de la Locomotion Aérienne (the forerunner of today's Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales or Gifas). With him, he initiated the first exhibition of aerial locomotion at the Grand Palais in Paris in 1909, which became the current International Aeronautics and Space Exhibition. He was the general curator for many years, participating in the staging of the aircraft. When the show moved to Le Bourget airport in 1953, he was the architect of the new building constructed to house the show. A true enthusiast of speed and cars. The car was kept for several decades: The car was then registered 7282 RG 5 in May 1933 in Paris and then 7056 GA 7 in Bordeaux around October 1935 by Mr Léopold GINIES living at 21 rue Boudet in Bordeaux. It was then registered 7056 GA 7 on 6 August 1936 for Mr Louis DESPAIGNET 118 rue de Verdun in Cauderau and finally registered on 18 December 1941. The owners removed the wheels to avoid the car being searched by the Germans during the war. It is therefore quite likely that it did not move between 1941 and 1963, when Mr Dubroca discovered the car with its skiff body and without its wheels. One can imagine the excitement he must have felt when he discovered this car. It was bought from Mr Despaignet on 30 October 1965 by Mr Dubroca Jean-Paul and registered 1439 SM 75 in Créteil in the Seine with 64300 km on the clock. This car was in good original condition and after cleaning the fuel tank, complete overhaul, painting of the wings and new varnish on the wooden bodywork as well as 4 new wheels, it will be ready for the road. The upholstery will also be redone in the same leather and colour as the original. In 1968, at 66890 km, the car was completely overhauled with restoration of the charging system and a new exhaust system. In July 1969 a mechanical problem required a complete overhaul of the engine. In 1980, at 73467 km, the radiator was rebuilt by a specialist as well as all the instruments on the dashboard. In 1982, at 76154 km, the braking system and the servo-brake are rebuilt. In 1992 at 95453 km, the gearbox and the rear axle were completely overhauled. The car has a double tonneau-cover in two parts, allowing to close just the rear seats or the whole car, as well as a soft top with nickel-plated pillars which are fixed on the sides of the windscreen. This beautiful Skiff Torpedo bodywork looks very much like a Labourdette. This one has been made by the Duquesne body shop in Tourcoing. It has a rare elegance and, thanks to its weight, is a pleasant vehicle to drive. On the engine side, 300534 can be found in the factory register associated with chassis 10686, order number 1071 for Mr Ciprut at Garages Parisiens dated 22/8/23. The delivery of both vehicles to the same place is probably not a coincidence. One can imagine a common scenario at the time, Mr Granet having broken his engine, requires a new one as soon as possible, so one takes the engine of the last arrival and places it in 10184. 10686 will inherit the 300 220 engine when it has been repaired. It is exceptional to have a car with its original wooden body in perfect condition that is over 100 years old this year. The car has travelled many miles with its owners over the years. It has always been very well maintained. It represents the best of both automotive engineering and French coachbuilders' skills. Our Hispano-Suiza belongs in an international museum as well as on the roads of France and Navarre. In the same family since 1965, this is a unique opportunity to acquire the car of Madame and Monsieur Dubroca, one of the founding members of the Club Hispano-Suiza France. The stork in flight, drawn on the fuselage of the Spad VII plane of the ace Georges Guynemer, symbolised the lost Alsace. Victory and the return of Alsace led Hispano-Suiza to pay tribute to Guynemer by decorating the radiators of its cars with this legendary stork. It is also a nice tribute that this one is presented in this beautiful region. We thank Mr Hervé Pannier for the information of the C.A.A.H.S. (Club des Anciennes Automobiles Hispano-Suiza), as well as Mr Jean Marc Chapelle for the colour copy of the register (the magazine La Cigogne). An additional cylinder block will be provided
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