FRENCH INFLUENCES, LOMBARDY RESULTS D t the turn of the century the automo­ One such impresario was Alexandre Darracq, who clause, so rather than leave this new light industry he bileA and the industry it gave rise to were found himself with a fortune when his internationally knew and the future he saw, he started making bicy­ ARRACQ brought forth by two kinds of individuals: famous bicycle company, Gladiator, was bought out cle parts. And a lot of them. Having put together a the inventor and the impresario. by the early transportation consortium of the infa­ deDion powered tricycle the year before selling Gladi­ The inventors were men like Benz work­ mous Adolphe Clément. ator to Clément, he decided to further pursue pow­ ing with Horch, and Daimler with Maybach At the turn of the Twentieth Century a knowledge ered personal transport. His first effort was an of Germany, and the Marquis de Dion with of, and experience in, precise machining was the route interesting one. He took the basic tenets of his quality Bouton in France. These men addressed the that lead to the self propelled personal transportation bikes and integrated one of Millet’s delicate five cylin­ problems of internal combustion transport industry. The two industries that required the knowl­ der radial­configuration rotary engines into the rear at a time when the solutions hadnʹt even edge and provided the experience were the manufac­ wheel. The rear hub was the fixed crank, while the names. ture of guns and sewing machines. As a young cylinders rotated the wheel. Its Millet patent twist Benz was of course the creator of the first draftsman Darracq set foot on both paths. He made handle bar grip and fender fuel tank added to the in­ complete vehicle that could be called an au­ his way from drafting table to shop floor; first novation. Response was tepid. He then repositioned a tomobile. Daimler began by building sta­ through the arsenal at Tarbes, then at the firm of vertical single mid­frame and was met with more in­ tionary engines for factory and marine Hurtu. His progress was marked by a sewing ma­ terest, but not on the scale he was accustomed. applications, significantly increasing indus­ chine of his design being awarded the gold medal at He then hired the innovative French personal trans­ trial efficiency. De Dion and Bouton, by solv­ the Paris exposition of 1889. Spread out before him in port designer Leon Bollée. The hope being that Bollée ing many of the contemporary problems of the halls of the historic exposition was the machine would build on the success of his horizontal­single­ ignition, were able to develop the first en­ age, presented in product detail and public reaction. cylinder three­wheeler. Darracq’s intent was to by­ gines capable of turning at 1,500 rpm­a dis­ It had its impact. pass the ubiquitous three wheel stage and go right to tinguished effort. These small­displacement, Two years later, with partner Jean Aucoc, they set four. high­output French engines powered cost­ up Gladiator bicycles. Gladiators were of the new It was quickly discovered that Bollée’s concepts did effective and (relatively!) reliable vehicles generation of same size wheel bikes that we know not transfer well to four wheels. With its five­speed that almost literally defined the role of the today. We are left many examples of their success belt drive, dated hot­tube ignition and inadequate automobile in society. By 1910 this French from acclaimed international sporting success and steering mechanism for two wheels, rather than one, firm was the worldʹs largest automobile, sales on a scale as yet unseen, to sensational promo­ the new Bollée’s Voiturette earned a reputation as a lorry and bus manufacturer. tional posters of timeless Art Nouveau quality. masterpiece...of bad design. The technical achievements of these men­­ Five years later Adolphe Clément came calling with Shaken but undaunted by this failure, Darracq and their very distinct solutions­­were li­ checkbook in hand and a twenty­two million franc hired his second designer, Ribeyrolles. Focusing on censed to create the foundation of Europeʹs stock flotation in mind. Clément’s 1896 consolidation more conventional, yet still progressive, French prac­ motor industry. Then came the turn of the and capitalization of Gladiator, Clemente and Hum­ tices of design and manufacturing, Société A. Darracq impresarios­­those who began to establish ber was an industrial strategy not lost on the forty one entered the automobile manufacturing business with manufacturing operations in country after year old Darracq. Darracq took his £10,000 payout, great expectations. country, taking into account the demograph­ let’s just call it 7.2M BPS* (2014), and built one of the Ribeyrollesʹ solutions for the 1901 Darracq 6.5 HP ics, geographic aspects, and infrastructure of finest precision machining operations on the Conti­ covered the spectrum of contemporary French engi­ potential markets. nent in Suresnes. The buy­out had a non­compete neering, from accepted convention to ill­advised ex­ *These calculations are project valuation that take into account real estate, labor, materials acquisition and processing in 1886 France. 17 perimentation. The cast iron 785cc fixed­head, single­ notable sales volume of one thousand units by 1902. These twins were to set a design standard for Dar­ targeted directly at the American luxury market. cylinder engine, with its atmospheric overhead inlet The ingenious marketer then capitalized on his racq’s future engines. They were side valve, which British capital focusing French engineering on an ex­ valve and side exhaust valve, was mounted up front product’s strengths by sailing to the US with several was only natural in the market at this time, it was the panding market of affluent Americans. Can promo­ just ahead of it scuttle mounted brass coolant tank. cars and introducing them as New Yorkʹs first petrol dual cylinder monolithic iron cast block that was to tion be far behind? The little vertical single was connected by a cone taxi cabs. While in the U.S. he established a sales oper­ live on. It soon evolved to the twin block 3.8­liter four. It was not. Fresh capital simultaneously powered a clutch to a separate three­speed transmission and set ation based in Pennsylvania. This spoke volumes All these models shared the column shift and solid comprehensively assault on every area of competi­ in a metal tube type chassis. All this owed much to de about his operation having reached an economy of rear axle and were updated with pressed steel frames. tion. The distinctly nationalistic Gordon Bennett Tro­ Dion in engineering and to Panhard in layout. Innova­ scale while many were still trying to figure out how to The three­liter four­cylinder ‘Flying Fifteenʹ had a phy offered Darracq a unique opportunity. Cars from tions included a engineer, much frame pressed from a single sheet of steel, which, at his three associate factories in England, France and remote gear less effectively the time, was considered a masterpiece of metal form­ Germany were prepared under individual national change produce, automo­ ing. banners. mounted on the biles. A product, David Scott­Moncrieff, in his bookVeteran and Ed­ Here Ribeyrolles took the opportunity to use the steering col­ production­licens­ wardian Motor Cars bring these Darracq’s into clear competition arena for engineering experimentation. umn, and an ing agreement focus with his comment: “Darracq was among the earli­ Using his twin cylinder iron casting design he engi­ open propeller with Opel of Ger­ est manufacturers to establish representation in this coun­ neered a dual block in­line four of impressive dimen­ shaft to a many further ex­ try (UK) and he was advertised widely in the English sion. The cylinders were square at 140mm bore & straight­bevel panded his motor journals of the time. Probably the two most popular stroke. The crank geared single cam activated vertical live rear axle – international pres­ models were the 12hp (1.3L) two­cylinder immortalized by lifters that operated the overhead valves. With a full­ at a time when ence in 1902. He the film ‘Genevieve’, which, selling at under £200 delivered up displacement of 11.3 liters they were rated at chain drive was had now returned in England was outstandingly good value, and the ‘Flying 100hp. They all had the Darracq drive train, frame a largely un­ the Darracq name Fifteen’. Bob Gregory’s car, which I used to drive in the and column shift. They wore simple aluminum sheet questioned in­ to the business early Thirties, is a fine example. The car which cost, when bodies that wrapped the rear fuel tank, the seats and dustry section of Gordon new, well under £500 complete, would show a clean pair of scuttle. A long louvered hood was held in place by standard. Of the Bennett’s newspa­ heels to almost anything but a sports car in 1932, when it three leather straps and led forward to the vertical ra­ experiments, pers on both sides was already twenty eight years old!” diator. The tires were shod on artillery wheels. perhaps the of the Atlantic. To circumvent certain French corporate finance and Complex preparation was not a guarantee of suc­ most unfortu­ To demonstrate tax law in 1903, A. Darracq & Co. Ltd. was set up in cess. Only one of the cars made it through the indi­ nate was a that his cars were England. From his new London headquarters he set vidual national trials and onto the main competition. hand­lever­operated band brake in the rear axle, quick as well as durable he set his sights on competi­ out to do a little stock manipulation of his own. Stock Fritz von Opel would be driving the Opel Darracq which resulted in more broken axles than accolades. tion. Driving a specially prepared 1.9 liter 2­cylinder, was let into a new financial market, the board ex­ which had been made at his plant. This year’s race As expected Suresnes combined the latest in ma­ Henry Farman brought the name of Darracq motor­ panded and fresh capital safeguarded the future. would cover 340 miles, in four laps of the eighty­five chine tooling, a capable work force and a manufactur­ cars into the sports headlines. The sparkle of a racing In 1904 Darracq proudly introduced a top­of­the­ mile course set up outside Hamburg. Camille Je­ ing process developed to take maximum advantage of effort made the companyʹs advanced development line model, the 5122cc Phaeton, which combined tech­ natzy’s Mercedes victory of ’03 had brought the tro­ both. Warranty claims from broken axles notwith­ and manufacturing yet more vigorous. nical refinements such as dual ignition with the brass phy to Germany. It took Léon Théry, driving his standing, he gained a reputation for solid, quality au­ Ribeyrolles’ 785cc single had been replaced by a 1.1­ and cut crystal expected of a contemporary luxury Richard­Brasier, five hours, fifty minutes and one sec­ tomobiles at a good price and was rewarded with liter single, then joined by 1.3 and 1.9­liter twins. car. Selling for a princely US $5,500, the Phaeton was ond to bring the trophy back to France for ’06. Fritz

18 19 retired his Opel­Darracq early on. The reason lost to axle. A single spare angled off the fuel tank. When it A skeletal frame, fitted with wire wheels and a V­ 1905­ʹ06 Chevrolet and Christie developed a land time. But I’d be willing to bet it was the column shift. arrived at the Vanderbilt it was the lightest car with shaped radiator at the prow, gave this car a decidedly speed car powered by a Darracq supplied 200 HP V8. The French factory Gordon Bennett racer found it­ the least horsepower of all the Europeans. There were vicious look. When the record fell to Hemery running This formidable vehicle was taken to Ormond self in an equally historic challenge. In 1903 William three American entries just below its 80hp. the flat straight road between Salon de­Provance and Beach, Florida, for an all­out attempt. In the first run, K. Vanderbilt established the Florida Speed Week on A few weeks before showing up on Long Island the St. Martin de Crau at 106.9 mph on December 28th, Chevrolet achieved 119 mph; then the car was turned the 23 mile stretch of Daytona Beach. The year before factory ran a test at the Circuit des Ardennes competi­ image became stunning reality. If not as stunning as over to Darracqʹs team driver, Héméry ­­but the he had set the LSR at 76.08mph in the South of France. tion. Hemery took the Belgian victory. The car was Hemery thought it capable of do to the cold weather. clocks failed to record his run. He responded with a In 1904 Vanderbilt brought a Mercedes ‘90’ to Speed then shipped to the States. Wearing the number 18 in Mastery was underscored when Wagner, with barrage of gutter French that provoked the officials to Week. He piloted this 11.9 liter Merc to a 92.3mph the nineteen car field Hemey recorded a 61.5mph av­ bored over­square FGB ban him from any fur­ record. This pushed awfully close to the Century erage speed to take the victory in this impressive blocks, again as four in­ ther attempts. A third mark. Two months later the French followed with field. A field that included the factory Fiat team with line, displacing 12.7 liters run was taken by their speed week in Nice. A 13.6 liter Gobron­Brille, Lancia, Nazzaro, Chevrolet, Sartori and Cedrino. The producing 110 hp, man­ Héméry’s mechanic, Vic­ producing a reputed 130hp was brought to the line by Mercedes team was represented by Jenatzy, Keene, aged a superb repeat vic­ tor Demogeot, who Louis Rigolly. It crossed into the record books at Warden, Campbell. The formidable Pope Toledos of tory in the 1906 clocked 122.449 mph­­ 94.78. In July it was brought to Ostend­Nieuport in Lytle and Dingley. Duray was running a De Dietrich. Vanderbilt Cup. Consid­ and became the first Belgium in a direct attempt on the Century mark. It Walter White one of his competition steamers. ering the lack of crowd man to travel two miles did it with three point five­six miles an hour to spare. Christie his FWD racer. Szisz was running a factory control and poor road a minute. With winter closing in the French Gordoin Bennett car Renault. Louis Wagner had the other Darracq. Formi­ condition is to understate While the V8’s impact was taken to Ostend. On November 13 Paul Baras ran dable indeed. the intensity of the vic­ on the LSR was now the FGB Darracq to a recorded and recognized 104.53. While Hemey was collecting the laurels and gener­ tory. twice validated, it Darracq stood at the top of the first generation of post ating the publicity in the 80HP, the company prepared Finally came the pinna­ would be its influence Century LSRs…at least until January 24th. a second attack on the land speed record. Ribeyrolles cle of Darracq’s racing ca­ beyond this arena that For 1905 Darracq’s French operation went in a com­ wanted to greatly increase displacement within a reer, the land speed would transform auto­ pletely different engineering direction. Rather than compact package. He took four of the Gordon Ben­ record attempt of 1906­­ motive history. The going for maximum displacement and power, they nett twin cylinder blocks and bored them to 170mm. an interesting affair in­ basic design tenets of explored performance through power to weight. The He reengineered the ports for cross flow. Each four deed that required the Ribeyrolles’ V8 were re­ engine was the squared 11 liter inline four, now tuned cylinder block­set was angled in opposition at ninety talents of several motoring pioneers. To win the 1905 engineered by de Dion­Bouton in 1911 to more mod­ to 80hp. A notable feature was the exploration of degrees with crankshaft as axis. He then forged spe­ Vanderbilt, Héméry in the Darracq had to overcome erate proportion, and when licensed to Leland in sprung and unsprung weight. The wheel base was cial conrods so two opposing cylinders could share a strenuous competition from a fellow Frenchman­­and 1913, became the basis of all American push­rod V8ʹs. shorted and it was stripped of all bodywork, includ­ common crank throw. He positioned the single cam at ex­Darracq employee­­Louis Chevrolet, driving for Listening to the loping staccato idle of that V8, or its ing hood. It was little more than a rolling chassis as engine center above the crank to drive the lifters, the FIAT team. rough rumble throat­ clearing rev is to hear the pri­ would be used for testing. For unsprung weight ex­ rockers and overhead valves of each fixed head block The race went badly for Chevrolet, who barely sur­ mal echo of a big cam 350 in anticipation or a 440 ploration the artillery wheels were jettisoned for wire on this over­square V8. Displacing 25.4­liters it was vived a crash that left his huge car in ruins. But prior Wedge on the run. wheels and new Dunlop tires were fitted. All the rated at 200 ʹfiscalʹ horsepower in contemporary pub­ to the race he had met Walter Christie, an eccentric in­ Ribeyrolles didn’t merely anticipate the future with weight of the car was between the nine foot wheel lications. The implication being it had a quite a bit novator from New York who had patented an ad­ this engine, he initiated it. base, and the cylindrical fuel tank sat over the rear more. vanced front­wheel­drive system. Over the winter of

20 21 DARRACQ TURNS TO ITALY

fter such intensity of competition achievement tant, in 1905 the Italian government nationalized the sonal transport was not a pressing need. The urban dustrial potential. Darracq, his British and new Italian oneA could imagine that a move into Italy carried with railroads. areas had active inner city light rail systems. The di­ partners were not the first, nor would they be the last, it a sense of destiny. The foreshadowing of greatness The railroads had been predominantly owned by verse national rail system had been providing passen­ to pay dearly for the privilege of reading a report that into an awakening arena of competition. Darracq writ foreign investors. The by product of these individu­ ger service to the peninsula with some effectiveness. outlined their Southern failure. But a white linen post­ large in the passionate automotive hearts of the Ital­ ally developed and operated rail services was the dis­ At the heart of this was a simple reality, the segment ing to sunlit Naples from dreary Harris Tweed Lon­ ian people. It was to fulfill no such fortune. It was to parate array of rail gages throughout the country. The of the population capable of automotive purchase and don carried its own deception. be little more than a boardroom play of the most op­ resulting freight transfer between rail systems created annual operation was small. The Società Italiana Automobili Darracq had been portunistically prosaic. With just enough middle man­ a form of tariff on raw materials transfer from port to British management in the City convinced them­ setup at the end of February 1906 with a capitaliza­ agement incompetence for a tragic Opera to become a factory that was impeding industrial development. As selves that their opportunity to set up shop in Italy tion of 1.5M lire, which was then equal to 300k US comedy in the third act. a result nationalization, in this case, was a strategy for was in Naples. A regional location presented to be ad­ and 60k Sterling, or about 4.3M BPS (2014). By New Darracq and his Etonian accented board considered industrial development. The Government paid fair vantageous for several reasons. The Neapolitan work­ Year’s they had burned through about half that capi­ Italy, Franceʹs main trading partner at the time, to be a market price for the privately held shares of the indi­ force knew steel. It had been trained in shipbuilding tal. At the January board meeting they decided to fol­ natural market for export. Perhaps even more so than vidual rail operations throughout the country. There and in coachwork for the railroads. Further incentive low the suggestion of their internal report and Germany. But political considerations posed interest­ was one proviso, the capital had to stay in Italy and was provided by a law of 1904 which sought to attract relocate to Milan. The potential of a capable work ing obstacles to free trade. In 1896 Italy had enacted be industrially reinvested. At a stroke the Govern­ industry to the South through legislation that pro­ force, materials­in shipping, products­out distribu­ tariffs to protect agricultural, shipbuilding and steel ment made available massive foreign and domestic vided commercial real estate tax incentives and pro­ tion, a local demographic of buyers, oh, and the from Continental competition, the French specifically. investment capital, ready to subsidize new engineer­ grams to enlarge the harbor, improve the roads, and power plug into the grid provided the fiscal coverage These restrictions resulted in a heated trade war be­ ing­based industries and major expansion of hydro­ connect Naples to the northern hydroelectric power needed to bow out of Naples gracefully. tween the two neighbors that was still being waged in electric generation in the north. The synergy of ready grid. The youthful entrepreneurs in the investment To appreciate how the boys from London burned the first decade of the new Century. cash, cheap power, a unified railroad, advanced engi­ department at A. Darracq Ltd. saw a boomtown in the through that capital, without even reaching the point Any strategy that Darracq could come up with, to neering and flourishing trade was irresistible. making. On February 23rd, 1905, A.D. Ltd. estab­ of machine setup and operation one detail is telling. export his two­and four­cylinder cars, seemed un­ For the Darracq board, as with many Continental lished a joint­stock company for the ʺmanufactureʺ of SIAD paid four hundred and fifty thousand lire for promising. The tariffs would make his cars uncompet­ industrialists and international bankers, guiding Italy the firm’s French cars in Naples. No doubt amid high the 23000 square meter factory site in Naples. This itive if they entered Italy as finished products. from its artisan past to its industrial future was the hopes. represented nearly a third of their available working Complete manufacture of Darracqʹs steel­framed cars next great opportunity. On the part of the Darracq In the event, hopes would be dashed. capital! (The handshake on that deal was probably within Italy, on the other hand, would be uneconomi­ boys in London all of these visionary financial opera­ Darracqʹs new company faced an actual shortage of made over dinner and wine on Capri after a fine day cal thanks to high processing costs of raw materials. A tions became blinded by a simple misread of the Ital­ workers skilled in precision light industry. The recur­ of sailing the Bay of Naples.) The 18000 square site result of absurdly high coal prices, eight times higher ian market. They saw Italy as an underdeveloped rent chimera of Southern industrial development met outside Milan cost them ninety six thousand. (Here at the factory gate in Italy than in Britain. market with potential for inexpensive personal trans­ the reality of infrastructure build out. While opera­ we see the director casting a stiff necked glance over An unforeseen combination of factors eased Dar­ portation. And that’s what they intended to do, to de­ tional unification of the rail system was proceeding to his new London appointed accountant, waiting for racqʹs move into the Italian market. First, Italy had re­ velop this market in the very manner they had in impressively, connection to the cost effective indus­ fractional head nod to guarantee the funds were cently begun development of hydro­electric plants in France, England and Germany with simple small dis­ trial power of the northern hydro­electric power grid there.) As darkly humorous as this is, it was to do the Italian Alps, a cost effective source of power that placement cars. Experience had shown this to be an was years out. their reputation and the nascent northern company was to stimulate rapid industrial growth. Second, the effective strategy, but in what was essentially pre­in­ With the land bought, the factory designed and no favors. They were now starting out on their back trade war with France subsided, even though the tar­ dustrial Italy, with artisan manufacturing operations under construction, the machine tools on order, it foot. They found themselves in the unenviable posi­ iff remained in force. Third, and perhaps most impor­ for the most part, with a wage structure to match, per­ seemed a hell of a time to get a handle on Naples in­ tion of being challenged by the financial markets for

22 23 fresh capital, while simultaneously under capitalized. sales. There was a big push to fill Italian Cities with eral economic events and trends. The national market, Darracq Italiana produced. This bit of mechanical Challenged as they were, they pressed on. Architec­ Darracq taxis. And in an effort to get the name in the as mentioned, was limited and this market segment Laurel and Hardy was not well received. Considering tural drawings for the 6700 square factory were sports section they sent two of Ribeyrolles racers, this desired, and by purchase exhibited a demand for, a the fine quality for price products being delivered by drawn up. In what was taking shape as Milanese tra­ time with some bodywork, to the second Targa Florio. product of specific character. Darracq in England, France and Germany, in the same dition, it was to reflect the most advanced industrial Darracq was planting the flag out beyond the old It was into this market that SIAD’s Portello opera­ two cylinder market segment in 1907 – 08, this was in­ thinking of the period. Light has always been a prime gates of Milan. tion began releasing its products. The car they had explicable. To make matters worse, the firm’s drive for factor in Italian industrial architecture, and here we The calendar of 1907 was spent on build out, estab­ chosen to open­up the Italian market with was un­ commercial engine and taxi sales generated little re­ find an example of the style establishing itself. The lishment of the full manufacturing infrastructure and usual. It was powered by their 8 / 10HP two cylinder sponse on the Peninsula. glass walls were not limited to the exterior. To trans­ working out the logistics of material supply from side­valve, in its 1500cc variant. It had the column Perhaps someone had seen the handwriting on the mit natural light throughout the factory interior walls Suresnes and Italian suppliers. The recession of 1907 shift and solid axle drive train. Its awkwardly diminu­ wall, or was it in a telegram? In February of 1909 the were glass as well, as were large sections of the roof. must have produced some real concern for the British tive radiator and short hood left no question about its British director was replaced by Ugo Stella With optimistic projections of say 400 or 500 cars a director and all associated with SIAD, from bankers Voiturette displacement. Strangely it came in one con­ year once fully operational and this being 1907 Milan, and investors to the workers and management. Italy figuration: the Doctor’s car, or Runabout, two seater. this was to be no monolithic Albert Kahn structure had been growing at double­digit rates since the mid What is interesting about this car, for this period, was with moving assembly line. It was still an artisan op­ 1890s. Yes, steel and shipbuilding were politically that the bench seat was well within the bodywork. eration, if of a very advanced character. connected, tariff protected and subsidized by govern­ This at a time when the single bench seat or twin The strategy of producing and introducing the ment contract ­ thus SIAD’s importation of processed bucket seats of the Runabout were still rather highly small displacement cars now had no room for error. steel parts and assemblies to get around Italian steel’s placed above the chassis and open on the sides in that To get things up and running the plan was to bring in high cost. Even with this seeming systemic impedi­ coliseum seating manner. Unfortunately in an effort the pressed steel frame elements, engines and trans­ ment, nationalization of the rail system, with resultant to meet market price point with all inherent manufac­ missions from Suresnes, source as much locally as infrastructure build out and rolling stock replace­ turing impediments, its sheet metal work, construc­ possible, machine, fabricate and upholster what was ment, the hydro­electric power and the growing grid tion detail, fit and finish, were not very good. needed, and assemble to rollout. with beneficial cost impact on industry new and old, Its concept though could be considered ahead of its The company wasted no time in taking advantage and the fact that this was a period of machine tool ad­ time. It was a small, economical to operate, urban car. of its Italian footprint. They couldn’t. Every opportu­ vancement and replacement from the cotton industry Something of a management or skilled worker’s com­ nity to generate revenue had to be explored. With the to automobiles. And it is, after all, the latter with muter car. This was Italy though, where after his 58 roof up and offices in place marketing began. Or was which we are concerned here. Automobiles was one hour workweek, Dad wanted to pile la famiglia in the it market research? The stately 5122cc Phaetons were of the new industries of Italy. A new industrial focus new well­earned car and go for a long ride with picnic made available complete for their 25,000 Lire price, of investor and bank financing. An industry that was stop. Which is to say, you take the finite automotive plus tariff. Evidently a few were delivered (probably defining the very products it made, what it was to market of 1907 Italy, reduce it to two seats and you’ve to their partners in Naples). Some Flying Fifteens make, what the market would buy and in what num­ limited your success to perhaps survival. were imported knocked­down, assembled and sold in bers. At the beginning of 1907 there were seventy one A 1500cc, two­seat roadster…by this simple defini­ the eleven thousand Lire price range. These single new automobile operations in Italy. There were thirty tion it would seem to be an augur of things to come. sheet steel chassis cars, with their flathead 3­liter two in Turin alone. By 1908 six remained operational 1907 may have given SIAD’s director and manage­ fours, were so popular after two years of sales in in Turin. The conclusion was clear, the market was re­ ment pause, but they seemed to have missed its inher­ France Darracq accounted for ten percent of national tail customer driven, immediately impacted by gen­ ent message, or so it seemed by the little 8/10HP

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