UNORTHODOX CAR.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 7 January 1928, Page 13

UNORTHODOX CAR.

FRENCH INVENTION. The idea of placing the engine at the rear of the chassis has recently peen revived in Flrance in a rather interesting small car. IV bile this vehicle is very unorthodox in design, it has many praiseworthy teatures. and gives evidence of careful study. Ine layout shows a complete departure irom ordinary practice in chassis construction. Strictly speaking, there is no frame, its place being taken by the pressed ~tee. body which forms a kind of stoutdox stiffened internally by ridges. At the’front and the rear the body is traversed by heavy-gauge steel tubes, which, in addition to acting as crossmembers, carry the spring supports, independent suspension is given to each wheel by means of coil springs working in steel cylinders. The lower cylinder, which telescopes into the upper one, contains a secondary spying which provides a shock-absorbing effect. I’lie arrangement ot springs in tubes is duplicated in the case of the rear axle ; all the springs work in a bath of thick oil. The engine, which is particularly compact, is a horizontally opposed four cylinder air-cooled unit, with a cone clutch and three-speed gear-box built up in one block with the differential casing. The bore and stroke are 70 m.m. and 9G m.m. respectively, giving a total capacity of 1480 c.e The car is thus rated at 9 h.p. in France, and would be called 12.1 h.p. in England.