Amilcar (Société Nouvelle pour l’Automobile Amilcar, St. Denis).
Competitive years: 1928-1934
Horsepower Range: 62-107
Another successful 1100 race car which had its beginning in the 1920s was the Amilcar. Like Salmson, Amilcar produced cyclecars in the 1920s, and later, a four cylinder sidevalve model competed against the DOHC Salmson with some futility. But in 1925, Amilcar’s chief engineer Edmond Moyet came up with a DOHC straight six with a Roots type supercharger, using many of the same features as the 2 liter V12 Delage of 1924 (read story).
These six cylinder engines provided Amilcar with a significant weapon against Salmson. In 1931, an MC0 model was campaigned with factory support by José Scaron and was invincible in the 1100cc class, defeating not only the Salmsons, but bored out to 1286cc, won victories in the 1500cc classes as well, facing off with the Bugatti T37A, Howe’s Delage, and the Maserati T26. The 1100cc class wins continued until the class eventually faded away in 1934.
