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An Amilcar Hispano-Suiza?

Point of gravity, ailerons, brake systems and cornering grip… When you read about these elements in high-powered cars, you usually see the phrase “and all this so that it does not fly away”. Well, in the case of some cars that may be more literal than you think. After all, there are many examples of four-wheel vehicles ...

With the soul of an airplane.

Until the 20s, assembling an aeronautical mechanics to a chassis that could support it - and a pilot with enough cold blood - was the quintessence of radicalism in the world of motorsports. And this is due to two reasons.

The first is that, until in the early 10's Peugeot proved otherwise, there was a firm proposition that to gain speed and therefore races ... the cubic capacity had to be increased more and more. Wits like the 'Turin Beast'set the standard to follow with 28 liter engines. The second is that, after the First World War, it was easy to get hold of huge engines designed for warplanes. And well, if you can get your chassis to hold one of those ... There is no doubt that at least you have great power, ideal especially for breaking speed records.

Although a century ago the time of these "Giants”Happened, still many fans continue to relive this brutal way of making cars. Of course, in cases like those of this Amilcar powered by a 8-liter V12 Hispano Suiza ... The result is more balanced than you might expect.

AMILCAR HISPANO: MADE TO FLY

Like Bentley, Hispanic-Suiza it is defined from the brand's own emblem. On it are wings. And, after all, beyond producing luxury cars, the true mechanical drive of these companies was the development of aeronautical engines. Aeronautical engines that, although they were born to fly, ended up many times anchored to the ground ... Even if it is at more than 250 kilometers per hour.

This is the case of 12 liters that drives this Amilcar. An engine produced by Hispano-Suiza in 1915 to take to the skies thanks to its 8 cylinder and almost 300 CV power. Powerful, light and reliable, its adaptation to all four wheels seems much more balanced and credible than that of other cases in which an aircraft engine has ended up inside a car.

amilcar hispanic switzerland
Despite the size, the engine integrates perfectly. Source: Goodwood Road & Racing.

In fact, it perfectly could have been the heart of more than one racing car at the time. Although ... We dare to say that not even counting on the bulging pockets of the "gentleman racer"At the time this would have been a good idea from a commercial point of view; These engines were designed to go sky high, and their cost of production… It also fulfilled this premise compared to its automotive brethren.

A SLIGHT AND LIGHTWEIGHT DRESS

The truth is that, comparing this Amilcar Hispano-Swiss heart with other specimens of the same nature ... There is one thing that does catch our attention: it is not a mole. In fact, it is quite the opposite: small -the Amilcar were rather cyclecares-, with the point of gravity relatively low and the engine in harmony with the rest of the set; This Amilcar is a delight that, if we had to resemble it with an airplane, we would do it without hesitation with a small and agile fighter. It is surprising that a fragile Amilcar can withstand such an injection of steroids.

To accompany the engine - we remember that sentence by Enzo Ferari "I make engines the rest I give it to him”- its creator and owner Tom Walker chose a Amilcar from 1930. And well, although it does not provide the exact model and at the time the cars of this brand were quite handmade and therefore many times different even belonging to the same model ... We would dare to say that it is a Hamilcar C6. The small racing car of the French brand that, precisely, stopped being manufactured in 1930.

A light and simple frame that, as Tom Walker himself declares with a certain smile of resignation in the video, apart from only two gears, “It has brakes that cannot stop such an engine”. And the thing is ... In heaven you don't need brakes. After all, if the emblem of Hispano-Suiza includes wings, that of Amilcar is a winged horse.

This car was predestined.

What do you think?

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Written by Miguel Sánchez

Through the news from La Escudería, we will travel the winding roads of Maranello listening to the roar of the Italian V12; We will travel Route66 in search of the power of the great American engines; we will get lost in the narrow English lanes tracking the elegance of their sports cars; We will speed up the braking in the curves of the Monte Carlo Rally and we will even get dusty in a garage while rescuing lost jewels.

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