Miguel Sánchez
The beginnings of motorsport are closely linked to aviation. In fact, from direct injection to turbocharger There are many elements of aeronautical origin present in our cars. A more palpable relationship as we retract in time. In this ascending chronology appear companies such as Tatra or Rolls-Royce, but also Hispano-Suiza, Voisin and Farman. All of them with crossed interests between the air and the earth, even having manufactured devices for the sky rather than for the asphalt.
Looking at one of them, the most experienced in prewar vehicles will surely have enjoyed the mention of Voisin. Re-founded in 1919 as a manufacturer of luxury cars, the French company came from the world of aviation since in 1905 the brothers Gabriel and Charles Voisin decided to conquer the heights. Moment in which they shared projects with another pair of brothers: the Farmans. Capricious and wealthy, Henri and Maurice Farman went on to compete in a tandem seeking world bicycle records. And that's not to mention his passion for balloons, cars and, of course, airplanes.
United by the aeronautical interest, the biographies of both pairs of brothers intertwined to such an extent that in 1907 they half developed the Farman-Voisin I. With Gabriel Voisin as designer and Henri Farman as pilot, this airplane was the first to fly for more than a minute, passing the kilometer of travel.
Historical moment in which the Voisin and the Farmans distance themselves. While the former continued with airplanes, becoming key during the First World War, the latter veered sharply towards the construction of luxury automobiles.
A turn towards the earth that, however, is indebted to all the experience accumulated in the air. Something that we can clearly see in their two aerodynamic prototypes from 1922.
FARMAN. AS MADE AND UNLIKELY RELIABLE
At the end of the decade of the ten, the Farman brothers appeared at the Parisian Grand Palais car show with a 40CV model. Constructed primarily of aluminum rather than the dominant steel at the time, this essay evidenced its origins in aircraft design. Not only for the lightness of this material, but also for mechanical solutions from heights such as the overhead camshaft or cylinders welded to the crankcase. With these novelties and careful finishes, it goes without saying that not a few fortunes wanted to add a Farman to their garages full of the Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza of the moment.
However, the model still had a lot of development ahead, not being able to satisfy the purchase requests. An error corrected in 1920, when a marketable product was finally presented in Paris: the Farman A6. Powered by a more conventional six-cylinder in-line engine than the prototype, The following year, the first engine frames began to be sold ready to be sent to different European bodybuilders.. And be careful, because that's where the problems began. In the first place, none of the Farman A6s looked like another, lacking a few minimal patterns from which each bodybuilder could customize.
Farman was born without a corporate identity. A serious sin for a brand with customers seeking distinction thanks to products that are as exclusive as they are recognizable. In addition, the lack of reliability in the engines meant that not only the bodywork of each Farman A6 was different, but also its mechanics. The changes were constant in all kinds of components. Always with new settings and adjustments. In addition, the price was higher than that of any Hispano-Suiza. A dangerous mix of lack of identity, unreliability, improvisation, design flaws and high prices that seemed impossible to correct.
THE LETTER OF THE COMPETITION. THE FARMAN A6 AERODYNAMICS
In 1922 a new generation of the first model was presented. However, the Farman A6B was still much less reliable than the closest competitors. Thus the things, the intrepid brothers once passionate of the heights decided to play the card of the races. Determined to beat the Hispano-Suiza in the competition, they thought that the fight against the stopwatch would give them prestige, publicity and the possibility of opening up to a new clientele.
To do this, they shortened the wheelbase of the A6's frame by a fifth, also boosting the engine thanks to new ignitions and carburettors. Mechanical efforts that, however, paled before the striking bodies of the two prototypes of the Farman A6 Aerodynamic.
With all the fairing frame, the absence of fenders and a dignified rear designed so that the air does not generate drag turbulence, These Farman A6s are a show of design where aeronautical solutions preside over everything. In fact, this is more visible in the roofed version, to which two wings were added to improve the stability of the car on the straight.
Something that the homeless version did not have. However, both were ahead of their time in terms of aerodynamics. Especially for its height, of only 1 meters in the case of the roofed model and with four seats. Very small for the time, helping to lower the center of gravity of these Farmans.
Intended to break top speed and ascension racing records, these two prototypes created no small amount of media buzz. An expectation that, unfortunately, was never fulfilled in the starting blocks. Suffering from serious set-up problems, once again the lack of reliability was once again taking over the future of the brand. These aerodynamic Farman A6s never got under a checkered flag. A problematic destination that was also that of the brand, unable to match the quality of its engines to the sale price. Thus, in the mid-30s Farman ended up nationalized to return to the manufacture of aircraft after an automobile experiment that did not add up to a hundred units.
