Alamagny
Encyclopedia
Alamagny is a former French
auto-maker. It is remembered because of a prototype vehicle that was exhibited at various venues in France during 1947 and 1948.
Marcel Alamagny was an engineer who by 1947 had developed a curious prototype for a small four-wheeled car inspired by a “car of the future” project dreamt up in 1934 by Gabriel Voisin
. Alamagny pursued the idea further with a Pushmi-pullyu style vehicle having two visually identical front ends and no rear end. Two of the four wheels shared the axle in the middle of the vehicle which was powered by a small four-cylinder water-cooled 569 cm³ engine from the Simca 5
, mounted transversely.
At each end was a single wheel which steered, giving the vehicle a turning circle of just 4.25 meters (14 feet). The driver and his passengers each sat with their backs to the engine, and therefore also to each other, giving the passengers a view through the back window. Despite the look of the car, the gear box was conventionally configured so that driving always took place from the same end.
The vehicle was 3420 mm long and 1600 mm wide. With four people on board a top speed of 85 km/ (53 mph) was quoted.
In 1948 the prototype was presented to the SIA (Society of Automobile Engineers)
, but no further development took place, and the prototype would be preserved by Amédée Gordini
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
auto-maker. It is remembered because of a prototype vehicle that was exhibited at various venues in France during 1947 and 1948.
Marcel Alamagny was an engineer who by 1947 had developed a curious prototype for a small four-wheeled car inspired by a “car of the future” project dreamt up in 1934 by Gabriel Voisin
Gabriel Voisin
Gabriel Voisin was an aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained , circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing. It was flown by Henry Farman on January 13, 1908 near Paris, France...
. Alamagny pursued the idea further with a Pushmi-pullyu style vehicle having two visually identical front ends and no rear end. Two of the four wheels shared the axle in the middle of the vehicle which was powered by a small four-cylinder water-cooled 569 cm³ engine from the Simca 5
Simca 5
The Simca 5 is a small Franco-Italian passenger car designed by Fiat engineers at Turin. It was produced and sold in France by Simca. It was virtually identical to the Fiat 500 Topolino on which it was based, but was first presented, at the company's new Nanterre plant, three months ahead of the...
, mounted transversely.
At each end was a single wheel which steered, giving the vehicle a turning circle of just 4.25 meters (14 feet). The driver and his passengers each sat with their backs to the engine, and therefore also to each other, giving the passengers a view through the back window. Despite the look of the car, the gear box was conventionally configured so that driving always took place from the same end.
The vehicle was 3420 mm long and 1600 mm wide. With four people on board a top speed of 85 km/ (53 mph) was quoted.
In 1948 the prototype was presented to the SIA (Society of Automobile Engineers)
Société des ingénieurs de l'automobile
The Société des ingénieurs de l'automobile is an association of French engineers, managers, technicians and automotive professionals working in the automotive sector in France.This association is regulated under the loi de 1901....
, but no further development took place, and the prototype would be preserved by Amédée Gordini
Amédée Gordini
Amédée Gordini was an Italian-born race car driver and sports car manufacturer in France.Gordini was born in Bazzano, Province of Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. He was a young boy when he became fascinated with automobiles and racing. In his early teens, he worked as a...
.
Sources and further reading
- Jacques Rousseau und Jean-Paul Caron: Guide de l'automobile française. Solar, Paris 1988, ISBN 2-263-01105-6