Automobiles Marathon
Encyclopedia
Marathon was a French
automobile manufacturer established by a group of engineers under the leadership of a rally enthusiast called Bernard Denis. Prototypes for a light weight sports coupé were presented at various motor shows starting with the 1951 Frankfurt Motor Show and the cars were produced between 1953 and 1955.
, and it has been suggested that the manufacturer’s founder, Bernard Denis, dreamed of producing a French Porsche equivalent.
The first car, like several light weight sports cars appearing in France at this time, was powered by the two cylinder boxer engine from the Panhard Dyna X
(and later the Panhard Dyna Z
) which produced at this stage a claimed 42 hp from 850 cc of cylinder capacity. There was a coupé version, branded as the Marathon Corsair, and a roadster, branded as the Marathon Pirate.
. Trippel had constructed his prototype in 1950: it already featured the stylish fast-back (and possibly Porsche inspired) body work and rear-hinged doors that would define the Marathon Corsair. Trippel’s steel-bodied prototype was propelled by a Zündapp
600 cc engine producing just over 18 hp.
In order to fit the larger Panhard engine the Marathon team were obliged slightly to adapt the rear of the car which lost a little of the cleanness of form that had characterised the Trippel prototype. At the front they also had to raise the level of the head-lights in order to conform with French regulations. By the time the car appeared at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1953, these changes had been effected, and the car’s name had been changed from Trippel to Marathon.
In June 1953 Marathon’s first pre-production prototype was presented to Gilles Guérithault who was managing editor of L'Auto-Journal
, and who thereby obtain exclusive details of the car which would debut in production form only in October at the Paris Motor Show. By then arrangements were in place to produce the car at the Societé Industrielle de l'Ouest Parisien (SIOP)
factory in the Boulevard de Dixmude on the western side of Paris
, previously the manufacturing location for Rosengart automobiles.
The production cars were not steel bodied, but were constructed from a material initially christened at the plant “polyester”, but which is better understood as a series of layers of glass fibre and resin, a light-weight material that would become popular with low volume producers in the UK and elsewhere for “fibreglass” car bodies. The Marathon was something of a pioneer in this respect, and the resulting light body combined with an engine delivering more than twice the power of Trippel’s original prototype gave rise to a level of performance that was, by the standards of the time and category of the car, very lively indeed. The top speed was approximately 150 km/h (93 mph).
in the French west.
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...
automobile manufacturer established by a group of engineers under the leadership of a rally enthusiast called Bernard Denis. Prototypes for a light weight sports coupé were presented at various motor shows starting with the 1951 Frankfurt Motor Show and the cars were produced between 1953 and 1955.
The cars
The cars were derived from a design by Hans Trippel with a silhouette not unlike that of the Porsche 956Porsche 956
The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship...
, and it has been suggested that the manufacturer’s founder, Bernard Denis, dreamed of producing a French Porsche equivalent.
The first car, like several light weight sports cars appearing in France at this time, was powered by the two cylinder boxer engine from the Panhard Dyna X
Panhard Dyna X
The Panhard Dyna X was a lightweight compact saloon car designed by the visionary engineer Jean Albert Grégoire and first exhibited as the AFG Dyna at the Paris Motor Show in 1946....
(and later the Panhard Dyna Z
Panhard Dyna Z
The Panhard Dyna Z was a lightweight motor car made by Panhard of France. It was first presented to the press at a Paris restaurant named "Les Ambassadeurs" on 17 June 1953 and went into production the following year...
) which produced at this stage a claimed 42 hp from 850 cc of cylinder capacity. There was a coupé version, branded as the Marathon Corsair, and a roadster, branded as the Marathon Pirate.
History
The technical enthusiasts who established the Marathon car business purchased the design from Hans Trippel (1908 – 2001) who had been released from war related imprisonment in 1949 and at this point was based in StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. Trippel had constructed his prototype in 1950: it already featured the stylish fast-back (and possibly Porsche inspired) body work and rear-hinged doors that would define the Marathon Corsair. Trippel’s steel-bodied prototype was propelled by a Zündapp
Zündapp
Zündapp was a major German motorcycle manufacturer. The company was founded in 1917 in Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer, together with the Friedrich Krupp AG and the machine tool manufacturer Thiel under the name "Zünder- und Apparatebau G.m.b.H." as a producer of detonators...
600 cc engine producing just over 18 hp.
In order to fit the larger Panhard engine the Marathon team were obliged slightly to adapt the rear of the car which lost a little of the cleanness of form that had characterised the Trippel prototype. At the front they also had to raise the level of the head-lights in order to conform with French regulations. By the time the car appeared at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1953, these changes had been effected, and the car’s name had been changed from Trippel to Marathon.
In June 1953 Marathon’s first pre-production prototype was presented to Gilles Guérithault who was managing editor of L'Auto-Journal
L'Auto-Journal
L'Auto-Journal is a bimonthly magazine created in 1950 by Robert Hersant and editor-in-chief Gilles Guérithault, devoted to automobiles. Notable journalists working for l'Auto-Journal were Roland Gaucher and Jean-Marie Balestre....
, and who thereby obtain exclusive details of the car which would debut in production form only in October at the Paris Motor Show. By then arrangements were in place to produce the car at the Societé Industrielle de l'Ouest Parisien (SIOP)
Lucien Rosengart
Lucien Rosengart was a French engineer.His early life was shaped by carriages and the advance of the automobile age. He first started working as a mechanic at the age of 12, and by age 24 he had a machine shop in Belleville and several patents to his credit...
factory in the Boulevard de Dixmude on the western side of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, previously the manufacturing location for Rosengart automobiles.
The production cars were not steel bodied, but were constructed from a material initially christened at the plant “polyester”, but which is better understood as a series of layers of glass fibre and resin, a light-weight material that would become popular with low volume producers in the UK and elsewhere for “fibreglass” car bodies. The Marathon was something of a pioneer in this respect, and the resulting light body combined with an engine delivering more than twice the power of Trippel’s original prototype gave rise to a level of performance that was, by the standards of the time and category of the car, very lively indeed. The top speed was approximately 150 km/h (93 mph).
Enthusiasts
In 2011 a Marathon Corsair is on display at the Manoir de l'Automobile at LohéacLohéac
Lohéac is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Lohéac are called in French Lohéaciens.-References:* ;* -External links:*...
in the French west.
Sources and references
- Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: Die große Automobil-Enzyklopädie. BLV, München 1986, ISBN 3-405-12974-5
- G. N. Georgano: Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours. Courtille, 1975 (French)