Chenard-Walcker
Encyclopedia
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, from 1900 to 1946. The factory was at first in Asnières-sur-Seine
Asnières-sur-Seine
Asnières-sur-Seine is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France, along the river Seine. It is located from the center of Paris.-Name:...
moving to Gennevilliers
Gennevilliers
Gennevilliers is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 9 April 1929, one-fifth of the territory of Gennevilliers was detached and became the commune of Villeneuve-la-Garenne.-Transport:...
in 1906.
History
Ernest Chenard (1861-1922) was a railway engineer and maker of bicycles with a factory in Asnières-sur-Seine. He joined with mining engineer Henri Walcker (1877–1912) in 1898 to make motor tricycles. They formally founded Chenard, Walkcer et Compagnie in 1900 with Chenard in charge of design and Walcker sales and finance. In the same year made their first four wheel car. This had a two cylinder, 1160 cc engine of their own design which drove the rear wheels through a four speed gearbox and an unusual transmission system. From the gearbox there were two drive shafts, one to each rear hub, with the hubs driven by gear teeth cut on the inside. The car was shown at the 1901 Paris Salon.In March 1906 the company went public and became the Société Anonyme des Anciens Étabissements Chenard et Walcker and moved to a new factory at Gennevilliers
Gennevilliers
Gennevilliers is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 9 April 1929, one-fifth of the territory of Gennevilliers was detached and became the commune of Villeneuve-la-Garenne.-Transport:...
in 1908. The new name has caused confusion over the years as to whether the cars should be called Chenard-Walcker or Chenard et Walcker, both names seem to have been used. Annual production steadily increased with a major market being the supply of taxis especially in Paris. In 1910 they made over 1500 cars making them the 9th largest maker in France. A six cylinder car of 4.5 litre joined the line up in 1913 and at the outbreak of war in 1914 the model range consisted of the six cylinder and fours of 2.0, 2.6 and 3 litre capacities.
During World War I Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza was a Spanish automotive and engineering firm, best known for its luxury cars and aviation engines in the pre-World War II period of the twentieth century. In 1923, its French subsidiary became a semi-autonomous partnership with the parent company and is now part of the French SAFRAN...
aircraft engines were made as well as military versions of the Type U car.
With peace, only production of the six cylinder, now called the Model UU, was resumed but in 1920 a brand new 2648 cc four, the 12CV, was added. FAR commercial vehicles were also made. Following the death of Ernest Chenard in 1922, his son Lucien Chenard (1896–1971) took over.
The 3-litre car of 1922, designed by Henri Toutée (1884–1943) who had been with the company since 1906, with overhead camshaft engine was the winner of the very first Le Mans 24 Hours Race
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
, in 1923 driven by René Léonard
René Léonard
René Léonard was a French racing driver who, along with André Lagache, won the inaugural running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in . Lagache and Léonard were both engineers for the Chenard et Walcker automobile company, and were chosen to drive one of the three entries in the endurance event...
and André Lagache
André Lagache
André Lagache was a French racing driver who, along with René Léonard, won the very first 24 Hours of Le Mans in . Lagache was an engineer at automobile manufacturer Chenard et Walcker, and was chosen to drive their "Sport" model in the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans...
, both engineers employed by Chenard et Walcker. A 2 litre version, the 10/12 was subsequently sold to the public.
In 1925 Chenard et Walkcer was the fourth largest car maker in France. They went into partnership with Delahaye
Delahaye
Delahaye automobile manufacturing company was started by Emile Delahaye in 1894, in Tours, France. His first cars were belt-driven, with single- or twin-cylinder engines. In 1900, Delahaye left the company.-History:...
in 1927 sharing designs and components, an arrangement that lasted until 1931. Unic
Unic
Unic was a French car manufacturer firm founded by Georges Richard in 1906 after having left Richard-Brasier. Société anonyme des automobiles UNIC was established in Puteaux with two-cylinder and four-cylinder models. The 1943 cc 12 CV four-cylinder model was extremely successful and...
were also offered a place in the new consortium but declined the offer.
Front independent suspension was introduced on some 1934 models and also front wheel drive using Grégoire
Jean-Albert Grégoire
Jean-Albert Grégoire was one of the great pioneers of the front-wheel drive car. He contributed to the development of front wheel drive vehicles in two ways...
designs on the Super Aigle models but this was not a great success as it was launched at the same time as the Citroën Traction Avant
Citroën Traction Avant
The Citroën Traction Avant is an automobile which was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1934 to 1957. About 760,000 units were produced.-Impact on the world:...
but was considerably more expensive. In the same year the Aigle 8 with V-8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
engine was launched.
Decline
The company had never had sufficient capital to modernise and the cars remained largely hand built leaving them unable to compete on price. As a result they went bankrupt in 1936 and were taken over by body maker Chausson and the 1938 models shared bodies with MatfordMatford
Matford was a car and truck manufacturer in France from 1934 to 1940.In the 1930s, the Ford Motor Company was quickly expanding its European production. Before 1934,a front wheel drive version of Ford Model Y had been produced with an 8 hp engine under the marque Tracford...
, distinguishable only by the radiator grilles and were powered by Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
or Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
V-8 engines. There were plans to rejuvenate (again) the appearance of the big Chenard & Walcker "Aigle 22CV" model for 1939, giving it a raked grille, but this came to nothing and car production finally ceased in 1939 or 1940. In April 1940 an advertisement for the company's Matford
Matford
Matford was a car and truck manufacturer in France from 1934 to 1940.In the 1930s, the Ford Motor Company was quickly expanding its European production. Before 1934,a front wheel drive version of Ford Model Y had been produced with an 8 hp engine under the marque Tracford...
based passenger cars appeared in the French language version of a leading Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
based motor magazine, but by this time the company appears to have been finishing up existing stocks of new cars rather than building more.
The war years
In September 1939 France declared war on Germany and in June 1940 the German armyGerman Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
rapidly invaded and occupied Northern France. The war years were characterised by a desperate shortage of raw materials for civilian industry and of petrol. In 1940 Chenard & Walcker presented the prototype for a light van based ambulance intended for the army, and this vehicle turned out to be the first in a long line of forward control light vans. By 1941 the van was listed for civilian use, powered by a compact 720cc two stroke water-cooled engine which occupied a central position between the driver's right leg and the left leg of his passenger. Power output was in the region of 20 hp which seems to have been barely compatible with the stated 1,500 Kg of carrying capacity. By 1942 fuel for civilian use had become virtually unobtainable and an electric-powered version of the little van was offered by a company called Sovel. Although the success of the little van was not sufficient to ensure the manufacturer a long-term future in vehicle production, the van itself endured, and shortly after Chausson (the company which by now had acquired Chenard & Walcker) itself fell into the hands of Peugeot, the van acquired the engine from the Peugeot 202
Peugeot 202
The Peugeot 202 was an automobile from Peugeot. Production of the car ran between 1938 and 1942 and then, after a brief production run of 20 in early 1945, restarted in mid-1946...
. A few years later, in 1950, it was rebranded as the Peugeot D3
Peugeot D3 and D4
The Peugeot D3 and its successor, the Peugeot D4 were forward control panel vans sold by Peugeot from October 1950 till 1965. The van originated as a front wheel drive light van produced by Chenard-Walcker, whose business Peugeot had acquired by 1950....
van. The last ones to carry the Chenard name were made in 1950.
Major models
- 14/16 1905
- Type M 1907
- Type N 1907
- Type P 1910
- Type U 15CV 1913
- Type UU 1919
- Type U 12CV 1920
- Type TT 1922
- 3 litre 1922
- 10/15CV 1924
- 12/25CV 1924
- 22CV Straight 8 1924
- 14CV 1929
- Y6 1929
- 8CV 1931
- Super Aigle 4 1934
- Aiglon 1934
- Aigle 4S 1934
- Aigle 8 1934
- Aigle 20 1938
- Aigle 22 1938