Hispano-Suiza H6
Encyclopedia
The Hispano-Suiza H6 was a luxury automobile
from the 1920s. Introduced at the 1919 Paris Motor Show, the H6 was produced until 1933. Roughly 2,350 H6, H6B, and H6C cars were produced in total.
The H6 engine featured a straight-six engine inspired by designer Marc Birkigt
's work on aircraft
engines. It was an all-aluminium engine displacing 6597 cc. Apart from the new overhead camshaft
, it was essentially half of Birkigt's aviation V12
design. The seven-bearing crankshaft
was milled from a 600 lb (272 kg) steel billet
to become a sturdy 35 lb (16 kg) unit, while the block
used screwed-in steel liners, and the water passages were enamel
led to prevent corrosion.
One of the most notable features of the H6 was its brakes. They were light-alloy drums on all four wheels with power-assist the first in the industry, driven with a special shaft from the transmission. When the car was decelerating, its own momentum drove the brake servo to provide additional power. This technology was later licensed to other manufacturers, including arch-rival Rolls-Royce.
The 1922 H6B was slightly more powerful. An 8 litre (110 by) engine was used in 1924's H6C.
The H6 series was replaced in 1933 by the J12, which initially used a 9.5 litre V12
pushrod engine.
piloted a Boulogne to eight international records, including a 92 mph (148.1 km/h) average over 300 mi (482.8 km), at Brooklands
in 1924.
André Dubonnet entered an H6C Boulogne in the 1924 Targa Florio
. Powered by a 7982 cc straight 6 (estimated to produce 195 hp), Dubonnet demanded a maximum body weight of 100 lb (45.4 kg), and the aircraft maker Nieuport- Astra complied with tulipwood
strips, fastened to an aluminium frame with thousands of tiny rivets. Dubonnet finished the gruelling event without a body failure, and drove home to Naples afterward.
A later series of short-wheelbase H6Cs was built, eventually being referred to as "Monzas".
A six-wheeled H6 was purchased by motion picture director D. W. Griffith
.
in Czechoslovakia.
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
from the 1920s. Introduced at the 1919 Paris Motor Show, the H6 was produced until 1933. Roughly 2,350 H6, H6B, and H6C cars were produced in total.
The H6 engine featured a straight-six engine inspired by designer Marc Birkigt
Marc Birkigt
Marc Birkigt was a Swiss engineer who moved to Barcelona, Spain when he was hired as an engineer by Emilio de la Cuadra, founder of Hispano-Suiza automobiles. He created the Dewoitine company along with Émile Dewoitine. Birkigt was nominated for the Car Engineer of the Century prize for the...
's work on aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
engines. It was an all-aluminium engine displacing 6597 cc. Apart from the new overhead camshaft
Overhead camshaft
Overhead cam valvetrain configurations place the engine camshaft within the cylinder heads, above the combustion chambers, and drive the valves or lifters in a more direct manner compared to overhead valves and pushrods...
, it was essentially half of Birkigt's aviation V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
design. The seven-bearing crankshaft
Crankshaft
The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
was milled from a 600 lb (272 kg) steel billet
Billet (manufacturing)
Semi-finished casting products are intermediate castings produced in a foundry that need further processing before being a finished good. There are four types: ingots, billets, blooms, and slabs.-Ingot:...
to become a sturdy 35 lb (16 kg) unit, while the block
Cylinder block
A cylinder block is an integrated structure comprising the cylinder of a reciprocating engine and often some or all of their associated surrounding structures...
used screwed-in steel liners, and the water passages were enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
led to prevent corrosion.
One of the most notable features of the H6 was its brakes. They were light-alloy drums on all four wheels with power-assist the first in the industry, driven with a special shaft from the transmission. When the car was decelerating, its own momentum drove the brake servo to provide additional power. This technology was later licensed to other manufacturers, including arch-rival Rolls-Royce.
The 1922 H6B was slightly more powerful. An 8 litre (110 by) engine was used in 1924's H6C.
The H6 series was replaced in 1933 by the J12, which initially used a 9.5 litre V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
pushrod engine.
Special versions
A series of five racing H6Bs with short wheelbases and slightly enlarged engines was built in 1922. These were referred to as "Boulonges", to celebrate the H6's victories at the sports car race at Boulonge. Woolf BarnatoWoolf Barnato
Joel Woolf Barnato was a British financier and racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. He achieved three consecutive wins out of three entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.-Early life:...
piloted a Boulogne to eight international records, including a 92 mph (148.1 km/h) average over 300 mi (482.8 km), at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
in 1924.
André Dubonnet entered an H6C Boulogne in the 1924 Targa Florio
Targa Florio
The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973...
. Powered by a 7982 cc straight 6 (estimated to produce 195 hp), Dubonnet demanded a maximum body weight of 100 lb (45.4 kg), and the aircraft maker Nieuport- Astra complied with tulipwood
Tulipwood
Most commonly, tulipwood is the pinkish yellowish wood yielded from the tuliptree, found on the Eastern side of North America and also in some parts of China. In the United States, it is commonly known as tulip poplar or yellow poplar, even though the tree is not related to the poplars. In fact,...
strips, fastened to an aluminium frame with thousands of tiny rivets. Dubonnet finished the gruelling event without a body failure, and drove home to Naples afterward.
A later series of short-wheelbase H6Cs was built, eventually being referred to as "Monzas".
A six-wheeled H6 was purchased by motion picture director D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
.
Specifications: 1924 H6C Dubonnet Boulogne Targa Florio speedster
- Length: 5537 mm (218 in)
- Width: 1791 mm (70.5 in)
- Height
- cowl: 1245 mm (49 in)
- windshield: 1524 mm (60 in)
- Wheelbase: 3378 mm (133 in)
- Wheels: 508 mm (20 in) center-locking
- Weight: 1583 kg (3,489.9 lb)
- Transmission: three-speed manual
- Suspension:
- Front: beam
- Rear: live axle, semi-elliptic leaf spring
- Engine: Hispano-Suiza straight 6
- Bore: 110 mm (4.3 in)
- Stroke: 140 mm (5.5 in)
- Displacement: 7982 cc
- Maximum power: 195 hp at 3000 rpm (estimated)
Škoda
In addition to the cars built by the company at its Paris premises, some 50 H6s were built under license by ŠkodaŠkoda Auto
Škoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group...
in Czechoslovakia.