Body no. 9899

6,597cc OHC Inline 6-cylinder Engine
Single Carburetor
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Front and Rear Semi-Elliptic Leaf Springs
4-Wheel Drum Brake With Servo Assistance

*Formerly the property of Arturo Keller
*Quality restoration of a highly original car
*Fully convertible body style, with variety of configurations
*A CCCA Full Classic™

HISPANO-SUIZA

The choice of European royalty, Indian Maharajahs, Hollywood film stars and industrial tycoons, the legendary Hispano-Suiza was superbly engineered and imitated unashamedly by some of the world's leading car manufacturers.

The genius of Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt had been proven by Georges Guynemer's 'Escadrille Cigogne' (Stork Squadron), of Hispano-Suiza-engined Spad fighter planes in World War I. It was this same brilliance that was reflected in the sensational and finely engineered new H6 cars built in Paris at the Bois Colombes factory and unveiled to the world in 1919. The H6B model followed for the 1922 season.

For the first time in 1919 the radiator emblem 'La Cigogne Volante' appeared, the insignia of Captain Georges Guynemer's Stork Squadron of Hispano-Suiza-engined Spads. The mascot adorned the radiator of the new H6, an all new six-cylinder car of 6,597cc capacity which was to be the mainstay of production for some fifteen years. The model was renowned for its ease of handling, the flexibility of its engine – which necessitated only a three speed gearbox – and its efficient servo-assisted brakes, a design later to be adopted by Rolls-Royce. Subsequent significant developments of the H6 included the Monza and the exciting short chassis 8-liter Boulogne.

Reflecting aero engineering technology, the new car made the other 'hyphenated greats', Rolls-Royce, Isotta-Fraschini and Pierce-Arrow, take notice. The H6B Hispano-Suiza found favor with the rich, the discerning and the famous.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

Luxury automobiles of this era of Continental European manufacturing were a marriage of refined engineering and exquisite coachwork hand tailored for their clientele. As times evolved from the 1910s, when it was quite possible that one may have had the bodywork on their cars changed between summer and winter to suit the climate in which a car were used, coachbuilders began providing more and more options of versatile, transformable bodywork, particularly suited to those that might well have required 'town and country' use.

One such company who pioneered the fully convertible body was Belvallette of Paris, a concern who like many had their origins in the carriage trade. They were also visible in the early days of the automobile as constructors of trailers for motorized tricycles and quadricycles. In the mid-1920s, using a license acquired from Gustave Baehr, they offered a design that gave its owner all manner of options for its use, a body that truly transformed. This is one of the very few surviving examples of that style of design.

According to renowned marque expert Jules Huemann, chassis 11093 was supplied as new with the engine it still carries, number 301111. It was purchased under order number 1854 through the agent or dealer 'Saint Didier' and sold to a 'M. de Surville' on 21 January 1925. Further assistance as to the location of this delivery may come from the license plate designation of '30Y69', which the car wears. This number would seem to place the car's registration in the Rouen/Versailles region.

Although there is very little documented history for the first 60 years of the Hispano's life, it is understood and believed to have remained in the same family from new during this time; therefore it would not have appeared in any public transactions. In the summer of 1984 it emerged to be sold at a public auction in Paris. A contemporary advertisement in Le Figaro Magazine listed it as: Hispano Suiza, engine 301111, describing it as being 'de première main'. Noted as being unrestored, it would have been the epitome of a 'barn discovery' automobile.

Six years later and seemingly unchanged, the car was offered at a second Paris auction in December 1990. Its description and photos provided greater insight into how original and authentic the car must have been, loosely translated as: "There is no better way to portray the exemplary 11093 H6 presented, than to say that it's unquestionable quality remains consistent in all respects to what it was originally. The last oil change was made in 1939 at 86930km. The counter indicates 89067km."

The purchaser on that day was M. Claude Decoster of Neuilly, who subsequently commissioned famed Paris restorer Andre Le Coq to restore the car. This rebuild would surely have been a task; straightforward in as much as it was totally complete, but surely quite an ordeal owing to the complicated nature of the coachwork. On its completion the car was shown at the popular Louis Vuitton Classic at the Bagatelle in Paris in 1992, where it was awarded with the Breitling 'Grand Prix de l'Innovation'.

Shortly after this, the car crossed the Atlantic and joined the collection of famed connoisseur of automobiles (and particularly of Hispano-Suizas) Arturo Keller. It remained with him until 2007, when it was acquired privately to join another important collection, returning to its European origins. In the present 8 year tenure the Hispano has continued to be well maintained, including some mechanical attention by fine engineer and noted Hispano expert Eddie Berrisford in the U.K.

As viewed today, the car has very limited age to its restoration and presents beautifully. A fascinating and fully convertible body style, its coachwork is exquisitely engineered, particularly when one considers the mechanisms involved in enabling the windows to function in either closed or open forms. Its leather upholstery and wooden cabinetry are of the finest quality – all tastefully and accurately restored.

An extremely practical and finely restored Classic Era Automobile, by definition the Hispano is eligible for events of the Classic Car Club of America. It would make a perfect tour car for all seasons.