Hotchkiss Gregroire

Immediately before the war Hotchkiss became the owner of the factory of Joseph Lamy and Emil Akar in  St Denis where small sports cars had been built since 1921.  When the business got into financial difficulties in 1939, Hotchkiss took the firm over.  Nothing was done with the business during the war but afterwards the famous French constructor and proponent of front-wheel drive J.A. Gregroire convinced Hotchkiss to built a new car he had designed.  The resulting Hotchkiss-Gregroire was revealed to the world at the Paris motor show in 1950.  Beneath its aluminium streamlined body it had a great deal of innovation, such as independent suspension of all four wheels, and a water-cooled four cylinder boxer engine with an aluminium cylinder head.  The engine was located immediately before the front axle and it was initially 1,998 and later 2,188 cc for 60 and then 70 bhp at 4,000 rpm.  Through the wide use of aluminium, the car was economical with the expensive French petrol.  It was fast enough at 94 mph (150 kph) to be a perfect touring car but the public judged otherwise.  Only 250 of them were ever sold.