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41
1929 ANTONY « BERGAMOTTE »
The item was sold for 42 000 €
Fees include commission and taxes.
1929 ANTONY « BERGAMOTTE »
Authentic racer
Six participations in the Bol d'Or,
four class wins
Exemplary restoration
French collector's registration
Chassis number: ANTONY039
Louis-Auguste Antony, born in 1885 in Douai, in the North of France, spent his childhood in his parents' bicycle shop, and developed very early an attraction for bicycles and motorized machines. With a driving licence from 1901 and an engineering diploma in his pocket, it seems that he worked for some patent manufacturers (Scap and Suère), and drove some racing monsters, including the incredible 1907 Fiat Grand Prix, 1908 Porthos 6-cylinder and Suère of records. Not easy to disentangle the legend from the authentic in this life of novel which was his... Anyway, we find Louis-Auguste Antony after the Great War at the wheel of a spartan Ruby cyclecar with transmission by friction plates: it is with him that he discovers the demon of the competition... and new construction techniques. When he took over the family garage in the early 1920s, he started building his first car, a 4-seater torpedo with a 1,500 cm3 engine that looked rather clumsy... Despite the printing of numerous advertising leaflets, it does not seem that this model, nor the announced 8-cylinder version, was a great success. Antony's success will be more brilliant with his "factory" team called Les souries bleues, and his numerous racers. His 1 500 cm3 cyclecar with a Bugatti look built in 1922/1922 were rather conventional in appearance and design (although without front brakes). But the following racing machines, named Bergamotte, La punaise and la Goutte d'eau were much less conventional. This did not prevent them from shining in competition, especially at the Bol d'Or, an internationally renowned event, which saw the most improbable machines lining up, and which, thanks to its numerous classes, allowed the vast majority of participants to hope for victory! Antony cars were driven there between 1930 and... 1948, with a certain success. Louis-Antony died in 1958, after having built a large number of steam models. His cars (except for one) remained hidden together for more than sixty years in a barn in northern France. If one of them has been exhibited for a long time in the Museum of Lohéac, the five others remain together until the beginning of 2010, when the 1 500 cm3 cyclecar appears in a classified ad on the Internet. One thing leading to another, three other cars will be sold, including Bergamotte, which illustrates these pages. It is perhaps the most interesting of all, since it was the "boss's" car, and the one with the best track record. Built in 1929 around a low profile chassis, it is characterized by its chain transmission, without differential ("which is useless, otherwise you have to block the wheels in the curves", according to its designer!), and brakes only on the front wheels (because with rear brakes, "there are important risks of blocking in races")! According to the regulations and the races in which it was entered, Bergamotte received one (or two!) two-stroke 350 cm 3 Harrisard or a big Jap 500 cm 3 "alcohol" single-cylinder engine, which was probably stolen from her in the 1990s... In addition to Toul-Nancy, the Circuit de Lorraine, the Routes Pavées or the Grand Prix de la Montagne, in Germany, where it was timed at 136 km/h, Bergamotte was entered in the Bol d'or in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1947 and 1948, most often with Louis-Auguste at the controls, and numerous class victories (1930, 1931, 1932 and 1947). Perfectly restored, with still traces of its glorious past, this car, today powered by a 500cc Triumph T120 motorcycle engine, in the spirit of the time, is just waiting to take to the road, and the track. To keep alive the spirit of this forgotten genius inventor that was Louis-Auguste Antony.
Authentic racer
Six participations in the Bol d'Or,
four class wins
Exemplary restoration
French collector's registration
Chassis number: ANTONY039
Louis-Auguste Antony, born in 1885 in Douai, in the North of France, spent his childhood in his parents' bicycle shop, and developed very early an attraction for bicycles and motorized machines. With a driving licence from 1901 and an engineering diploma in his pocket, it seems that he worked for some patent manufacturers (Scap and Suère), and drove some racing monsters, including the incredible 1907 Fiat Grand Prix, 1908 Porthos 6-cylinder and Suère of records. Not easy to disentangle the legend from the authentic in this life of novel which was his... Anyway, we find Louis-Auguste Antony after the Great War at the wheel of a spartan Ruby cyclecar with transmission by friction plates: it is with him that he discovers the demon of the competition... and new construction techniques. When he took over the family garage in the early 1920s, he started building his first car, a 4-seater torpedo with a 1,500 cm3 engine that looked rather clumsy... Despite the printing of numerous advertising leaflets, it does not seem that this model, nor the announced 8-cylinder version, was a great success. Antony's success will be more brilliant with his "factory" team called Les souries bleues, and his numerous racers. His 1 500 cm3 cyclecar with a Bugatti look built in 1922/1922 were rather conventional in appearance and design (although without front brakes). But the following racing machines, named Bergamotte, La punaise and la Goutte d'eau were much less conventional. This did not prevent them from shining in competition, especially at the Bol d'Or, an internationally renowned event, which saw the most improbable machines lining up, and which, thanks to its numerous classes, allowed the vast majority of participants to hope for victory! Antony cars were driven there between 1930 and... 1948, with a certain success. Louis-Antony died in 1958, after having built a large number of steam models. His cars (except for one) remained hidden together for more than sixty years in a barn in northern France. If one of them has been exhibited for a long time in the Museum of Lohéac, the five others remain together until the beginning of 2010, when the 1 500 cm3 cyclecar appears in a classified ad on the Internet. One thing leading to another, three other cars will be sold, including Bergamotte, which illustrates these pages. It is perhaps the most interesting of all, since it was the "boss's" car, and the one with the best track record. Built in 1929 around a low profile chassis, it is characterized by its chain transmission, without differential ("which is useless, otherwise you have to block the wheels in the curves", according to its designer!), and brakes only on the front wheels (because with rear brakes, "there are important risks of blocking in races")! According to the regulations and the races in which it was entered, Bergamotte received one (or two!) two-stroke 350 cm 3 Harrisard or a big Jap 500 cm 3 "alcohol" single-cylinder engine, which was probably stolen from her in the 1990s... In addition to Toul-Nancy, the Circuit de Lorraine, the Routes Pavées or the Grand Prix de la Montagne, in Germany, where it was timed at 136 km/h, Bergamotte was entered in the Bol d'or in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1947 and 1948, most often with Louis-Auguste at the controls, and numerous class victories (1930, 1931, 1932 and 1947). Perfectly restored, with still traces of its glorious past, this car, today powered by a 500cc Triumph T120 motorcycle engine, in the spirit of the time, is just waiting to take to the road, and the track. To keep alive the spirit of this forgotten genius inventor that was Louis-Auguste Antony.