Hispano-Suiza
Logo
Creation	1904
Key dates	1923  : Split of the French division 1938  : Stop of automobile production
Founders	Damià Mateu i Bisa, Marc Birkigt , Francisco Seix Zaya
Legal form	Public limited company with public offering
The head office	Barcelona ( 1904 - 1907 ) Ripoli ( 1905 ) La Sagrera (Barcelona) ( 1907 Guadalajara ( 1920 - 1930 ) Triana (Sevilla) ( 1904 - 1939 ) Spain
Activity	Automobiles
Products	Truck and automobile
Subsidiaries	ENASA

Hispano-Suiza (literally Hispano-Switzerland ) was a Spanish brand of automobiles and aeronautical equipment founded in Barcelona in 1904 by the Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt and the Spanish entrepreneurs Damià Mateu i Bisa and Francisco Seix Zaya . It is reputed to have produced luxury cars during the Spanish Civil War , for its aircraft engines which notably equipped the SPADs during the First World War , as well as most of the fighter planes until theWorld War II , and for its guns equipping the majority of British planes.

The Spanish parent company joined ENASA after the Spanish War . The brand "La Hispano Suiza fábrica de automóviles, SA" is the property of Grup Perelada 1 .

Its French subsidiary, incorporated in 1923 with the name "Société Française Hispano Suiza, SA", then renamed Safran Transmission Systems in 2016, is today an aeronautical equipment supplier integrated into the Safran group .

History 

Foundation 

The Compañía General Española de Coches Automóviles Emilio de la Cuadra, Sociedad en Comandita was a Spanish company founded in 1898 in Barcelona by the Spanish military, artillery captain and industrial engineer, Emilio de la Cuadra Albiol 2 . He employed the Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt inAugust 1899. The financial capacity of the company remaining very limited due to the low number of car sales, and finding no new financing, Emilio de la Cuadra was forced to declare bankruptcy at the end of 1901.

In November 1902, José María Castro Fernández, one of the main creditors of the company, founds with the Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt , a new company called, J. Castro, Sociedad en Comandita, Fábrica Hispano-Suiza de Automóviles, to resume manufacturing cars with internal combustion engines.

By the end of 1902, the company manufactures the engine 10  hp twin-cylinder 1873  cm ³ and 4 cylinder engine chassis 14  hp to 2535  cm ³ .

At the beginning of 1904 production was again suspended for lack of finance. The Spanish businessmen Damià Mateu i Bisa and Francisco Seix then join theJune 14, 1904in a new company called “Hispano-Suiza Fabrica de Automoviles SA” in Barcelona and take over the technical staff and skilled workers of the old company. Marc Birkigt remains the technical director and is part of the new company as an industrial partner, so that the name Hispano-Suiza is retained. But as before, the economic conditions to continue the activity are not the most favorable and the company finds itself without resources. Thanks to the technical success of the new cars, Birkigt had acquired great renown and demonstrated his creativity and talent as an engine designer. In the grip of the deficit, inMarch 1904, the company is ruined while Birkigt was in the design of a new engine, an evolution of 14  hp . When the J. Castro business was closed, Francisco Seix Zaya convinced his friend Damià Mateu i Bisa, also a Castro creditor, to take charge of the return to automobile manufacturing. A study of the reasons for the succession of so many bankruptcies is carried out. The study concludes that the main problem is the lack of sufficient financial resources to respond to the development of prototypes and the purchase of appropriate equipment. So,June 14, 1904, a new company is created, La Hispano-Suiza, Fábrica de Automóviles, SA , Damià Mateu i Bisa is the president, Francisco Seix Zaya the vice-president and Marc Birkigt the technical director.

The Hispano-Suiza Alfonso XIII  (es) .

Hispano-Suiza specializing in motor cars, finds it difficult to sell its production in its country of origin for lack of a fairly rich clientele, despite the support of King Alfonso XIII of Spain .
In 1911, the Hispano-Suiza company was created in France to assemble and sell in France the luxury models designed by the Spanish company. Marc Birkigt , who owns a patent operating company with headquarters in Switzerland , filed from 1911 to 1914 more than one hundred patents for aviation engines worldwide.

In 1914, Hispano-Suiza established a factory in Bois-Colombes to assemble his cars. Hispano-Suiza also enters the aeronautical field, with the study and manufacture of the famous eight-cylinder V-shaped airplane engine, produced in over fifty thousand copies. InDecember 1914, the War Ministry attributes the Bois-Colombes factory by authority to Gnome & Rhône , against very low rent. The company began in 1915 to present aviation engines and to supply the State, thanks to models extrapolated from Mercedes-Benz patents , seized by the State two days after the declaration of war. The arrival of so-called online models built by Hispano-Suiza, with the V-8 model 150  hp , provides a major innovation which rallied Renault and Lorraine-Dietrich .

In 1916, the five Hispano subcontractors ( De Dion , Delaunay-Belleville , Ballot, Fives-Lille and Chenard & Walcker) produced 1,000 of the 1,500 copies of the Hispano 180  hp ordered.

Hispano-Suiza rose in 1918 to the fifth rank of engine manufacturers by its turnover, behind another converted motorist, the Lorraine Company of the former establishments of Dietrich . OfJuly 1915 at November 1918, 2,574 Hispano 150, 180, 220 or 300  hp engines will be delivered to the armed forces, built by fourteen companies, less than 9% being produced directly by Hispano-Suiza. These drivers are inseparable from the success of SPADs during the conflict.

Golden Age 

Hispano-Suiza H-6-B stork-shaped radiator cap, tribute to the war ace Georges Guynemer .

From 1919, the radiator cap of the H-6-B represented a stork , in tribute to Georges Guynemer , whose famous squadron of Storks fought at the controls of SPAD powered by Hispano-Suiza engines. We owe this initiative to Louis Massuger, head of the development and repair workshops 3 . The period from 1919 to 1936 marked the golden age of luxury cars for Hispano-Suiza, and major raids on planes equipped with Hispano-Suiza engines.

In 1930, the company's automotive division, including the Guadalajara plant , was sold to Fiat to produce the Fiat 514 under license. It's theFebruary 17, 1931that the authentic instrument will be signed and the transfer of ownership will become effective. At that time, the Spanish civil war was not declared but the climate was not favorable for industrial investments in Spain since the tensions linked to the declaration of the Second Republic of Spain onApril 14, 1931. Two factories in Spain were converted to military production during the Civil War, 1936-1939, and were bombed by anti-republican forces.

The Second Spanish Republic 

The April 14 , 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. As a result, the brand lost one of its main leaders: Alphonse XIII , who went into exile. By decree of the new government, the tricolor republican flag (red-yellow-purple) replaced the monarchist flag (red-yellow-red) in the logo of the Hispano-Suiza produced in Barcelona.

The change of regime seriously affected the image of Hispano-Suiza, associated since its origin with the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. Bureaucratic obstacles to the import of raw materials (imposed by the autocracy measures of the new government) led to a sharp reduction in production and a drop in sales in Spain but not in France where the production of aircraft engines and luxury car chassis increased and the prestige of the brand remained at its peak.

During the years 1931, 1932, 1933 and following, the Barcelona factory produced different automobile models: the T60, 20 hp; the T64 presented in 1931, 6 cylinders, only a few units; the T56 bis (with components from factories in France).

André Dubonnet winner of the first Georges Boillot Cup in 1921, on Hispano-Suiza 7L. I6.

In 1932, the brand launched for the first time a model whose design was not from Birkigt, the T60. It was characterized by the presence of a lateral camshaft and overhead valves controlled by tappets. It will also be the first Hispano-Suiza with the steering wheel on the left. This model was replaced in 1934 by the RL T60 which had a more dated line and finally, in 1939, the T60 RLA, based on the previous model, but with the longer chassis and the engine placed further forward.

The Guadalajara factory is sold to Fiat SpA, which will produce the replica of the Fiat 514 under the brand Fiat Hispania , while the aviation division of Hispano-Suiza is preserved until the factory moves to Alicante later. , during the civil war.

The December 7, 1935, victim of a serious illness, the director of the company who had a keen business sense and had known how to turn the business around, Damian Mateu, dies. His son Miguel Mateu succeeds him. He takes over the company in very unfavorable circumstances in a pre-war atmosphere which will end after a few months, with the Spanish Civil War.

Among the brand's clients are figures such as the Michelin brothers, André Citroën , Manuel Azaña , Pablo Picasso , Carlos Gardel , Albert Einstein and Greta Garbo 4 .

With the military uprising against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, in July 1936, the anarchist union CNT seized the company. Later, Lluís Companys , the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya , nationalized the brand through a decree signed by the Catalan president on behalf of the Spanish republic, legalizing the management of workers' committees.

During the war of 1936, the Spanish factories Hispano-Suiza were "collectivized" and the management will be entrusted to the workers' committees. After the war and due to the international isolation of Spain and the practical inability to obtain sufficient supplies, it was extremely difficult to restart industrial activities, which prompted the company to focus on manufacturing. utility vehicles, trucks and coaches to meet the country's priority needs.

The company is then divided into three sections:

• one dedicated to aviation, cannons and military equipment;
• another dedicated to cars and trucks,
• a third called "Son of Miguel Mateu SA" for the manufacture of machine tools.

Franco Spain 

In 1940, a decree of the new authoritarian government of Francisco Franco called on the national industry to present a model truck with 7 tonnes of payload. The selected model will be the only one to be manufactured in Spain in order to rationalize production. Only the manufacturers Hispano-Suiza, the Italians Alfa Romeo and Fiat VI and the Swiss Saurer presented a prototype. In parallel, Hispano-Suiza signs an industrial cooperation agreement with Alfa-Romeo and creates the "CETA - Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Automocion".

In 1943, the Seville workshops were nationalized and gave birth to the Hispano Aviación .

In 1944, Hispano-Suiza introduced the type 66 truck. It was then decided to abandon the collaboration project with Alfa Romeo. Hispano-Suiza had "inherited Alfa Romeo technology and Alfa 430 models to create a wide range of traditional vehicles, 4x4, vans, vans, buses, trolleybuses. The 66 engine was first fueled with the 66-G model (6 cylinders, 110 hp) followed by the 66-D model (diesel, 6 cylinders, 128 hp).

The outlook was encouraging, but the leadership of the newly created INI (Instituto Nacional de Industria), believed that maximum efficiency in building trucks in a war-torn country should include only one large national and nationalized enterprise. In 1946, the objective was achieved by nationalizing all factories and "Hispano-Suiza" patents. It was the end of a historical myth and the beginning of PEGASO .

With the creation of INI (Instituto Nacional de Industria) the Spanish state decided to enter the automotive field by creating the national company ENASA to which the Hispano-Suiza factories and all industrial activities were transferred, but the company "Hispano-Suiza Fabrica automoviles SA" continued its activity and retained ownership of the brand and its logo.

In 1947, during the presentation of the new Pegaso brand, the Z1 was nothing other than the old Hispano-Suiza 66G followed by the Z101 which was the copy of the Hispano-Suiza 66D diesel.

Renaissance attempts 

The Hispano-Suiza automobile brand tried to be reborn in the early 2000s. The name was then owned by the company Mazel Engineering, which announced the return of the brand with concept cars , such as the HS21 of 2000, the K8 of 2001 or the HS21 GTS from 2002.

At the 2010 Geneva International Motor Show , the brand presented, under the impetus of Catalan private investors associated with Roland Mayer (Audi engineer) and Erwin Himmel (Austrian designer, notably author of the 1991 Audi Spyder concept), the Granturismo model . It is a supercar almost 5  m long and 2  m wide and 1.25 m high, based on the Audi R8 V10 , with an aluminum chassis. The engine goes to 750 horsepower at 8,200  rpm (for a torque of 700  Nm , at 6,650  rpm) thanks to the addition of two turbos. A hybrid version is also being studied, with a total power of 900  hp (same thermal engine of 750 horsepower associated with an electric motor of 150 horsepower). The whole would allow a 0 to 100  km / h in 3.4 seconds and more than 330  km / h in peak. The gearbox has 6 reports and is either manual or robotized, all for an estimated base price of € 700,000  . The first deliveries are planned for the end of 2010, but marketing is not taking place.

In 2010, designers Erwin Himmel (ex-Volkswagen) and Olivier Boulay (ex-Daimler) bought the rights to the Hispano-Suiza brand from Safran , and founded Hispano Suiza Automobile Manufaktur AG , a company incorporated under Swiss law 5 . At the same time Miguel Suqué Mateu, the great-grandson of the founder founded the Hispano Suiza Cars based in Barcelona. The latter presents an electric supercar the Hispano-Suiza Carmen , while the Swiss brand presents the Maguari HS1 GTC at the Geneva Motor Show in 2019.

• 

  Hispano-Suiza K8 in 2001

 
• 

  Hispano-Suiza HS21 GTS in 2002

 
• 

  Hispano-Suiza Carmen in 2019

A legal decision is awaited in order to decide between the two entities.

Automobile production 

In France 

Commemorative plaque for the personnel of the Hispano-Suiza factory, victim of the German Occupation , located in the Bouviers Battery .

• Hispano-Suiza H6 B (1919-1929)
  • 6 cylinder aluminum engine
  • 6.6  liters (A × C: 100 × 140)
  • 1 ACT 2 s./cyl.
  • 135 horsepower @ 3,000 rpm
  • 137  km / h
• Hispano-Suiza H6 C (1924-1929)
  • engine 6 cyl. in aluminium
  • 7,980  cm ³ (A × C: 110 × 140)
  • 177  km / h
• Hispano-Suiza Junior (1930-)
  • engine 6 cyl.
  • 4.6 l (4.9 l from 1935 ( K6 ))
• Hispano-Suiza J12 (1931-1938)
  • engine 12 cyl. in V
  • 9.5 l (A × C: 100 × 100)
  • 185  km / h (short chassis version)
• Hispano-Suiza K6 , the car of the president of the Council Edouard Herriot , bodied by Vanvooren.

In Spain 

Two versions of the H-6 were also produced by the Spanish factory:

• T-48 (1924-1933)
  • 4 cyl engine
  • 3,746  cm ³
  • 90 hp at 4000 rpm
• T-49 (1924-1933)
  • Spanish version of H-6, nicknamed "Barcelona"
• Hispano Fiat 514 (1933-1934)

Two Hispano-Suiza factories in Spain were converted to military production during the civil war , from 1936 to 1939, and were bombed by anti-republican forces.

Carmen model

In march 2019, the brand presents the Carmen model at the Geneva Motor Show. It is an electric sports car classified in the hyperluxury segment with 1000 horsepower and capable of performing 0 to 100 in 3 seconds 6 .

Motor racing 

A Hispano-Suiza engine at the 1912 French GP.

Bara on Hispano-Suiza in 1914, at the Meeting de Boulogne.

• Cup Ostend 1910 ( Paul Zuccarelli )
• Cup Carts of Boulogne 1910 (Paul Zuccarelli)
• Paris- Amiens Rally inMarch 1914, with Armingeat 7 ;
• Kilometer launched and kilometer departure stopped at the Cabourg Meeting in 1914, with Bara 8 ;
• Coupe Franchomme, Prix de l'Automobile-Club du Nord, and Coupe de Caraman-Chimay (in tourism events), at the Meeting de Boulogne-sur-Mer from 20 toJuly 22, 1914, with Bara 9 ;
• In 1921, Maurice spoiler won the hillclimb of Ernemont near Rouen , and Wimille near Boulogne-sur-Mer 10
• Georges Boillot Cup 1921 ( André Dubonnet )
• Monza Automobile Grand Prix 1922 (André Dubonnet)
• Côte de Pontedecimo - Giovi ( Genoa ) 1922 (Armando Rabagliati)
• Côte du Klausen 1922 (Joseph Nieth) ( 1922-1934 rankings  [ archive ] )
• Georges Boillot Cup 1922 ( Paul Bablot )
• Georges Boillot Cup 1923 ( Léonce Garnier )
• Aosta Coast - Gran San Bernardo 1923 ( Alfieri Maserati )
• Coppa Collina Pistoiese ( rib ): 1924, 1925, 1926 ( Emilio Materassi , Itala chassis );
• Coppa della Perugina  : 1924, 1926, 1927 (Materassi, Itala chassis);
• Mugello Grand Prix  : 1925, 1926 (Materassi, Itala chassis);
• Coppa Montenero  : 1925, 1926 (Materassi, Itala chassis);

Car engines 

Automobile 

Trucks 

• diesel DWXLDF, horizontal 6 cylinder, 101  kW ( 138  hp ) at 2,600  rpm , produced under license from Hercules 11 ;
• DWXLD diesel , vertical 6 cylinder, 92  kW ( 125  hp ) at 2,400  rpm , produced under Hercules license, vertical version of DWXLDF 12 ;
• diesel HS 102, horizontal 6 cylinder, 110  kW ( 150  hp ) at 2,600  rpm 13 ;

Aeronautical production 

Aircraft 

Hispano Suiza E-30 de la Aeronáutica Naval

• Hispano-Suiza E-30 , 1930
• Hispano-Suiza E-34 , 1935
• Hispano-Suiza HS-42 , 1942

Aircraft engines 

Type 8-A engine from 1914

Hispano Suiza advertising poster

Hispano-Suiza Tyne