The AFA was a Spanish

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

manufactured between 1943 and 1944. Little is known about the

marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

other than that a few (1 or 2) 5 cv 4-cylinder

cabriolet A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

s were built by Juan Aymerich Casanovas in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. AFA is for Aymerich Fábrica de Automoviles or Aymerich Automobile Factory. The AFA was powered by a

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

527 cc engine that produced 13 hp at 3,500

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

. The AFA

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are often ...

had a

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...

with four gears with a top speed of 85 km/h. The company exhibited at the Exposición Automovilista Nacional in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

on July 10, 1944. In 1935 Juan had created the failed "National Ruby" car, due to the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

he was not able to go to production. But his experience served as the basis for the AFA. The AFA prototype was registered in Barcelona in April 1943, with the registration number B-72.107 and its patent number was 159,882. Juan Aymerich Casanovas hoped to make 100 cars annually, but only produced one or two cars. Aymerich died in 1946, and the car project was then abandoned in 1947. In 2008, a son of John Aymerich contacted the mNACTEC Terrassa, which took the only remaining car and restored it. After three years of restoration work, the AFA is now on exhibition at Transport

mNACTEC The National Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia ( ca, Museu Nacional de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya) known by its acronym (mNACTEC) is one of the three national museums of Catalonia, located in Terrassa, near Barcelona. It ...

. allcarindex.com, AFA (1942 - 1944)
/ref> *Dimensions and weights: ** Length: 3,200 mm ** Width: 1,320 mm ** Height: 1,280 mm ** Weight: 530 kg ** Load: 710 kg * Maximum speed: 85 km/h * Consumption: 100 km with 6 L * Acceleration: 0 to 85 km/h in 50 seconds

References

* Companies Based in Barcelona, LIFE JOURNEY, 2013 *George Nick Georgano: The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 1: A–F. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, .
AFA Logo
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Spain Companies based in Barcelona {{Spain-stub

See also

References