Raymond Siran, Cyclecars D'Yrsan was a French manufacturer of automobiles in the

cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the c ...

class.Linz, Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.''Georgano: ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.''Georgano: ''Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours.''

The business

Raymond Siran de Cavanac, who previously had worked with the

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the right bank of the Seine, some from the Kilometre z ...

based automobile manufacturer S. Sandford, founded his own business in 1923 at

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...

, concentrating on small cyclecar style vehicles under the D’Yrsan name, with three or four wheels. On the three wheelers the single wheel was placed at the back. Production ended in 1930.

The cars

Three wheels

The three wheelers with which the business started loosely resembled the three-wheeler Morgans of the same period. Power for the D’Yrsan "Model A" came from a

Ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

4-cylinder 6 HP side-valve engine of 904cc. At the 19th Paris Motor Show, which took place in October 1924 ahead of the 1925 model year, the "Model A" was complemented by the D’Yrsan "Model BS", its engine size increased to 972cc, now featuring overhead valves. Both models sat on a wheelbase. With "Torpedo" format bodies they were, in October 1924, priced by the manufacturer at 9,650 francs and 10,500 francs respectively. Later came the D’Yrsan "Model DS" with 1097cc for which a maximum output of was listed. In total D’Yrsan produced 530 three-wheelers, most of which were examples of the "Model BS".

Four wheels

For 1927 the D'Yrsan "Grand Sport" with four wheels was added to the range. The engine was the 1097cc unit bought in from

. About 50 four wheelers were produced.

Competition

With sales volumes remaining modest, the manufacturer sought to make the D’Yrsan name better known by entering a car in the June 1929 24 Hours of Le Mans race. A car was entered, but unfortunately had to retire after nine laps, having completed fewer than 150 km (93 miles).

The business

The cars

Three wheels

Four wheels

Competition

References

Further reading