Minerva (automobile)
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Minerva was a
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
firm active from 1902 to 1938 and a manufacturer of luxury automobiles. The company became defunct in 1956.


History

In 1883, a young Dutchman, Sylvain de Jong (1868–1928) settled in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.


Bicycles and motorcycles

Minerva started out manufacturing standard safety
bicycles A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...
in 1897, before in 1900 expanding into light cars and "motocyclettes", particularly
motorized bicycle A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it sometimes retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-power ...
s which were a forerunner of
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
s. They produced lightweight clip-on engines that mounted below the bicycle front down tube, specifically for Minerva bicycles, but also available in kit form suitable for almost any bicycle. The engine drove a belt turning a large gear wheel attached to the side of the rear wheel opposite to the chain. By 1901 the kit engine was a 211cc unit developing 1.5 hp, comfortably cruising at at 1,500 rpm, capable of a top speed of , and getting fuel consumption in the range of . These kits were exported around the world to countries including the
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,
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,
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, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
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, and other British territories of the time. As engine power increased, frame ruptures became increasingly common, and by 1903 Minerva had developed an in-frame design for their bicycles, with the engine mounted above the
bottom bracket The bottom bracket on a bicycle connects the crankset (chainset) to the bicycle and allows the crankset to rotate freely. It contains a spindle to which the crankset attaches, and the bearings that allow the spindle and crankset to rotate. The ch ...
, while still also offering the clip-on kit. From 1904 Minerva began focussing more on car production, and while development and production of the Minerva motorized bicycles and motorcycles continued through to about 1909, they increasingly became a less significant part of the company. Minerva engines exported to the UK powered the very first
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, among others. Motorcycle production would continue until 1909 or 1914, and during this period Minerva became one of the world's premier names in motorcycles and motorcycle engines. (For instance
Chater-Lea Chater-Lea was a British bicycle, car and motorcycle maker with a purpose-built five-storey factory in Banner Street, EC1, in the City of London (now converted into flats) and, from 1928, premises at Letchworth, Hertfordshire. It was founded by ...
produced Minerva-engines in the UK.)


Automobiles

In 1902 De Jong added cars to his production as well with a 6 hp four-cylinder model. In 1903 he founded ''Société Anonyme Minerva Motors'' in Berchem (Antwerp). Volume car production began in 1904 with a range of two-, three- and four-cylinder models with chain drive and metal clad wooden chassis and the ''Minervette''
cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive 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 car. A key c ...
. The 8-litre ''Kaiserpreis'' won the Belgian Circuit des Ardennes race in 1907. Charles S Rolls (of future
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
fame) was a Minerva dealer in England selling the 2.9-litre . The most important market for the manufacturer remained England, where at £105 the small 636 cc single-cylinder ''Minervette'' was the cheapest car on the market, followed by the Netherlands and France. In 1908, Minerva obtained a worldwide Knight Engine license. The Knight motor, developed by
Charles Yale Knight Charles Yale Knight (born 1868-1940 in Indiana) was an entrepreneur and inventor of the sleeve valve technology. His engines would be used in the early cars, British tanks, and British aircraft. The Knight engine technology for automobiles was u ...
in the United States, used double
sleeve valve The sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines, distinct from the usual poppet valve. Sleeve valve engines saw use in a number of pre-World War II luxury cars and in the United States in the Willys-Knight car and light truck. ...
s and ran almost silently. All future Minervas would use these engines. Sporting successes continued with the new engines including the Austrian Alpine Trials and Swedish Winter Trials. Customers for the Minerva would include kings of Belgium, Sweden and Norway,
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
and the Impressionist Artist Anna Boch. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Sylvain de Jong and his engineers were based in Amsterdam where they maintained development of their automobiles. Minerva cars were used for hit and run attacks against the Germans initially with rifle fire and light machine guns from simply protected open topped vehicles. These vehicles became increasingly sophisticated until
trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...
robbed them of the mobility needed for their hit and run tactics. In 1920, they returned to Belgium to restart the production of luxury cars with the ''20CV'' 3.6-litre four-cylinder and ''30CV'' 5.3-litre six-cylinder models. The manufacturer's star rose not only in Europe, but in the United States as well where American film stars, politicians and industrialists appreciated the cars. The Minerva had the same quality as the
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
, but was slightly less expensive. In 1923, smaller models were introduced; the 2-litre four-cylinder ''15CV'' and 3.4-litre six-cylinder ''20CV'' with standard four-wheel brakes. In 1927, the ''30CV'' was replaced with the 6-litre ''AK'' and also a new 2-litre six, the ''12-14'', was introduced. Large cars continued to be a specialty of Minerva's, and in 1930 the then almost-compulsory-for-the-time straight eight was introduced in two sizes; the 6.6-litre ''AL'' and the 4-litre ''AP''. The last Minerva was the 2-litre ''M4'' of 1934 but it did not sell well. With the financial crisis in the 1930s, the company was restructured as Société Nouvelle Minerva but in 1934 merged with the other major Belgian manufacturer
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. Imperia continued to make Minervas for a year and the ''AP'' until 1938 and from 1937 badged some of their cars and trucks for export to England and France as Minerva-Imperias. Just before the outbreak of the war, a group of businessmen from Verviers bought out Minerva.


Land Rover production

After World War II the company produced a version of the
Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
80" under licence for the
Belgian army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...
up to 1954. The 80" model was known as the TT (Tout Terrain). A smaller number of licence built Land Rover 86" were built from late 1953 to 1956. These vehicles had locally built steel bodywork. Some civilian sales of both the 80" and the 86" models were achieved. A number of Land Rover vehicles were also assembled for the Belgian state police (Gendarmerie / Rijkswacht). The Rijkswacht vehicles had the more traditional aluminium bodywork and front wing shape associated with Land Rover vehicles. A bitter dispute broke out between Land Rover and the Minerva company and this led to a court case, won by Minerva for breach of contract. This was the death knell of the partnership and licence arrangement. After the deal with Land Rover fell apart there were plans to re-enter the car market but these did not get beyond the prototype stage. The company struggled for survival and made the
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-engined Land Rover-like ''C20'' until 1956.


Name revival in 2013

In 2013, a concept car was presented with the name Minerva J.M. Brabazon. This was a drawing only.


References


Notes


Further reading

* (also published in . * * * *


External links


Minerva CarsDutch Land Rover Register:Minerva: Het is groen en het komt uit België (It's green and it comes from Belgium)
– a history of Minerva and its licence-built Land Rovers

– a history of Belgian car manufacturers, including Minerva *


See also

*
List of motorcycles of 1900 to 1909 [ List of motorcycles of the 1900s to 1909 is a listing of motorcycles of this period, including those on sale, introduced, or otherwise relevant in this period Motorcycle *Achilles (1906-1912 motorcycle) *Advance (Australian motorcycle) *Curti ...
*Excelsior Motor Company (UK) {{DEFAULTSORT:Minerva Automobile Luxury vehicles Cars powered by Knight engines Car manufacturers of Belgium Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Belgium Vintage vehicles Companies based in Antwerp Belgian brands Cyclecars Motorcycle manufacturers of Belgium