Sima Violet was a French manufacturer of

cyclecars 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 ...

between 1924 and 1929.Linz, Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.''Georgano: ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.''

The name

Sima was an acronym, the letters standing for "Société Industrielle de Matériel Automobile". Violet respected the creator of the cars, Marcel Violet.

The business

The company was founded at

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...

on the northwestern side of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, in a part of the city which was already home to numerous automobile manufacturers and suppliers. Marcel Violet who created the little vehicle was a long-standing advocate of two-stroke air-cooled boxer-format engines, and these powered the cyclecars that carried his name Sima Violet ended production in 1929, to be succeeded at their

site by the Sima-Standard business which survived till 1932.

The cars

The only vehicle produced was a cyclecar, which was a four-wheeled vehicle lighter than a conventional passenger car, but with a two-stroke engine and light-weight construction reminiscent of a motor cycle. In the years following the

First World War 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 ...

the French government used taxation policy to encourage cyclecars. The Sima-Violet cyclecar was powered by a two-stroke twin-cylinder air-cooled engine of 497cc mounted in a low-slung position ahead of the driver. Power was delivered to the rear wheels via a two speed transmission mounted on the rear-axle. The quoted top speed for a standard vehicle was 110 km/h (68 mph). The Sima-Violet appeared at the Paris Motor Show in October 1924 at which time the only body-style listed was a steel-frame "Torpedo" type 2-seater, sitting on a wheelbase, and which the manufacturer was listing at a price of 4,950 francs. A single seater sports bodied version was also produced. The front wheels were suspended using a transversely mounted leaf-spring, combined with "friction shock-absorbers". The brakes operated only on the rear wheels. By the time of its final show appearance at the 22nd Paris Motor Show in October 1928 the car had acquired what appears to be a vertically mounted radiator at the front, but was still reportedly powered by a flat-twin motor-cycle style engine.

Reading list

* Harald Linz, Halwart Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.'' United Soft Media Verlag, München 2008, . (German) * George Nick Georgano (Chefredakteur): ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.'' Volume 3: ''P–Z.'' Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, . (English) * George Nick Georgano: ''Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours.'' Courtille, Paris 1975. (French)

External links

Internetseite über Suère
(English and Dutch) retrieved, 21 February 2013)

Sources and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sima-Violet Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1924 Cyclecars Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1929 French companies established in 1924 1929 disestablishments in France