Turcat-Méry was a French motor manufacturer from 1899 until 1928. It is now celebrated as the marque that won the inaugural
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...
, but in its prime it was also known for Grand Prix racing and for producing ''The Car of the Connoisseur''. Prior to World War I it was closely associated with the Lorraine-Dietrich company.
History
In 1895 Alphonse Méry of Marseille bought a
Panhard et Levassor
Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed b ...
and a
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
. His younger brother Simon Méry and his brother in law Léon Turcat, both engineers, decided to improve on both models with their own design, a 2.6-litre, four-cylinder, five-speed car with electric ignition, radiators at each end of the engine and two speeds in reverse. Thus in 1899, when the car was ready for sale, they founded Turcat-Méry & Cie.
[ They then established a partnership with Baron Adrien de Turckheim of the ]De Dietrich
The history of the de Dietrich family has been linked to that of France and of Europe for over three centuries.
To this day, the company that bears the family name continues to play a major role in the economic life of Alsace.
De Dietrich is a h ...
and Lorraine-Dietrich
Lorraine-Dietrich was a French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer from 1896 until 1935, created when railway locomotive manufacturer ''Société Lorraine des Anciens Etablissements de Dietrich et Cie de Lunéville'' (known as ''De Dietri ...
, and produced cars whose slogan was ''The Car of the Connoisseur''.
became the Paris agent and chief publicist for both Turcat-Méry and Lorraine-Dietrich which he achieved by a long and successful career in motor racing and rallying.
Turcat-Méry's liaison with Lorraine-Dietrich lasted until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Turcat-Méry ceased production in 1928.[
]
Models
The 1899 Turcat-Méry had a 2.6-litre four-cylinder engine with magneto ignition. It also had a radiator at each end of the engine, chain drive and a five-speed gearbox with two speeds in reverse.[
Some Turcat-Méry designs were produced by the ]De Dietrich
The history of the de Dietrich family has been linked to that of France and of Europe for over three centuries.
To this day, the company that bears the family name continues to play a major role in the economic life of Alsace.
De Dietrich is a h ...
. In 1907 Turcat-Méry produced their first six-cylinder model, but the four-cylinder models from 2.6 to 6.3 litres continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914.[
After World War I production concentrated on the 15/25 hp (RAC rating of 15.9 hp) with a 3-litre, four-cylinder long-stroke, fixed head engine. It also had a cone clutch and a foot-operated transmission brake.][
In the early/mid-1920s, Turcat-Méry introduced an advanced, overhead-camshaft engine.][
In the mid-1920s Turcat-Méry attempted to find new markets by switching to smaller-capacity proprietary-engined models, but it was unsuccessful so they ceased car production in 1928.][
]
Motor racing
Henri Rougier was the main dealer for Turcat-Méry motor vehicles, and like most other manufacturers he used racing and competition as both a technical development and publicity aid for marketing.[
In May 1903 Rougier finished 11th overall in the Paris-Madrid race driving a 45 hp Turcat-Méry. He was also classified 9th in the heavy car class.
On 17 June 1904 Rougier competed in the Gordon Bennett Cup race in Germany driving a 45 hp Turcat-Méry. ]Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...
had decreed that the race start from Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...
in the Taunus
The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north of Frankfurt. The tallest peak in the range is ''Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''Kleiner Feldberg'' (825 m) and ''Altkönig'' (798 m).
The Taunus range spans ...
mountains. Rougier finished in third place, taking 6 hours 46 minutes 31 seconds to complete the .[
]
Monte Carlo rally
In 1909 the ''Automobile Club de Monaco'' (''Sport Automobile Velocipedique Monegasque'') started planning a car rally at the behest of Albert I, Prince of Monaco
Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, Albert I ...
. The Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...
was to start at points all over Europe and converge on Monte Carlo. In January 1911 23 cars set out from 11 different locations and Rougier was among the nine who left Paris to cover a route. The event was won by Henri Rougier in a Turcat-Méry 45 hp. The rally comprised both driving and then somewhat arbitrary judging based on the elegance of the car, passenger comfort and the condition in which it arrived in the principality. The outcry of scandal when the results were published changed nothing, so Rougier was proclaimed the first winner.[
]
Rougier — Turcat-Méry
After World War I Henri Rougier purchased a limited number of completed 1913/14 Turcat-Méry chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
which he then had reworked to improve the engines and 4-wheel brakes using Henri Perrot's latest drum/shoe brake design.[ The chassis were then bodied by coach builders such as ''Million-Guillet'' in ]Levallois-Perret
Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...
, Paris, and the exclusive finished models were badged and registered as 'Rougier'.[
]
Notes
a. Henri Perrot was a French engineer who patented his designs for drum brakes and shoes. In 1924, after meeting at a European auto show, Vincent Bendix
Vincent Hugo Bendix (August 12, 1881 – March 27, 1945) was an American inventor and industrialist. Vincent Bendix was a pioneer and leader in both the automotive and aviation industries during the 1920s and 1930s.''Vincent Bendix. Enshrine ...
acquired the license to manufacture Perrot's shoe-brake patents.
References
External links
Hans Etzrodt's list of Grand Prix winners 1895-1949 — Leif Snellman
Website by modern-day enthusiast (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turcat-Mery
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France
Manufacturing companies based in Marseille
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1899
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1928
French companies established in 1899
1928 disestablishments in France
Brass Era vehicles
Vintage vehicles