FOR SALE AT EVOKE CLASSICS

Vehicle Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42

Extremely rare and historically important car
One of only 8 known surviving 6-cylinder Salmson 20/90's
Precision-engineered British car
Large pack documenting the cars history
HPI Clear

You are about to have a history lesson. Make a cuppa, get comfy, and read on about this wonderful machine.

British Salmson Aero Engines Ltd was established in the early 1930s as a manufacturer of radial aircraft engines that were made under licence from Salmson in Billancourt, France. Salmson had success with these engines and they featured in aircraft during the First World War and thereafter.

Cars were also manufactured by Salmson and their cyclecars were renowned for speed and track wins at Brooklands and elsewhere during the 1920s and early 1930s. In Britain, the Martineau family, whose wealth came from sugar refining, had a very close association with the French Salmson company as several of them raced Salmson cars. Because of this close association, the Martineaus built a large factory at Raynes Park, London, to manufacture the aircraft engines and, at the same time, occupy two sons recently out of Oxbridge.

Sales of aircraft engines were not enough to sustain the factory so the decision was taken to manufacture motor cars as well. The French cars were used as the templates for the British made ones, but nearly every component was made in England. There were some differences, in particular with braking systems and gearboxes (the French used a cotal (electrically controlled preselector) design, which the British opted out of).

Between 1934 and 1939, British Salmson A.E. built 300 cars. They were precision-engineered, because of the aeronautical background, which meant they were also very expensive. Sales were poor although reviews at the time were good. The cars were of a high quality and advanced in engineering terms with double overhead cam engines, giving very respectable performance figures.

The factory was taken over for the war effort and never got going again in terms of car production. Instead cycle aids were manufactured after the war, suitable for those frugal times.

Of the 300 cars manufactured, 288 had 4-cylinder engines and 12 had larger 6-cylinder engines. The 6-cylinder cars, known as the S6D or 20/90, were the pinnacle of British Salmson car production and were renowned for their performance, being good for 90 mph with 90 bhp produced from the 2,596cc straight-6 engine.

EPK 719 is one of the 8 known surviving 6-cylinder cars. With chassis number A6ZS 102, this 20/90 was the second one built.

Three saloons were made, and this car is the only 2-door saloon that survives fully intact. One was destroyed by fire and the other ended up in Australia where the body was thrown away to create a special. This never happened and the Australian car remains, what is left of it, totally dismantled on shelves.

Therefore, it can be said that this 20/90 is the only complete one in the world and is, therefore, a rare and important car in terms of British motor engineering.

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