Solved: Wendax 542 Clément - Rochelle torpédo sport

[pnegyesi]

one-off?

[Wendax]

No

[woodinsight]

Alphi-Cime of 1928?

[Wendax]

1928 is correct, Alphi-Cime isn't.

[pnegyesi]

introduced in 1928 and made for a few years?

[woodinsight]

Perhaps it's a Rally?

[Allemano]

Could it be a S.P.A.G. ? Those cars look similar at least.

[Allan L]

My current opinion is that it is a Clément-Rochelle (or Clément et Rochelle) of 1927-30.
Can't get a closer date as I don't think the car changed much during the life of the company.

[Wendax]

My current opinion is that it is a Clément-Rochelle (or Clément et Rochelle) of 1927-30.
Can't get a closer date as I don't think the car changed much during the life of the company.

Finally! It is a Clément-Rochelle from 1928 (as established before). It seems that the company was called Clément & Rochelle, while the car used the hyphenated name. In 1929, the bonnet louvers changed from vertical to horizontal. A remarkable feature of this car was independent wheel suspension all around.

Well done, two points for you.

[Allan L]

My current opinion is that it is a Clément-Rochelle (or Clément et Rochelle) of 1927-30.
Can't get a closer date as I don't think the car changed much during the life of the company.

Finally! It is a Clément-Rochelle from 1928 (as established before). It seems that the company was called Clément & Rochelle, while the car used the hyphenated name. In 1929, the bonnet louvers changed from vertical to horizontal. A remarkable feature of this car was independent wheel suspension all around.

Well done, two points for you.

If there are two points for this, one should go to the late John Bolster, whose book supplied the answer (and drawings of front and rear suspension)

[Allemano]

The company Clément & Rochelle was a small company based in Clamart near Paris. They built cars from 1927 to 1930, which were featured with all wheel independent suspension. There was a two-seater coupe and spider, equipped with a 1.1-liter engine from Ruby.
Only a few were built.

[pnegyesi]

The car was available for a few months, maybe even a year in Hungary. Astonishingly there is photographic evidence that at least one car was sold as can be seen in these late 1930s photos taken near the city of Szeged. Pictured is Antal Klement, who was a sort of broker. There were a lot of interesting cars passing through his hands and luckily many of his photos survived (but not the cars)

[Wendax]

NIce find!