The H6B Hispano-Suiza, launched at the 1919 Paris salon was to set the standard of automotive design and engineering that other manufacturers strived to equal. Hispano-Suiza’s policy of producing only one model provided the highest degree of quality control and at the same time enabled detailed improvements based on experience and customer suggestions: By the late 1920’s the H6B had been in production almost ten years and yet its advanced technology was still superior to its immediate competitors. The six cylinder engine provided superb power coupled to a taut chassis that was very responsive and a unique engine-powered servo system for the four-wheel brakes.
This model was a favorite car for the wealthy sporting motorist and its success in competitions became legendary. Marc Birkigt, the outstanding engineer who was responsible for every Hispano-Suiza design from 1904 to 1938, had but one prime principle, quality above all else, which his cars certainly achieved. It was the detail in the building of an H6B, like the machining of the huge crankshaft from a steel billet and the way the steel cylinder sleeves were screwed into the light alloy cylinder block from below, that made it so remarkable. The mechanical servo assistance to the brakes was so good that Rolls-Royce finally adopted it for their cars.
This car is now on display in St. Louis Art Museum’s exhibit: Roaring. Roaring: Art, Fashion, and the Automobile in France, 1918–1939, features 12 exemplary cars alongside paintings, photographs, sculpture, furniture, and fashion to spotlight the automobile’s transformative influence on art, design, and modern life between the world wars.
This display inspired me to create a new category in my photo gallery: Great Rivers Imaging. Click here to see Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Modes of transportation in the early 20th Century.
Also, click on the photo for more information.
Great Rivers Imaging 