1919 Hispano-Suiza H6B Labourdette

The brilliant engineer who created the Hispano-Suiza cars, Marc Birkigt, was Swiss and some of the founding capital was Spanish, but Hispano-Suiza was and is French company. Hispano-Suiza is a manufacturer of the finest cars ever made in that country and also some of the best piston aircraft engines in the world. It was Birkigt who invented and perfected the mechanical brake servo mechanism subsequently used by Rolls-Royce, and who laid down the specifications and details of the splendid straight-six cylinder engine used in this H6B, as well as the smooth-running and powerful V12 used by the company in the 1930s. Hispano-Suiza still exists, manufacturing high quality aeronautical components.

The ‘Hisso’ is revered by a coterie of aficionado who know and understand its mechanical qualities, but it is also greatly appreciated for the magnificent coachwork habitually fitted to the elegantly made chassis. The introduction of styling for mass producers by Harley J. Earl at General Motors owes a great deal to Hispano-Suiza. Earl’s first production car design, the 1972 La Salle, was no more or less than a careful line-for-line copy of Hispano-Suiza H6B. That the cars were really quite advanced can be verified by the fact that the Hispano-Suiza Owner’s Club regularly stages open-road rallies that attract a dozen or more cars that can integrate perfectly with modern traffic. Ultimate acceleration and braking performance may be modest by current standards, even compared with economy cars, but Hissos can and do run among them without being a hazard or inconvenience to other road users – something that cannot be said for many cars from the same period, even those as expensive and as well respected as the Hispano-Suiza. In its abilities this car was well ahead of its time.

These extracts are taken from Auto Legends: Classics of Style and Design by Michel Zumbrunn, text by Robert Cumberford which was published in October by Merrell