French Army Trials.
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
No More Town-to-Town Tours. A New Steel-tired Colonial Class. 112 Entries, Including 19 of Colonial Type. New Towing Tests.
The annual trials in connection with the French Army subsidy scheme opened at Versailles on Monday of last week. This year's competition only differs in a few of its main features from that of last year. Instead o sending the competing vehicles around France from town to town—a system which involved considerable expense, and brought few advantages to the makers—Versailles is now a permanent headquarters town, and six routes out and home have been standardized. The country around Versailles is sufficiently varied to test the vehicles as thoroughly as it;-'they were sent 500 miles from home.
The great novelty of this year's competition is the creation of a Colonial class. In order to satisfy the requirements in this class the vehicles must be particularly well protected against dust and water, and have an underneath frame clearance of not less than 70 centi metres. While rubber tires are fitted, the vehicles must be capable of being equipped and run with steel tires. This is contrary to the general tendency in the French army, of which the authoritiea have for a considerable time sot themselves against steel-shod
wheels. The fact that the vehicles will be employed across country and on soft reads is doubtless sufficient justification for the return to steel.
Altogether there are 11-2 vehicles
entered by 19 firms. '_■;ine firms have entered 19 vehicles in the Colonial section. Several new firms figure on Ow list of comneti tors ; most of these are manufacturers who have previously devoted themselves to pleasure cars only. The following is the list of firms : Berliet, Henault, Dewald, ClementBayard, Delaugere-Clayette, Cottin-Desgouttes, Illurn, RoehetSehneider, Baron and Vialle, Panhard Levassor, La Buire, Peugeot, Aries, Saurer, Mors, Balachowsky and Caire, Schneider, De Dion Bauton, and Delahaye.
The competition lasts a fall month, during which time a large open-air garage will be maintained in one of the avenues at Versailles.
As in previous years, three kinds of fuel have to be employed. The machines start out with petrol, use benzole for a third of the distance, and alcohol for another third More attention than usual is being paid to hill-climbing tests and to brake tests on the hills. Another innovation consists of towing tests, each competing vehicle taking another one in tow over a selected route. The tests without load have been abandoned. All the competing machines have four-cylinder motors ; one firm, Balaehowsky and Caire, has entered petrol-electrics. There are no steamers.