Hotchkiss was a Connecticut gun manufacturer during the Civil War and moved operations to Paris in 1904. This original, unrestored 1912 Hotchkiss, 55-horsepower, Gentleman's Roadster was built in France and was originally shown at the 1912 Paris Auto Show. It wears a one-off body by Van Vooren. It was purchased by the LeBlanc family of Southern France at the 1912 Paris Automobile show. They were wealthy winemakers and used it as their honeymoon car. Mr. & Mrs. LeBlanc traveled throughout Europe with this car in 1912 and returned home very pleased with their Hotchkiss. They owned many great cars through the years but kept the 1912 Hotchkiss as their favorite. They finally sold the car in the 1960s to an English car collector. He decided to keep the car in its original condition and it was purchased by the present owner in 2001.
