1922 Secqueville-Hoyau Sportster

'Absolutely the finest piece of automobile engineering ever produced', proclaimed the manufacturer's catalogue. The Secqueville-Hoyau car company was established in 1919 in Gennevilliers, Seine, and manufactured small luxury cars built to exacting standards with quality workmanship. Prior to automobile production, the company was involved in making aircraft components and during the First World War, they built Bugatti aero engines under license which has often led to speculation that their new car was perhaps designed by Bugatti. One of the features of the Secqueville was the use of Rolls-Royce-shaped radiators which emphasized the quality. The engines used in these models were an efficient straightforward design with inclined valves, aluminum pistons, tubular connecting rods, detachable cylinder heads, and pressure lubrication. These 1,250 cc engines produced 18 horsepower from their three-bearing crankshafts and were coupled to a four-speed manual gearbox.

The gentlemen involved were Alfred Secqueville and Gaston Hoyau, who had been making aero engines and propellers since 1911, and Hispano-Suiza and Bugatti aero engines under license during World War I. There is speculation that the subsequent car designs were influenced by Bugatti engineers with whom they worked. After the armistice, the demand for aero engines collapsed and the partners entered the automotive field.

This particular automobile is powered by a 1,244cc ten horsepower four-cylinder side-valve engine mated to a four-speed gearbox and features electric starting, quite unusual for a light car of the era. Wire wheels and a Rolls-Royce-type grille gave the car an upscale look. The price new was about $730. It wears a very sporting body with a V screen and weather equipment for the front passengers. The unlucky passengers in the dickey had to chance their luck. Registered in England in 1922, the car has remained in England ever since spending time in the Smith Collection in Sussex during the 1950s and 1960s. Since being in the Smith Collection, the car has undergone restoration and is finished in dark blue with black wings and is complemented with many original features.