1907 Niclausse Type S Landaulette

Jules and Albert Niclausse were manufacturers of steam boilers for marine use, powering navies including the U.S.S. Maine, which operated on 24 Niclausse boilers producing 16,000 horsepower. Shortly after the turn of the century, they turned their attention to the emerging horseless carriage, patenting a tamped, single-sheet steel chassis, along with a rear axle with a u-joint inside the axle, a clutch, an automatic carburetor, a water pump and flywheel cooling system, and a steering mechanism.

This particular Niclausse automobile is a Type S that was acquired by the Mullin Collection from Juan Coma-Cros, the grandson of the original owner, Juan Coma of Barcelona. It was in single-family ownership for 100 years. It retains its 1908 registration plate B-247, signifying that it was the 247th car in Barcelona at the time of its registration.

This Niclausse participated in the 11th International FIVA Rally in 1963, and on February 17, 1965, the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain described chassis 007 as a 'D Fronted Single Landaulette' when they provided the Certificate of Dating (No. 1038) and confirmed that the car's Bosch magneto was manufactured in August 1907.

After entering the Mullin collection, this Type S was shown at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2024

The Niclausse Company of Paris began making cars in 1906. The Niclausse brothers had been boilermakers since 1890, and this perhaps led them to design the striking round radiator on their new venture into car making. This is the second model they produced with Binder Landaulet coachwork. The car has a four-cylinder T-head, 6.3-liter engine, and is known as a 35/50 hp. A total of three different Niclausse models were made, then the outbreak of war in 1914 halted car production at the company, and it was never restarted.