1912 Hispano Suiza 15/45HP

The Hispano-Suiza Company has created some of the most elegant, respected, and exquisite automobiles of all time. The designs and custom-built bodies were owned by the most elite and exclusive clientele. Among their most memorable creations were the H6 Series and the J-12. Among their accomplishments was the production of aircraft engines. During the First World War, they produced over 50,000 V-12 engines for aircraft. From 1919 through 1923 Hispano-Suiza produced an eight-cylinder aircraft engine.

The beginning of company Fabrica La Hispano Suiza de Automovils began in 1904 but their existence and experience in the automotive community began six years prior. Emilio de la Cuadra created the La Cuadra Company in 1898 focusing on the production of the electric automobile. Marc Birkigt, a French engineer, joined the Barcelona, Spain-based company shortly after its inception. In the very early 1900s, the La Cuadra Company began production of a gasoline-powered engine that featured a shaft drive instead of a chain, a revolutionary design at the time. Their fortune shortly changed and the company was forced to close. The Fabrica La Hispano-Suiza de Automovils succeeded the Castro Company continuing production in Spain and employing the ingenious designer, Birkigt. The name was later changed to Fabrica La Hispano Suiza de Automovils. The very early engines were four cylinders comprised of a 3.8 and a 7.4-liter capacity. Two six-cylinder engines were introduced shortly after the fours.

In 1911 a factory in Paris was opened to satisfy the demands of their French clientele. A larger factory was built three years later in Bois-Colombes. The production of these facilities focused primarily on the H6B, a large, luxurious, and desirable automobile.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2011