Roadster
Coachwork: Duval
It was powered by a 45-horsepower engine but capable of running 90 miles per hour. The four-speed gearbox features an overdrive especially designed for the Le Mans racetrack. It is, of course, front-wheel drive.
The first organized speed race took place in France in 1895: a round-trip distance race from Paris to Bordeaux. The winner's speed averaged just under 25 miles per hour, with most of the vehicles powered by gasoline but others propelled by steam or electricity. The French dominated the early years of automobile racing. The description Grand Prix was first used in 1901 for a race at Pau, France, and soon became popular throughout Europe and the United States. Around 1905, the first endurance race was held.The Le Mans contest was and is a continuous endurance race lasting 24 hours. Initiated in 1923 by the Automobile Club de L'Ouest as the Grand Prix d'Endurance de 24 Heures, Coupe Rudge-Whitworth, the race is held on closed public roads in and around Le Mans, a historic city in the Loire valley southeast of Paris. It soon became known as the 24 Heures du Mans. The course, called the Circuit de la Sarthe, was originally nearly eleven miles and is now about eight and a half. During this early period, each car was normally driven by a team of two. The British maker Bentley dominated the event between 1924 and 1930, winning five races, including that of 1929, in which the Tracta A raced. Cars now reached higher speeds: by the end of the decade, the average speed of Le Mans' 1929 winning drivers Sir Henry Birkin and Woolf Barnato was over 73 miles per hour, covering 1767 miles. With its focus on endurance and distance rather than pure speed during a short run, Le Mans influenced automobile design for safety, reliability, and efficiency.
Tracta
1929 Tracta Model A Vehicle Profiles
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