1905 Clement 20/24HP

Like many other early automotive marques, Adolphe Clement built a successful empire building bicycles prior to entering the automotive market. He also owned the Dunlop patents in France and built pneumatic tires. He continued to diversify, beginning to build automobiles in 1899, taking an interest in the existing Gladiator concern. The first engine-powered vehicles were rear-engined tricycles and quadricycles made at the Gladiator works in Levallois-sur-Seine before Clément began building a conventional front-engined light car around 1901. Their early cars were powered by Aster, Panhard, and DeDion engines.

Within a short period of time, Clement et Gladiator was mass producing vehicles, claiming to have an annual capacity of 1,200 cars by January 1903. In October of that year, Adolphe Clement broke his connection with the company and set up a new factory in Levallois-Perret. Unable to call the cars he built 'Clements', he adopted the trade name 'Bayard' after a statue of the legendary medieval French hero 'le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche' that stood in front of his branch factory in Mézières in the Ardennes region and officially changed his name to Clément-Bayard. He also formed a joint venture with the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot to assemble Clément-Bayard cars in London, where they were known as 'Clément-Talbots'. They later became known as 'Talbot.'

The company was a pioneer of vertical integration, with little reliance on outside suppliers. The bodies were built in coachworks near the Levallois factory, and the casting and rough machining work were carried out at Mézières.

This particular example is a 1905 Clement-Bayard 4-cylinder Touring Car with 20/24 horsepower. It is powered by a T-head engine that displaces 264 cubic inches and is mated to a four-speed manual transmission. It wears an original supply plaque from Bowman Automobile Company of New York and is believed to have been originally sold through Sidney B. Bowman's dealership in New York City. On its dashboard is an original 'Automobile Club of America' badge.

The car surfaced in the 1940s and at that time, was in remarkable original and complete condition. Its discovery was by Henry C. Wing Jr. of Greenfield, Massachusetts. Henry Wing was responsible for a sympathetic refurbishment in the late 1950s and, after that, used it regularly.

The car came into the care of its present owners in the mid-1980s. Since then, it has been shown at numerous events, including the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where it achieved a Second in Class place.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2015