16.5 litres!

[georgezippy]

Was out and about last week and came across this beast parked up at a heritage railway carpark.
Chatted to the owner for a bit, he then got in it and drove off.
1909 Lorraine Dietrich, 16.5 litre OHV, 110 mph, lots of exposed cogs, rockers and pushrods on the massive engine.

What an utterly brilliant thing!

Not much in the way of brakes that I could see. It probably pre dates conventional driving controls too.
Has to be the maddest classic /vintage I've ever seen on the road.
Have found some stuff about it online.
Wonder what it's worth, must be unique.

[RichB]

As you say, utterly bonkers and brilliant

[Andy 308GTB]

georgezippy said:

Have found some stuff about it online.

Great car - did your search find any competition history?
I can't believe that it wasn't raced back in the day.

[battered]

No chain guard! Eek!

Construction and use regs not much cop in those days. Apart from the risk of chain breakage, catch your clothing in that chain, conventiently placed near the footwell, and it's pulling your arm or leg in.

[thegreenhell]

georgezippy said:

1909 Lorraine Dietrich, 16.5 litre OHV, 110 mph...

Not much in the way of brakes that I could see. It probably pre dates conventional driving controls too.

What an amazing machine! I bet he's had a few hairy moments dealing with the modern traffic in that...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Andy 308GTB]

Broke the Land Speed Record and then dismantled...

http://droitwichstandard.co.uk/news/land-speed-rec...

[sunbeam alpine]

I think I saw this car in Ypres in Belgium a couple of years ago ( or one very much like it).

The guy had travelled through France and was visiting friends in Belgium and popped in on a monthly meeting of classic cars. I followed him out of town and can confirm that he was driving it as it was meant to be used.

[alspeed]

The1920's dancer Isadora Duncan died when her scarf got caught up in the rear axle of the car she was a passenger in, so loose clothing definitely not advisable when hooning in such machinery.

battered said:

No chain guard! Eek!

Construction and use regs not much cop in those days. Apart from the risk of chain breakage, catch your clothing in that chain, conventiently placed near the footwell, and it's pulling your arm or leg in.

[ttthilvester]

and another bonkers machine from the same era....

(1908 Darracq 25.4Litre V8, 200hp)

In case you missed it at this year's FOS:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMcNNDbQFo

Edited by ttthilvester on Sunday 16th August 06:49

[nicanary]

Andy 308GTB said:

Broke the Land Speed Record and then dismantled...

http://droitwichstandard.co.uk/news/land-speed-rec...

Typical lazy journalism. This car never, ever, held the world's Land Speed Record. I suspect the reference may be to a lesser record, something like the flying kilometre or similar.

I'm not saying the car isn't impressive, though.

[Allan L]

nicanary said:

Andy 308GTB said:

Broke the Land Speed Record and then dismantled...

http://droitwichstandard.co.uk/news/land-speed-rec...

Typical lazy journalism. This car never, ever, held the world's Land Speed Record. I suspect the reference may be to a lesser record, something like the flying kilometre or similar.

I'm not saying the car isn't impressive, though.

In February '08 Charles Jarrott took a World 50 mile f.s. record at 83.11 m.p.h. in a 1906 GP L-D but that was 18.145 litres! According to Boddy that record lasted a whole fortnight!
Not sure who the journo means by Jean de Dietrich - unless she thinks Jean is an abbreviation for Eugène. According to Sedgwick, Jean de Dietrich had a foundry in 1684. . .

[nicanary]

Allan L said:

nicanary said:

Andy 308GTB said:

Broke the Land Speed Record and then dismantled...

http://droitwichstandard.co.uk/news/land-speed-rec...

Typical lazy journalism. This car never, ever, held the world's Land Speed Record. I suspect the reference may be to a lesser record, something like the flying kilometre or similar.

I'm not saying the car isn't impressive, though.

In February '08 Charles Jarrott took a World 50 mile f.s. record at 83.11 m.p.h. in a 1906 GP L-D but that was 18.145 litres! According to Boddy that record lasted a whole fortnight!
Not sure who the journo means by Jean de Dietrich - unless she thinks Jean is an abbreviation for Eugène. According to Sedgwick, Jean de Dietrich had a foundry in 1684. . .

Thanks Allan. Couldn't be bothered to look it all up. Sadly, what appears in print goes into history as fact.

Those giant cars were some sight though. It took some bottle to handle them at racing speeds on unpaved roads.

[Slidingpillar]

Fair bet that all of the chain drive behemoths have a solid back axle. Would explain why the Darracq adopts the angles it does, as without being chucked to get the tail out stance, it would go straight on.

[Allan L]

Slidingpillar said:

Fair bet that all of the chain drive behemoths have a solid back axle. Would explain why the Darracq adopts the angles it does, as without being chucked to get the tail out stance, it would go straight on.

If by "solid back axle" you mean without a diff., then not so. The twin side-chain drive system keeps the final drive and differential as sprung mass and can use a light(ish) dead axle beam (which is solid, but does not rotate)to control the geometry of the wheels.
Do not get confused by the chain-drive system of the GN/Frazer Nash which does use a solid bar of steel as the back axle with only one chain driving it at a time

[Andy 308GTB]

nicanary said:

Typical lazy journalism. This car never, ever, held the world's Land Speed Record.

You are clearly unaware that Jenks and Bill Boddy would always get their articles reviewed by Beth Sharp of the Droitwich Standard.
I was guilty of lazy posting, I know enough about the working of the LSR for alarm bells to have rung...

[nicanary]

Andy 308GTB said:

You are clearly unaware that Jenks and Bill Boddy would always get their articles reviewed by Beth Sharp of the Droitwich Standard.
I was guilty of lazy posting, I know enough about the working of the LSR for alarm bells to have rung...

[epoch911]

Richard's restoration is superb and the car is a real testament to his skill and dedication. Google GN JAP Special for one of his other cars.

I was lucky enough to spend a week in Northern France/Belgium as a passenger on the 1911 Aero Engined Monarch on one of these Edwardian trips (to the Gaillon Hillclimb). The owners are utterly mad of course…but then sitting in a whicker basket at 90mph with a chain inches away from your feet and fire from exposed exhaust stubs singeing your trousers does do some strange things to the brain...

1911Monarch


The highlight was a morning spent nailing it around in a genuine 1908 Grand Prix Car…

1908 Panhard GP car.


Ant