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Salmson S4DA - convertible coupe body - manufactured in 1936
France, as one of Europe's main car producing nations, has seen a tremendous variety of car makers. Especially in the first half of the 20th century numerous makes emerged; often small and locally oriented but some also ambitious and innovative. French cars and engineers had an important influence on automotive developments in the early years and a number of French makes became cornerstones of car history. Far more manufacturers were less successful and disappeared without being remembered. And a few enjoyed success and recognition during their existence but were not known or productive enough to make it to worldwide fame. These makes often produced colorful and interesting cars which still fascinate the connoisseur.
One of those French marques was Salmson of Billancourt. It was established in 1912 by Emile Salmson for the manufacture of aircraft engines, which was novel at the time. The occurrence of the first World War soon afterwards made it a thriving company. After the hostilities had ended Salmson looked to expand its product line and in 1919 they ventured into car manufacture by taking a licence to produce British GN cyclecars. Cyclecars were rudimentary light cars with small engines, chain drive and thin wire wheels and sort of a precursor to the later bubble and mini cars but with a distinct sporty inclination, and were very popular for a short while.
Having had a few years of experience with car manufacture Salmson introduced their first proprietary design in 1921, a light 4-cylinder car named AL, which was still in the cycle car class. This model was entered in races by the company and after an advanced double overhead camshaft (dohc) engine had been fitted it became very successful in competition and started to make a name for Salmson in the car business. It lead to the Salmson Grand Sport (GS) which became the quintessential Salmson sportscar. The GS was made from 1924 till 1930 and was a basic little racing car with a small cigar-like body and open wheels which won a long list of races, from hillclimbs to cyclecar Grand Prix all over Europe.
Though successful in racing, the money was made with more regular touring car models. In 1929 the Salmson racing department was closed down, leaving the competition to other French makes like Amilcar and Rally (which Salmson supplied with engines). That same year Salmson introduced the S4 model line, production cars which featured only 4-cylinder dohc engines; something unheard of until then. Even today the overhead camshaft lay-out is considered advanced and performance oriented compared to the traditional single camshaft on the engine block operating the valves indirectly by pushrods. Advantages of the dohc system are a more lively, powerful and higher revving engine but it's more complicated to make and as a result more expensive. Never the less, Salmson only made dohc engines from 1929 until the end of its car production.
The S4 was a compact middle class quality car with saloon, coupe or cabriolet bodies and not a sportscar in any respect. It was appreciated for robustness and roadholding and sold in reasonable but not very high numbers (some 6000 until the end of the 1930s). The first series had a 1300 cc engine and a 3-speed gearbox, but soon a 4-speed transmission became available. In 1932 it was succeeded by the larger S4C with 1465 cc engine and 112 kph top speed. 1934 saw the S4D version with inclined radiator grill, 1596 cc engine and Cotal semi-automatic electric gearbox, and in 1935 the improved S4DA (like you see here) appeared with 1731 cc, 55 hp engine and coil ignition instead of magneto. It was followed in 1938 by the S4-61 which was similar but had a lowered chassis and restyled bodywork. There was also the S4E which was offered next to the S4-61 and looked very much alike but had a different engine and chassis. The S4E had a more powerful 2312 cc 4-cylinder engine producing 70 hp and a chassis with hydraulic brakes and torsion bar front suspension instead of the cable operated brakes and transverse springs.
Production of the S4 was winded down when the second World War approached and Salmson gave priority to their aircraft engine production. During that war the Salmson factory was destroyed, but after the war had ended it was rebuild and car production was started again in limited numbers. The post-war cars were again the S4-61 and S4E, which were virtually the same as before but gradually modernized. The last version of this series was introduced in 1951 and named S4-61L. It was basically a S4-61 with hydraulic brakes and headlights integrated in the front wings. Production of the S4 models ended in 1952, after 23 years and 2800 made in the post-war years.
Salmson did introduce new designs in the post-war years but these had a hard time competing with the far more affordable offerings of Renault, Citroen and Peugeot. When the aircraft engine division, specialized in by now obsolete radial engines, failed in 1951, Salmson was in trouble. After a change of ownership one last classic Salmson appeared: the stylish 2300 Sport coupe with the 2312 cc engine of the S4E. It was an attractive and modern touring coupe with a top speed of 180 kph and made from 1953 till 1957. Only 227 were sold however and this meant the end for Salmson car production. The factory was bought by Renault and the Salmson name only appeared on pumps and other water treatment equipment from then on.
The Salmson S4 was not a wild looking luxury car nor a thrilling sportscar. Also it was not a very familiar car but it had character, quality and an advanced engine. It proved to be enough for it to be produced for decades and to be remembered to this day. Quite a lot are still around and finding enthusiastic owners who keep them running. Cars like these are a joy to see and I'd like to see a lot more of them.
© André Ritzinger, Amsterdam, Holland
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