521 Leyat Helicar (1922)
Leyat Helicar (1922) Engine 1200cc Twin cylinder Production 30 approx
Created by inventor Marcel Leyat based on the Cote d'Azur. With a shortage of manufacturing materials following WW1 Leyat pioneered the production of laminated propellers. With an interest in both aviation and automobiles he experimented in adapting aircraft technology to cars.
The Helicar was designed to be light and streamlined with a huge propeller attached to the front. seating two passengers in single file, using a wooden frame meant that it weighed just 550-650lb, less than half the weight of competing cars of the day. Powered by a 1200cc ABC Scorpion engine the car could only move forwards, steered by the rear wheels, with brakes on the front. The wire mesh grille around the propeller was fitted later as a safety measure. First seen at the 1921 Paris Motor Show, 600 orders were taken though it is thought no more than thirty were produced.
Shot at The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu 15.05.2010.
Ref 58-521
521 Leyat Helicar (1922)
Leyat Helicar (1922) Engine 1200cc Twin cylinder Production 30 approx
Created by inventor Marcel Leyat based on the Cote d'Azur. With a shortage of manufacturing materials following WW1 Leyat pioneered the production of laminated propellers. With an interest in both aviation and automobiles he experimented in adapting aircraft technology to cars.
The Helicar was designed to be light and streamlined with a huge propeller attached to the front. seating two passengers in single file, using a wooden frame meant that it weighed just 550-650lb, less than half the weight of competing cars of the day. Powered by a 1200cc ABC Scorpion engine the car could only move forwards, steered by the rear wheels, with brakes on the front. The wire mesh grille around the propeller was fitted later as a safety measure. First seen at the 1921 Paris Motor Show, 600 orders were taken though it is thought no more than thirty were produced.
Shot at The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu 15.05.2010.
Ref 58-521