Details of Cars

Amilcar CC: the light sporting car that opened the range

AMILCAR

Amilcar Type CC in the Sinsheim museum
An Amilcar Type CC in the Sinsheim museum. Photograph: AlfvanBeem (CC0). Photo by AlfvanBeem, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Amilcar CC was a light sporting car produced by the French Amilcar company from 1922 to 1925. Its 903 cc four-cylinder side-valve engine produced around 18 bhp, enough to make a very light two-seater genuinely quick on the roads of the early 1920s.

Amilcar CC at a glance

Amilcar CC key facts
Maker Amilcar, France
Production 1922–1925 (French Wikipedia gives 1921)
Class light sporting car
Engine 903 cc four-cylinder, in line
Valve gear side valves
Output 18 bhp (17 chevaux in the French figure)
Body style open two-seater (as surviving cars show)
Successor in the range the CGS, developed from the C

The Wikipedia articles on the CC are short, so this page is shorter than usual and the two sources differ on the first year of production.

History of the Amilcar CC

The CC belongs to the first generation of Amilcar cars, the small sporting cyclecar-type machines that the Paris firm built in the early 1920s. It used a four-cylinder engine of 903 cc with side valves, rated at 18 bhp in the English source and 17 chevaux in the French one. In a car of this size and weight that was a respectable output, and the model was sold as a sporting proposition rather than simple transport.

Amilcar CC of 1921
An Amilcar CC at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Photograph: Neil (CC BY 2.0). Photo by Neil, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The two Wikipedia articles differ slightly on the dates: the English page gives 1922 to 1925, the French page 1921 to 1925. The CC was replaced in the range by the CGS, which the English article describes as developed from the C.

Surviving cars are mostly open two-seaters of the kind seen at events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed and in the Sinsheim museum, which is how the CC is usually presented today.

Design and features

  • Light weight: a small car built for speed rather than space.
  • 903 cc side-valve four: a simple, cheap and easily tuned engine.
  • Sporting character: sold as a light sporting car, not as basic transport.
  • Simple engineering: side valves and a straightforward chassis typical of the early 1920s.

Amilcar CC versions

  • CC (1922–1925): the standard light sporting model described by both Wikipedia articles.
  • Open two-seater: the body style most surviving cars wear.

The CC was followed by the CGS, which grew into the best-known Amilcar of the decade. The firm later built the larger Pégase. More cars are in the Amilcar collection.

Video: Amilcar CC de 1923, première sortie

Video on YouTube.

Sources

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