In 1898 a Spanish artillery captain, Emilio de la Cuadra, started electric automobile production in Barcelona under the name of La Cuadra. In Paris, De la Cuadra met the talented Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt (lived 1878–1953) and hired him to work for the company in Spain. La Cuadra built their first gas-powered engines from Birkigt designs. At some point in 1902, the ownership changed hands to J. Castro and became Fabrica Hispano-Suiza de Automoviles (Spanish-Swiss Car Factory) but this company went bankrupt in December 1903. Yet another restructuring took place in 1904, creating La Hispano-Suiza Fabrica de Automoviles also under Castro' s direction. Four new engines were introduced in the next year and a half. 3.8 litre and 7.4 litre four-cylinder and a pair of big six-cylinder engines were produced. This company managed to avoid bankruptcy and in Spain remained in operation, as a car, truck and aviation engine producer, with its main plant located in Barcelona, until 1946. They mass-produced cars, trucks and buses and a number of hand-built racing and luxury cars, some owned by King Alfonso XIII of Spain. By this time in the early twentieth France was proving to be a much larger market for their luxury cars than Spain. In 1911 a new factory, known as Hispano France, was set up in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret. In 1914, they moved to larger factories at Bois-Colombes and took the name Hispano-Suiza. At the first motor show after the end of the First World War, the 1919 Paris Auto Salon, Marc Birkigt launched a new luxury model, the H6. For many years the six cylinder Hispano Suiza's refinement and built quality remained unmatched.In the War, Hispano Suiza had supplied over 50,000 V12 fighter plane engines. For his new top of the line model, Birkigt first intended to use a version of the well proven V12. After some tests he concluded that one bank of a V12 would be more than sufficient to propel the new car. The 'six' displaced just over 6.5 litres and featured a single overhead camshaft. Each 35 lb crankshaft was machined from a 600 lb billet, resulting in a very rigid crankshaft. This was typical for Birkigt's 'no cost spared' perfectionism. After World War I Hispano-Suiza returned to automobile engine design and, in 1919, introduced the H6, earning them a reputation even greater than that of Rolls-Royce in England. Indeed, Rolls-Royce featured many Hispano-Suiza patented features, under licence. Most notably, Rolls-Royce used for many years the famed Hispano-Suiza power brakes, reputedly the best in the world, which used the torque generated by a drum brake mounted on the transmission shaft to power those on the wheels. For the block and head aluminium was used, to keep the weight of the engine down. In the block a six separate steel sleeves formed the cylinders. Ignition was through two coils, with two plugs per cylinder, one on each side of the engine. The overhead camshaft was shaft driven and operated the valves, which were set vertical in the block. This was unconventional setup, which could result in tremendous damage, if a valve dropped in the cylinder. Birkigt was confident in using it, as the valves had never failed on the V12 airplane engines.Finished in black enamel and polished aluminium, the engine was mounted in a conventional ladder frame. It was suspended by a live axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs all-round. The four drum brakes were power assisted by a patented 'servobrake' system. The ingenious system used the car's momentum to slow it down. The brake assistance system took the power from the gearbox, which drove a shaft at 1/64 the speed of the engine. If all else failed, the rear brakes could be activated using a hand lever.Built in Paris and later in the Czech Republic as well, the H6 offered luxury, speed and refinement. Many of Hispano Suiza's European competitors like Rolls Royce, Bentley and Isotta Fraschini offered one or two of these ingredients, but not until the late 1920s did another manufacturer come up to par with the H6. This complete package did not come cheaply and for a while the H6 was the most expensive European car available. In 1922 the slightly more powerful H6B replaced the H6 and in 1924 the 8-litre H6C was added to the line-up.Hispano Suiza delivered the H6 as a rolling chassis for coach builders to body. To match the car's remarkable abilities, only the finest coach builders were commissioned to design and fit bodies on the H6 chassis. A vast majority of the chassis were fitted luxurious coachwork. The featured example is one of the most famous exceptions. Built to the order of one of of Hispano Suiza's biggest clients, Andre Dubonnet, the unique coachwork was built by Nieuport, a French aviation company.Dubonnet, the heir to an aperitif and cognac fortune, was an accomplished pilot and racing driver and needed a new car for the 1924 edition of the Targa Florio. He understood that weight and wind resistance were his biggest adversaries, which is why

Sitges, Garraf, Barcelona (Spain).

49 International Barcelona-Sitges Vintage Car Rally

The international Rally of vintage cars of Barcelona-Sitges, organized by Fomento de Turismo de Sitges uninterruptedly from year 1958, is sponsored at the present time by Audi and allows to see pieces of authentic museum in operation (previous to 1924) and with its passengers dressed in the clothing of the years in which the vehicle was created.

With the passage of the years the event has been rooting and at the moment it is considered as one of most traditional at European level. According to the organizing sources it would be the second more important encounter of vintage cars in Europe behind a classic one like London-Brighton.

Rochet-Schneider was a French company that produced automobiles during the early 20th century. The Rochet-Schneider sales slogan was "strength, simplicity and silence"

Like other motorcars of the so-called "brass era", the cars made by Rochet-Schneider were largely intended for wealthy hobbyists and made use of brass fittings, pattern leather, hand-crafted wood and other expensive components.

Edouard Rochet and his father were bicycle manufacturers before entering motorcar production. In 1894 they were joined by Theophile Schneider, a relative of the eponymous armaments family.

Between 1895 and 1901, the company approximately 240 single cylinder cars "Benz-type" cars. At the 1901 Paris Salon, the company introduced a range of two and four-cylinder cars. Around 1903, these were redesigned along similar lines to Mercedes.

By this time, Rochet-Schneider had become one of the most respected car manufacturers in France. In 1904 the company was sold for 4.5 million francs and a London-based company called "Rochet-Schneider Ltd." was formed. Production averaged less than 250 cars year and by late and late 1907 the company was in liquidation.

Theophile Schneider bought the company bearing his name and a subsidiary called "Carburateurs Zenith" was formed. Schneider produced a range of high quality cars and commercial years for several years. Following World War I, the company offered 12, 18 and 30hp cars. By 1923 the whole range was fitted with overhead valve engines of entirely new design and a variety of coachwork styles.

From the mid-1920s onwards the company concentrated on commercial vehicles. Rochet-Schneider was bought by Berliet, a company known for the manufacture of locomotives and commercial vehicles, following the World War II.