Everything about Minerva Automobile totally explained
The
Minerva was a prominent Belgian
luxury automobile manufactured from 1902 until 1938.
In
1883, a young Dutchman,
Sylvain de Jong settled in
Antwerp, Belgium. He started a bicycle factory and by the end of the century was producing motorcycles. In
1902 he added cars to his production as well with a 6hp 4 cylinder model. In
1903 he founded
Société Anonyme Minerva Motors in Berchem (Antwerp). Volume car production began in
1904 with a range of two, three and four cylinder models with chain drive and metal clad wooden chassis and the
Minervette cyclecar. The 8 litre
Kaiserpreis won the Belgian Circuit des Ardennes race in
1907.
A certain
Charles S Rolls was a Minerva dealer in
England selling the 2.9 litre 14hp. The most important market for the manufacturer remained England, where at GBP105 the small 636 cc single cylinder
Minervette was the cheapest car on the market, followed by the
Netherlands and
France.
In
1908, Minerva obtained a worldwide
Knight Engine license. The Knight motor developed by
Charles Yale Knight in the
United States used double sleeve valves and ran almost silently. All future Minervas would use these engines. Sporting successes continued with the new engines including the Austrian Alpine Trials and Swedish Winter Trials. Customers for the Minerva would include kings of Belgium, Sweden and Norway and
Henry Ford.
During
World War I Sylvain de Jong and his engineers were based in
Amsterdam where they maintained development of their automobiles. Minerva cars were used for hit and run attacks against the Germans initially with rifle fire and light machine guns from simply protected open topped vehicles. These vehicles became increasingly sophisticted until ternch warfare robbed them of the mobility needed for their hit and run tactics.
In
1920, they returned to Belgium to restart the production of luxury cars with the
20CV 3.6 litre 4 cylinder and
30CV 5.3 litre six cylinder models. The manufacturer's star rose not only in Europe, but in the United States as well where American film stars, politicians and industrialists appreciated the cars. The Minerva had the same quality as the
Rolls-Royce, but was slightly less expensive. In
1923, smaller models were introduced; the 2 litre four cylinder
15CV and 3.4 litre six cylinder
20CV with standard four-wheel brakes. In 1927, the
30CV was replaced with the 6 litre
AK and also a new 2 litre six, the
12-14, was introduced. Large cars continued to be a specialty of Minerva's, and in 1930 the then almost-compulsory-for-the-time straight eight was introduced in two sizes; the 6.6 litre
AL and the 4 litre
AP. The last Minerva was the 2 litre
M4 of
1934 but it didn't sell well.
With the financial crisis in the 1930's, the company was restructured as Société Nouvelle Minerva but in
1934 merged with the other major Belgian constructor
Imperia. Imperia continued to make Minervas for a year and the
AP until
1938 and from 1937 badged some of their cars and trucks for export to England and France as Minerva-Imperias. Just before the outbreak of the war, a group of businessmen from Verviers bought out Minerva.
After
World War II the company produced
Land Rovers under license for the Belgian army up to
1953. There were plans to re-enter the car market but these didn't get beyond the prototype stage. The company struggled for survival and made the Continental-engined Land Rover-like
C20 until
1956.
There are still several Minervas all over the world in drivable condition.
Further Information
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